Funding: This study was funded by Mars Petcare and is part of a PhD studentship funded by the Scottish Funding Council Research Excellence Grant (REG). Authors WR and MN receive salary support from the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS). With the exception of PH (employed by the funding organization), the funding organization did not have any additional role in the conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. PH was involved in study design, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation. Acknowledgments We wish to extend our gratitude to the local horse owners, veterinarians, farriers and welfare centre managers who volunteered their time to take part in this research. Our thanks also to Dr Charlotte Maltin for supporting recruitment for the study and to World Horse Welfare for their continued interest in the key welfare issues addressed in the present study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
