Shifting the Paradigm: Towards a Positive Psychology of Equine Welfare (PPEW)

Background

This Special Issue seeks to reframe contemporary equine welfare discourse by moving beyond an exclusive focus on the identification of negative states towards a more balanced, evidence-based consideration of positive welfare and a good life for horses. Current welfare science has made substantial advances in validating indicators of pain, fear, frustration, and discomfort, including behavioural tools such as the Horse Grimace Scale, structured protocols such as AWIN, and physiological measures, including heart rate variability. These approaches remain essential for safeguarding horses and supporting human safety. However, a predominantly deficit-based framing may unintentionally alienate some equestrian communities, particularly when scientific debate becomes polarised through social media, blame-based narratives, or adversarial welfare discourse.

Drawing on developments in positive psychology, human well-being, and IMPLEMENTATION OF the Five Domains model, this Special Issue argues that equine welfare should be understood along a continuum in which positive, neutral, and negative experiences coexist, and where the cumulative balance of those experiences determines whether a horse has a good life. This perspective is especially relevant in equestrian sport, where challenge, adaptation, learning, and transient stress may occur within otherwise positive and well-managed lives. Central to this reframing is the need to identify, validate, and promote positive indicators of welfare, and to embed practical concepts such as friends, forage, and freedom as core foundations of equine wellbeing. The Special Issue therefore, invites contributions that advance positive, holistic, and constructive approaches to equine welfare science and practice. It aims to support cultural change by encouraging dialogue, reducing defensiveness, and equipping horse owners, riders, trainers, and allied professionals with evidence-based tools to promote good welfare in context. In doing so, it seeks to build a more inclusive and practically relevant welfare paradigm, one that promotes thriving rather than survival alone.

Aims

This Special Issue seeks to catalyze a paradigm shift in equine welfare research and practice by foregrounding positive psychology and strengths-based (positive intervention) approaches.

Potential Topics

Develop and validate indicators of positive affective states in horses, including behavioral, physiological, and cognitive markers of contentment, engagement, pleasure, and positive anticipation.
Apply continuum-based welfare assessment frameworks that contextualize transient negative states within broader evaluations of overall welfare, quality of life, and the balance of positive and negative experiences across time.
Draw parallels with human sport, health, and wellbeing paradigms, exploring how models of positive psychology, resilience, and empowerment might be translated to equine contexts.
Examine the competitive horse as an athlete, investigating how welfare frameworks can accommodate the physiological and psychological demands of training and competition while maintaining ethical standards.

Special Issue Editorial Board

Lead Editor

Prof. Jane Williams, Hartpury University, Hartpury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Institutional Webpage; Google Scholar; ORCID

Guest Editors

Prof. Hayley Randle, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
Institutional Webpage; Google Scholar; ORCID

Prof. Natalie Waran, Navigate Welfare, Hawke’s Bay, Napier, New Zealand
Institutional Webpage; Google Scholar; ORCID

Dr. Lindsay Goodale, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
Institutional Webpage; Google Scholar; ORCID

Special Issue Timeline

Submission Deadline: 31 January 2027
Publication Dates: Articles will be published on a rolling basis starting January 2027.
Average Time to 1st Editorial Decision: 6–8 weeks