Welfare assessment of working horses in central Darfur, Sudan

Mudathir Y. Abduelrahman; Saber Y.  Adam; Abdelkareem A.  Ahmed; Abdallah A.  Basher; Hamza  A.  Eltahir

doi:10.31893/avr.2024013

Keywords:

Abstract

In Sudan, numerous families depend on working equids for their daily activities. These animals contribute significantly to lives through goods transport, riding, cart pulling, and agricultural tasks. However, there is a lack of information regarding horse welfare in the Wadi Salih district of Central Darfur and even in Sudan as a whole. This study seeks to address this gap by evaluating working horses' welfare issues in Wadi Salih. Data collection involves direct interviews with owners, assessment of horses' general characteristics, observation of behavior, and determination of clinical parameters. A total of one hundred questionnaire sheets were distributed to horse owners for the investigation. The results revealed that 43% of working horses were accustomed to transporting goods via carts, and 49% of the owners provided food to their horses after work. While 36% of them provide food to their horses before and after work and 50% of owners provide water after work, 48% of owners allow their horses to rest during work. The study revealed that 20% of working horses had poor body condition scores (thin), whereas 80% had good body condition scores sores on their ribs and withers. We conclude that working horses in Wadi Salih suffer from various welfare issues, including wounds, heavy loading, lack of shelter, and other problems. Therefore, veterinary education, extension programs, owner awareness campaigns, and further research are needed to improve horses’ welfare in the study area.
References
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4. Arena, I., Marliani, G., Sabioni, S. G., Gabai, D., Bucci, D., & Accorsi, P. A. (2021). Assessment of horses’ welfare: Behavioral, hormonal, and husbandry aspects. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 41, 82-90.
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8. Frohlich, N., Sells, P., Sommerville, R., Bolwell, C., Cantley, C., Martin, J., Gordon, S., & Coombs, T. (2020). Welfare assessment and husbandry practices of working horses in Fiji. Animals.
9. Górniak, W., Wieliczko, M., Soroko, M., & Korczyński, M. (2020). Evaluation of the accuracy of horse body weight estimation methods. Animals, 10(10).
10. Hall, C., Huws, N., White, C., Taylor, E., Owen, H., & McGreevy, P. (2013). Assessment of ridden horse behavior. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 8(2), 62-73.
11. Hausberger, M., Lerch, N., Guilbaud, E., Stomp, M., Grandgeorge, M., Henry, S., & Lesimple, C. (2020). On-farm welfare assessment of horses: The risks of putting the cart before the horse. Animals, 10(3).
12. Helal, I. E., Al-Abbadi, H. A., El-Daharawy, M. H., & Ahmed, M. F. (2022). Enhancement of chronic wound healing with maltodextrin/ascorbic acid gel: A clinical evaluation of distal limb wounds in horses. Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 64(5), 997-1007.
13. Herago, T., Kebeta, M., Alemu, A., & Feyera, T. (2015). Assessment on working donkey welfare issue in Wolaita Soddo Zuria District, Southern Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 14, 867-875.
14. Kelly, K., McDuffee, L., & Mears, K. (2021). The effect of human–horse interactions on equine behaviour, physiology, and welfare: A scoping review. Animals, 11, 2782.
15. Luna, D., Vásquez, R. A., Rojas, M., & Tadich, T. (2017). Welfare status of working horses and owners’ perceptions of their animals. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 7.
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17. Mamo, A. (2019). Assessment on the welfare problem and other management constraints of equines in Debre Birhan Town, Central Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, 22.
18. Mekuria, S., & Abebe, R. (2010). Observation on major welfare problems of equine in Meskan district, Southern Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 22.
19. Momozawa, Y., Ono, T., Sato, F., Kikusui, T., Takeuchi, Y., Mori, Y., & Kusunose, R. (2003). Assessment of equine temperament by a questionnaire survey to caretakers and evaluation of its reliability by simultaneous behavior test. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 84, 127-138.
20. Popescu, S., Diugan, E. A., & Spinu, M. (2014). The interrelations of good welfare indicators assessed in working horses and their relationships with the type of work. Research in Veterinary Science, 96(2), 406-414.
21. Pritchard, J. C., Lindberg, A. C., Main, D. C. J., & Whay, H. R. (2005). Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 69(3), 265-283.
22. Pritchard, J., Upjohn, M., & Hirson, T. (2018). Improving working equine welfare in ‘hard-win’ situations, where gains are difficult, expensive or marginal. PLOS ONE, 13, e0191950.
23. Romero, M. H., Meneses, F., & Sanchez, J. A. (2022). Welfare assessment of horses and mules used in recreational and muleteer work in the Colombian coffee region. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 1031192.
24. Rosselot, P., Mendonça, T., González, I., & Tadich, T. (2019). Behavioral and physiological differences between working horses and Chilean rodeo horses in a handling test. Animals, 9(7).
25. Roth, I. T., Schielke, B., Rensing, M., & Bernau, M. (2021). Comparison of American Quarter Horses competing in Western Pleasure, Hunter under Saddle, and Reining using linear traits. Animals, 11(10).
26. Sinclair, M., Lee, N. Y. P., Hötzel, M. J., de Luna, M. C. T., Sharma, A., Idris, M., Derkley, T., Li, C., Islam, M. A., Iyasere, O. S., Navarro, G., Ahmed, A. A., Khruapradab, C., Curry, M. F., Burns, G. L., & Marchant, J. N. (2022). International perceptions of animals and the importance of their welfare. Frontiers in Animal Science.
27. Uldahl, M., Bundgaard, L., Dahl, J., & Clayton, H. M. (2022). Assessment of skin and mucosa at the equine oral commissures to assess pathology from bit wear: The oral commissure assessment protocol (OCA) for analysis and categorisation of oral commissures. Animals, 12(5).
28. Usman, S., Haimanot, D., Kabeta, T., Zenebe, T., & Kebede, G. (2015). Health and welfare related assessment of working equine in and around Batu Town, East Shoa, Central Ethiopia.
29. van Loon, J., & Macri, L. (2021). Objective assessment of chronic pain in horses using the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS): A scale-construction study. Animals, 11(6).
30. Wild, I., Freeman, S., Robles, D., Matamoros, D., Ortiz, M., Rodriguez, J., & Burford, J. (2021). Owners' knowledge and approaches to colic in working equids in Honduras. Animals.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Abduelrahman, M. Y., Adam, S. Y., Ahmed, A. A., Basher, A. A., & Eltahir, H. . A. (2025). Welfare assessment of working horses in central Darfur, Sudan. Applied Veterinary Research, 3(3), 2024013. https://doi.org/10.31893/avr.2024013

[1] Adam, S. Y., Ahmed, A. A., Musa, H. H., Fedail, J. S., & Musa, T. H. (2022). A comparison between working and nonworking donkeys welfare issues in Nyala City, South Darfur, Sudan. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 118, 104110.

[2] Adam, S. Y., Fedail, J. S., Musa, H. H., Musa, T. H., & Ahmed, A. A. (2023). Working horses welfare assessment and their owners perceive in middle and north Darfur states Sudan. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 259, 105834.

[3] Anderson, M. K., Friend, T. H., Evans, J. W., & Bushong, D. M. (1999). Behavioral assessment of horses in therapeutic riding programs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 63(1), 11-24.

[4] Arena, I., Marliani, G., Sabioni, S. G., Gabai, D., Bucci, D., & Accorsi, P. A. (2021). Assessment of horses’ welfare: Behavioral, hormonal, and husbandry aspects. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 41, 82-90.

[5] Asmare, B., & Zemenu, Y. (2017). Assessment on the management of draft horses in selected areas of Awi Zone, Ethiopia. Agriculture & Food Security, 6.

[6] Dalla Costa, E., Murray, L., Dai, F., Canali, E., & Minero, M. (2014). Equine on-farm welfare assessment: A review of animal-based indicators. Animal Welfare, 23.

[7] Fenner, K., Matlock, S., Williams, J., Wilson, B., McLean, A., Serpell, J., & McGreevy, P. (2020). Validation of the Equine Behaviour Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ): A new survey instrument for exploring and monitoring the domestic equine triad. Animals, 10(11).

[8] Frohlich, N., Sells, P., Sommerville, R., Bolwell, C., Cantley, C., Martin, J., Gordon, S., & Coombs, T. (2020). Welfare assessment and husbandry practices of working horses in Fiji. Animals.

[9] Górniak, W., Wieliczko, M., Soroko, M., & Korczyński, M. (2020). Evaluation of the accuracy of horse body weight estimation methods. Animals, 10(10).

[10] Hall, C., Huws, N., White, C., Taylor, E., Owen, H., & McGreevy, P. (2013). Assessment of ridden horse behavior. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 8(2), 62-73.

[11] Hausberger, M., Lerch, N., Guilbaud, E., Stomp, M., Grandgeorge, M., Henry, S., & Lesimple, C. (2020). On-farm welfare assessment of horses: The risks of putting the cart before the horse. Animals, 10(3).

[12] Helal, I. E., Al-Abbadi, H. A., El-Daharawy, M. H., & Ahmed, M. F. (2022). Enhancement of chronic wound healing with maltodextrin/ascorbic acid gel: A clinical evaluation of distal limb wounds in horses. Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 64(5), 997-1007.

[13] Herago, T., Kebeta, M., Alemu, A., & Feyera, T. (2015). Assessment on working donkey welfare issue in Wolaita Soddo Zuria District, Southern Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 14, 867-875.

[14] Kelly, K., McDuffee, L., & Mears, K. (2021). The effect of human–horse interactions on equine behaviour, physiology, and welfare: A scoping review. Animals, 11, 2782.

[15] Luna, D., Vásquez, R. A., Rojas, M., & Tadich, T. (2017). Welfare status of working horses and owners’ perceptions of their animals. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 7.

[16] Luna, D., Vásquez, R., Rojas, M., & Tadich, T. (2017). Welfare status of working horses and owners’ perceptions of their animals. Animals, 7, 56.

[17] Mamo, A. (2019). Assessment on the welfare problem and other management constraints of equines in Debre Birhan Town, Central Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, 22.

[18] Mekuria, S., & Abebe, R. (2010). Observation on major welfare problems of equine in Meskan district, Southern Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 22.

[19] Momozawa, Y., Ono, T., Sato, F., Kikusui, T., Takeuchi, Y., Mori, Y., & Kusunose, R. (2003). Assessment of equine temperament by a questionnaire survey to caretakers and evaluation of its reliability by simultaneous behavior test. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 84, 127-138.

[20] Popescu, S., Diugan, E. A., & Spinu, M. (2014). The interrelations of good welfare indicators assessed in working horses and their relationships with the type of work. Research in Veterinary Science, 96(2), 406-414.

[21] Pritchard, J. C., Lindberg, A. C., Main, D. C. J., & Whay, H. R. (2005). Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 69(3), 265-283.

[22] Pritchard, J., Upjohn, M., & Hirson, T. (2018). Improving working equine welfare in ‘hard-win’ situations, where gains are difficult, expensive or marginal. PLOS ONE, 13, e0191950.

[23] Romero, M. H., Meneses, F., & Sanchez, J. A. (2022). Welfare assessment of horses and mules used in recreational and muleteer work in the Colombian coffee region. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 1031192.

[24] Rosselot, P., Mendonça, T., González, I., & Tadich, T. (2019). Behavioral and physiological differences between working horses and Chilean rodeo horses in a handling test. Animals, 9(7).

[25] Roth, I. T., Schielke, B., Rensing, M., & Bernau, M. (2021). Comparison of American Quarter Horses competing in Western Pleasure, Hunter under Saddle, and Reining using linear traits. Animals, 11(10).

[26] Sinclair, M., Lee, N. Y. P., Hötzel, M. J., de Luna, M. C. T., Sharma, A., Idris, M., Derkley, T., Li, C., Islam, M. A., Iyasere, O. S., Navarro, G., Ahmed, A. A., Khruapradab, C., Curry, M. F., Burns, G. L., & Marchant, J. N. (2022). International perceptions of animals and the importance of their welfare. Frontiers in Animal Science.

[27] Uldahl, M., Bundgaard, L., Dahl, J., & Clayton, H. M. (2022). Assessment of skin and mucosa at the equine oral commissures to assess pathology from bit wear: The oral commissure assessment protocol (OCA) for analysis and categorisation of oral commissures. Animals, 12(5).

[28] Usman, S., Haimanot, D., Kabeta, T., Zenebe, T., & Kebede, G. (2015). Health and welfare related assessment of working equine in and around Batu Town, East Shoa, Central Ethiopia.

[29] van Loon, J., & Macri, L. (2021). Objective assessment of chronic pain in horses using the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS): A scale-construction study. Animals, 11(6).

[30] Wild, I., Freeman, S., Robles, D., Matamoros, D., Ortiz, M., Rodriguez, J., & Burford, J. (2021). Owners' knowledge and approaches to colic in working equids in Honduras. Animals.

Abstract

References

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