Academics from Hartpury University have teamed up with the World Breeding Foundation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) to review current practice and existing research, developing welfare guidelines for use across all stages of the sport horse breeding cycle. The evidence-informed guidance will demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to horse welfare and ethical breeding practices.
Hartpury University’s Dr Jane Williams (Associate Professor and Head of Research), Lorna Cameron (Senior Lecturer), Janet Forbes (MSc Applied Equine Science student), Maria Donovan (BSc Equine Science graduate and current MSc Applied Equine Science student) will form the research team, highlighting how staff and students at the institution work together to make an impact through real-world projects.
As part of the process, the team will consult WBFSH members to ensure wide-ranging representation from across the membership. Breeding organisations that make up the WBFSH membership will be interviewed to find out which welfare issues affect each stage of the breeding cycle, how each organisation is applying the Five Domains Welfare Model, and which welfare areas should be prioritised when developing the guidance.
The team will also collate key welfare documents which demonstrate how individual breeding organisations and groups manage horse welfare and showcase current guidance to their members.
Nadine Brandtner, General Manager at the WBFSH said: “We hope this project will help support our members by providing guidance on key welfare considerations, to highlight our social licence and showcase to the wider industry and public how sport horse breeding is promoting ethical breeding practices that enhance the health and welfare of sport horses.”
Hartpury University's Equine department has been busy with a number of industry research projects, including the first ever thoroughbred census, in partnership with British Racing’s Horse Welfare Board.
Lorna Cameron, Senior Lecturer at Hartpury University said: “We’re delighted to be working with the WBFSH; an organisation that takes horse welfare seriously and is committed to ensuring its members are well informed of the most ethical practices in sport horse breeding.
It’s a real privilege for staff and students to work together on a project that can make a real difference to the lives of horses and the humans that are lucky enough to work with them.”
Research forms an important part of life at the Gloucestershire institution and research submitted as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) was recognised as ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’. Students are frequently encouraged to take part in research projects as part of their studies, a concept that received praise in the recent Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) panel summary statements following Hartpury University’s prestigious triple Gold rating.
Horse welfare is a key area of research at Hartpury University. This year, university and college staff and students from the equine department have signed a new Horse Charter, agreeing to be bound by a set of horse welfare principles.
