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Citation

Gehtmane-Hofmane, I., & Nimante, D. (2016). Equine Assisted Interventions: History, development, types and models of practice. In L. Daniela, & L. Rutka (Eds.), Selected papers of The Association for teacher education in Europe: Spring Conference 2015 (pp. 292-307). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Abstract

Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) are recently facing an increasing popularity, and are characterized by a wide diversity of practices. However, information on the welfare of animals involved in this kind of activity is often lacking. Horses are highly susceptible to work stressors related to physical constraints and/or to the need to control emotions while interacting with humans. Considerations of the emotional state of horses involved in EAIs have multiple valences: for the safety of humans and animals involved, for the quality and efficacy of interventions, as well as for ethical reasons. The aim of this unsystematic narrative review is to summarize the different approaches used for the evaluation of horses’ stress responses, investigate their application in the context of EAIs, and discuss some methodological considerations for researchers and practitioners involved in EAI. The sources of information are mostly based on electronic databases (i.e., Medline, Scopus and Google scholar), as well as on hand searches of the references of retrieved literature, and discussions with experts in the field. At present, a few studies have investigated horses’ stress responses during EAIs, and further studies are recommended, with the final aim to derive a reliable multidimensional method for assessing a horse’s reaction during therapeutic programs, ultimately helping professionals to better develop interventions by taking into consideration the animal’s perspective.

Conclusion

The assessment of stress-related behaviors in horses participating in EAIs, together with more objective measures to substantiate interpretations of equine behavior (e.g., physiological assessment), has both ethical and practical applications. Identifying signs of discomfort in horses represents a first step toward a more objective means of evaluating the subjective experience of horses involved in EAIs and minimizing stress during these interventions. This may contribute to promoting healthy and safe relationships between humans and animals, and avoid responses that can pose a danger to both [6,114]. Combining data from a subjective questionnaire assessment (e.g., by experienced caregivers), and objective behavioral observations and testing, can also help in assessing individual differences in adaptation strategies, and selecting horses more suitable for EAIs, as well as searching for the optimal match between the human subject involved in EAIs and the horse.