Equine Welfare: Recognizing Abuse, Neglect and Cruelty By: Maegan Gossett Equine Forensics September 13, 2015

DEFINITIONS Abuse- Failure to provide care or doing something harmful to the animal. Can be categorized into sub groups: emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Neglect- Lack of care of the horse; usually due to ignorance, poverty, or extenuating circumstances. Results in failure to provide basic necessities. Cruelty- Any act that causes an animal pain or suffering. Source: (FAQs: Equine Cruelty, Abuse, and Neglect, 2012)

Look At The Big Picture There is no cookie cutter outline in determining if the welfare of a horse is compromised or not. No scale exists that determines if a horse is being abused, neglected, or experiencing cruelty. We have to use our better judgement, and use the expertise and knowledge of a veterinarian to determine this. A lot of abuse, or neglect can be managed through client education and communication about the horse. Do not jump to conclusions about any owner!

Assessing Equine Welfare Animal welfare defined by the AVMA is- how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. Good animal welfare is when the animal is in a healthy state, and not suffering from pain, fear, or distress. Look at the horse. Does the horse seem to be in pain? How does the horse look? Any gross lesions, or abnormalities seen from afar? What behavior is the horse exhibiting? Look at the horse’s environment (if called out to the property) What state is the area in? Does it have adequate forage/food, water, and shelter? Are there objects around that can seriously injure the horse? Are there other horses/animals around? Are these animals, if any, getting along with each other (cohabiting)? Sources: (AVMA: What is Animal Welfare? 2000)

Always check a horses feet, there is not such thing as a comfortable horse with bad feet. The paint horse in the upper right hand corner is underweight, and has bed sores on the hip bones. This is due to the horse laying down constantly, either from pain or lack of energy. The mares in the bottom right corner have foals on their side. In the pen, there is little hay and no water troughs seen. A sign of cruelty is allowing animals to breed, hoarding animals, and not castrating stallions.

Steps to Take in an Abuse, Neglect, or Cruelty Case When the horse comes in, or you look at it out in the field, get a detailed history of the horse and what is going on with it. Obtain a complete physical examination. The veterinarian needs owner consent to run any diagnostic tests. If consent is given, run a CBC, Serum Chemistry panel, fecal float, and urinalysis. If radiographs need to be taken, take full views of the area in question. If there are any open wounds or sores, clean them and see where the wound goes and how deep in the animal it goes. Write down a detailed physical examination and signalment, get a BCS, and weight down for future reference. Keep medical records handy if the case goes to court. Have the veterinarian make a report of what was seen and spoken about regarding the health status and future rechecks.

Reporting Abuse, Neglect, or Cruelty If the veterinarian decides to report the case, the proper authorities in the area need to be contacted. The veterinary team needs to cooperate with the authorities about the case. This includes giving copies of the animal’s medical record to them, and any other evidence we have to support the claims of abuse. Maintain the chain of custody of evidence Notify any laboratories of any tests sent in that it is for an abuse case. If anyone calls from the authorities, the veterinarian on the case will speak with them. If reporters call, it is up to the veterinarian’s discretion to speak with them. Source: (A Veterinarian’s Role in Handling Animal Abuse, 2005)

References FAQs: Equine Cruelty, Abuse, and Neglect. (2012). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from /aaepfaqsequineabuse.pdf /aaepfaqsequineabuse.pdf Animal Welfare: What Is It? (2000, September 13). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from A Veterinarian's Role in Handling Animal Abuse. (2005, September 13). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from /Veterinarians_role_in_handling_animal_abuse.pdf