An Exploration of Industry Expert Perception of Equine Welfare Using Vignettes

Short scenarios were used to examine how equine professionals evaluated potentially welfare-compromising situations as part of a larger survey project. Participants were asked to score scenarios based on perceived severity, justify their answer, and provide an explanation for what might cause a person to put the horse in that situation. Based on the answers provided, it was determined that the duration of the situation and extent of its consequences most greatly impacted scoring values, though a large variation in score values was seen. Results from this study suggested that professionals were most sensitive to situations that had the potential to cause horses pain, which is likely to influence how they perceive and react to horses experiencing a state of poor welfare. Overall, responses from the vignettes allowed for a picture of welfare perception based on personal values