Good welfare for equids
The White Paper outlines the rationale and provides evidence on what a good life for horses, donkeys and mules looks like.
What does a good life mean for equids?
Ensuring equids (horses, donkeys and mules) live a good life goes beyond simply preventing negative experiences like fear, stress, or discomfort. Genuinely good welfare means actively promoting positive emotional states — such as contentment, joy, pleasure, and happiness.
The White Paper: for better equine welfare
Developed in partnership with Eurogroup for Animals and other leading animal welfare experts and NGOs, our White Paper is a call to action. It offers essential, evidence-based guidance to EU policymakers to inform development of legislation to protect equids.
White paper – Good welfare for equids
Libro Blanco – Bienestar para los équidos
But its relevance doesn’t stop at EU borders. The findings and recommendations are applicable to all equids (horses, donkeys and their hybrids), globally.
What is good welfare and why does it matter?
An equid is considered to have good welfare when they are:
- Healthy and comfortable
- Well-nourished and safe
- Able to express natural behaviours
- Free from pain, fear, and distress
- Have agency (ability to make choices) in some aspects of their lives
Good welfare is not just about avoiding the bad — it’s about promoting the good.
Understanding equine Quality of Life (QoL)
We assess QoL by weighing the balance of positive and negative experiences an animal may have across their lifetime. Here’s how that breaks down:
A good life
The experience balance is strongly positive achieved by going above and beyond minimum welfare standards to promote joy, comfort, and fulfilment.
A life worth living
The experience balance is generally positive achieved through meeting minimum welfare requirements and enabling some positive experiences.
A life not worth living
The experience balance is strongly negative, with persistent suffering that cannot be resolved. In such cases, euthanasia may need to be considered as the most humane option.
(Adapted from Green & Mellor, 2011)
How do we ensure a good life for equids?
Achieving good welfare means enhancing positive experiences and reducing negative ones — something best done using the 5 Domains model of animal welfare assessment, which considers four functional domains:
- Nutrition
- Physical environment
- Health
- Behavioural interactions
- The horse’s experiences in these domains influence the 5th domain – Mental state
Importantly, this model recognises that equids are sentient beings — capable of experiencing both positive and negative emotions.
Why legislation must cover all equids
Equids are among the most versatile animals in our society:
- They are athletes , companions, workers, and food sources.
- They play roles in agriculture, forestry, tourism, and transport.
This diversity means equids often fall through the cracks in animal welfare legislation — caught between rules for farm animals and companion animals. These legal gaps put them at risk of serious welfare issues.
That’s why our White Paper advocates for comprehensive legislation that covers all equids, regardless of how they are used in society or where they are kept.
