12/08/2026
Today I had the privilege of presenting important research on professional caregivers’ perceptions of equine weight management interventions and the impact they can have on both the horse and their human caregivers.
There was a lot of engagement with the study findings and I enjoyed chatting to other delegates in the breaks.
🐴 Can weight management create new welfare challenges?
Managing obesity is essential for protecting equine health, but what happens when the interventions used to reduce weight begin to affect other aspects of welfare?
Liane Preshaw and colleagues explored the experiences of professional caregivers working within an equine welfare charity, looking at their perceptions of current weight management interventions and where improvements could be made.
Caregivers raised concerns that some approaches, particularly restricted grazing and forage provision, could contribute to hunger, frustration and changes in behaviour. Participants described increased agonistic behaviour around forage and potentially dangerous situations for caregivers, including biting, kicking and difficulties catching or leading horses.
Importantly, caregivers also described the emotional impact of implementing management practices that sometimes conflicted with their own beliefs about good equine welfare. Suggestions for improvement included encouraging greater movement, enhancing forage provision, providing enriched environments and using non grass turnout where appropriate.
The presentation highlighted that successful weight management should consider more than changes in weight or body condition. Behaviour, mental state and the experiences of the people providing day to day care also matter.
Collaboration between caregivers, organisations and other stakeholders may therefore be an important part of developing weight management strategies that protect both physical and behavioural welfare.
