Animal welfare is attracting increasing interest worldwide, but particularly from those in developed countries, who now have the knowledge and resources to be able to offer the best management systems for their farm animals, as well as potentially being able to offer plentiful resources for companion, zoo and laboratory animals.
This is the first in a series discussing animal welfare. This particular work addresses horses, whose welfare in modern management systems are a subject of major concern. Keeping horses is increasingly popular in the Western world and is of major importance in many developing countries. However, the conditions in which horses are kept are very different from the environment of wild horses, which leads to many adverse effects on their welfare and behaviour. This book describes the development of horse behaviour, and the way in which the management of them affects their welfare. Horses for sport, companionship and work are considered and ways of improving their welfare by better training and management is described. The authors contributing to the series include internationally-recognised scientists from Britain, Ireland, USA and Australia.