Transportation of horses and the implications for health and welfare

Abstract

The equine industry is essential to the social and economic wellbeing of Australia, generating approximately $9 billion annually. Transportation is a crucial component of horse management, but there are serious welfare concerns and economic losses associated with transport-related health and behavioural problems. To try to prevent these problems the Australian Code of Land Transportation was published in 2012 with new standards and guidelines based on the most recent research. However, since the Code appeared no new research has been reported and there is no idea as to how the industry complies with the Code. The current literature only reports on epidemiological studies that affect the welfare of horses travelling to abattoirs. They do not consider what best practices should be applied and why horses develop disease after travelling (Chapter 1). Thus, while the physical and physiological stressors of each phase of transportation have been deeply described, there are still many gaps of knowledge on the impacts of transportation on horse health and welfare (Chapter 1). The aim of this thesis was to fill some of these gaps of knowledge collecting data from the Australian transport industry and improving the understanding of the implications for performance horse health and welfare arising from transportation by road. The hypothesis for the first part of the thesis was that there would be an association between the transport management and the development of transport-related behavioural and health problems during and after journeys. In order to address this, an epidemiological study and a questionnaire were undertaken. The epidemiological study aimed to investigate the incidence of transport-related diseases and risk factors for performance horses during a long journey (form Perth to Sydney). Only 3% of horses developed a transport-related disease and journey duration (>20 hours) and season (spring) were identified as risk factors (Chapter 2). The questionnaire explored the most common transport practices and issues in Australia across the different sectors of the equine industry. It was found that 67% of the respondents had experienced a transport-related problem moving their horses over the past two years and that equine transportation management was often not compliant with the Australian Code (Chapter 3.1). Significant associations between the transport management and the development of transport-related health problem were identified. Transport-related injuries were associated with the age of the horse keeper and the use of sedation and protective equipment pre-journey; diarrhoea and heat stroke were more likely to happen in journeys organised by amateurs than professionals (Chapter 3.2). Significant associations were also found between training procedures and transport-related problem behaviours: habituation and self-loading techniques reduced the risk of problem behaviours and subsequent injuries, but they were applied only by 20.2% and 10.8% of respondents (Chapter 3.3). Analysing 214 of transported-related health cases, respiratory diseases was the most frequently reported in Australia and journeys longer than 24 hours were seen to increase the risk for the development of a severe transport-related health problem (gastrointestinal and respiratory problems or death) (Chapter 3.4). Overall, the questionnaire highlighted the need for new welfare indicators, in particular for horses moved over long distances and for identifying horses at risk of respiratory diseases. In order to address this need, the second part of the thesis was composed of two multidisciplinary studies, exploring the effects of a four day journey and of an eight hour journey on horse health and welfare, with particular emphasis on the immunological and respiratory systems (Chapters 4 and 5). The four day journey was associated with changes in the clinical examination, an acute phase response, impaired lymphocyte proliferation, dehydration and a mobilisation of antioxidants. The results supported the hypothesis that a horse’s immunological capacity would be decreased after a long distance transportation predisposing to the development of more severe diseases (Chapter 4). The hypothesis of Chapter 5 was that stress related behavioural and physiological responses to transport would be associated with changes in clinical, haematological, oxidative and respiratory parameters. The tested eight hour journey without water and feed induced an acute phase response, dehydration, mobilisation of antioxidant, fatigue, electrolyte imbalance and an increase in mucus and bacteria (mainly Pasteurellaceae) in the lower respiratory tract. Significant association between the horse behaviour en route, particularly the time spent with the head in an elevated position and the frequency of stress related behaviours, and the increases in mucus, bacteria and free radicals were found. While transport-related health problems are multifactorial, clinical examination including auscultation before and after travel, behavioural observation en route, monitoring of redox-balance and fibrinogen concentrations may aid in the identification of horses at risk of transport-related respiratory disease (Chapter 5). Overall, this thesis provides a better understanding of transportation stress and collects important data from the Australian transport and equine industry. A number of welfare indicators and management practices were recommended to safeguard horse welfare during transport, and new research areas were identified for further studies