By analyzing these five points we may realize that at first the concept of Animal Welfare was no more than the“ absence of discomfort”. In fact, we may state with a fair degree of certainty that at the present time we are dealing with a concept that is in the process of evolution and constant development. This finds its origins in the attempt to get the animal to be in harmony with its surroundings, until we reach what today we define as Welfare Quality within the European Union( EU), where not only are strategies oriented towards achieving standard improvements designed and carried out, but where an assessment method is also posed for each one.
What Is Animal Welfare( AW)?
If we were made to define this in simple terms, I think the most adequate way of doing so is by referring to the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code
“ animal welfare is how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives”.
But as often happens with such simple definitions, behind this there is a complex process which in many cases is dismissed.
An animal may cope with the conditions in which it lives as from a series of basic principles that include traineeship, specific staging( according to species); individual staging( how that is perceived by the individual: an environment which is a threat to one may not be so for another) and without a doubt, in all this the treatment and management it is subjected to by the people that interact with it is determining, and consequently illustrates the need to optimize every procedure while raising the foals, with yearlings and during break-in, with the tools provided by scientific knowledge regarding equine behavior.
Getting to Know the Horse Better in Order to Ensure its Welfare and Safety
Alteration of Animal Welfare impacts directly on:
• The safety of the animals and humans
• Performance and health
• The image of production
Recent papers have shown that when horses are in a state of discomfort, this is associated with learning problems; low fertility of mares and increase of aggression( Benhajali et al. 2010)
It is important to take into account that our perception regarding behavior is usually an important part of interaction difficulties. What we believe an animal feels( or not), is not often so in the case of horses, and it is then necessary to introduce new and more adequate parameters to replace our interpretation from a human point of view.
The“ personality” or nature of the horse that we observe during its adult life, is simply the result of a combination of genetic characteristics( parents, race), added to environmental factors that condition a great amount of experiences( social relations; relation with people; living conditions, etc.). Thus, the“ temperament” of a horse will be moulded based on the experiences to give it personality, and in this way, the same experience will not generate the same result in different animals( Hausberger et al., 1996. Lansade et al. 2008).
Equine Welfare when Raising the Polo Argentino Breed
Again we find ourselves at a point where the comparative advantages of our environment are way above those of the rest of the world. There is no doubt that breeding Polo ponies in our country is privileged in that it is extensively predominant and so it is easy in that sense to respect the social needs of equines within that context without generating pressure.
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