From Measurement to Meaning: Shifting Focus Toward Positive Welfare Indicators

Jane  Williams; Inga Wolframm

doi:10.64292/ijes.232

Authors

Jane Williams Hartpury University, Gloucester, Hartpury, GL19 3BE, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-3828
Inga Wolframm Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Applied Research Centre, 6882 CT Velp, the Netherlands https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0394-8417

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.232

Keywords:

Welfare Indicators, equitation science, horse–human interaction, automated welfare

References

Crecan CM, Peștean CP. Inertial sensor technologies—their role in equine gait analysis, a review. Sensors 2023;23:6301. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23146301.

Fercher C, Bartsch J, Kluge S, Schneider F, Liedtke AM, Schleichardt A, et al. Applying multi-purpose commercial inertial sensors for monitoring equine locomotion in equestrian training. Sensors 2024;24:8170. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24248170.

Miller M, Byfield R, Crosby M, Lin J. Networked wearable sensors for monitoring health and activities of an equine herd: an IoT approach to improve horse welfare. IEEE Sensors Journal 2024;24:29211–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2024.3436665.

Park T, Hong S, Murray L, Lee J, Shah A, Mesa JC, et al. Wearable smart textile band for continuous equine health monitoring. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2026;292:118073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.118073.

Aarts RM, Siegers EW, Serra Braganca FM, van Weeren PR. Technologies for equine welfare and performance monitoring under field conditions – Where do we stand? Equine Veterinary Journal 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.70092.

Giannone C, Atallah E, Dalla Costa E, Benetti E, Santolini E, Tassinari P, et al. Impact of the technology to monitor horse behaviour and health: a scoping review. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2025;155:105734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105734.

Nowak M, Martin-Cirera A, Jenner F, Auer U. Time budgets and weight shifting as indicators of pain in hospitalized horses. Frontiers in Pain Research 2024;5:1410302. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2024.1410302.

Kirsch K, Strutzke S, Klitzing L, Pilger F, Thöne-Reineke C, Hoffmann G. Validation of a time-distributed residual LSTM–CNN and BiLSTM for equine behavior recognition using collar-worn sensors. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 2025;231:109999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2025.109999.

Seligman MEP, Csikszentmihalyi M. Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist 2000;55:5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.5.

Merkies K, Franzin O. Enhanced understanding of horse–human interactions to optimize welfare. Animals 2021;11:1347. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051347.

Kelly KJ, McDuffee LA, Mears K. The effect of human–Horse interactions on equine behaviour, physiology, and welfare: a scoping review. Animals 2021;11:2782. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102782.

Gamonal Cembraro T, Fernández-Carnero S, Cuenca-Zaldívar JN, Jiménez-Ortega L, Cadeau Comte N, Sánchez Romero EA. How do equine welfare states influence humans and vice versa: Can the welfare of both species be improved if this is considered? Equine Veterinary Education 2025;37:284–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.14103.

Choi Y, Jung Y, Wickens CL, Yoon M. Effects of human stress on horse behavior and interaction quality 2025. https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.03.692157.

Hogg RC, Hodgins GA. Symbiosis or sporting tool? Competition and the horse-rider relationship in elite equestrian sports. Animals 2021;11:1352. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051352.

Williams JM, Berg LC, Clayton HM, Kirsch K, Marlin D, Randle H, et al. A Delphi study to determine international and national equestrian expert opinions on domains and sub-domains essential to managing Sporthorse health and welfare in the Olympic disciplines. Animals 2023;13:3404. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13213404.

Williams JM, Jordan S, Friend L, Kay E, Edmunds M, Flynn H, et al. A move in the right direction: Tracking the traceability of British Thoroughbreds outside of racing. PLOS One 2025;20:e0331968. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0331968.

Corrigan RH, Pierard M, Davies E, Marlin D, Evans S, Williams JM. Development of the human–equine attachment scale. Equine Veterinary Journal 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/evj.70141.

Wolframm IA, Le Belle FA, Elte Y. What is welfare? A qualitative study into perceptions of equine welfare of the Dutch equestrian community. International Journal of Equine Science 2024;3:37–50. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.112.

Bartlett E, Blackwell EJ, Cameron LJ, Hockenhull J. Are we on the same page? A review of horse training approaches, terminology use, and method reporting within the scientific literature. International Journal of Equine Science 2024;3:88–99. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.129.

Marlin DJ, McKechnie-Guire R, Cameron-Whytock H, Lombard A. Tracking horse and rider speed during warm-up and CCI4* short and long format cross-country using a commercial wearable GPS sensor. International Journal of Equine Science 2026;5:60–70. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.212.

Davies E, McConn-Palfreyman W, Parker JK, Williams JM. "If you can walk, if you can breathe, you don't need to go to hospital": Psychological responses of British horseracing staff to occupational injury. International Journal of Equine Science 2025;4:52–71. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.152.

Ole SL, Wolframm I. What does it take? Changing the tide on staffing issues in the equestrian industry. International Journal of Equine Science 2025;4:72–80. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.162.

Tufton LR, Kentzer N, Walters-Symons R. With great power comes great responsibility: equestrian coaches, the real 'influencers' within the equestrian community, share their perspectives on a sustainable future. International Journal of Equine Science 2025;4:147–59. https://doi.org/10.64292/ijes.183.

Kienapfel K, Hartmann E, Preiss B, Bachmann I. Head–neck positions in ridden horses: defining degrees of flexion and their impact on equine behavior and welfare. International Journal of Equine Science 2025;4:107–24. https://doi.org/10.64292/a5c5mj66.