Only 30% of show horse owners surveyed in Australia agreed with facial hair trimming ban, new study reveals
New research published in the CABI journal Human-Animal Interactions has revealed that only 30% of show horse owners surveyed in Australia agreed with a ban on the trimming of facial hair prior to its implementation in July 2022
New research published in the CABI journal Human-Animal Interactions has revealed that only 30% of show horse owners surveyed in Australia agreed with a ban on the trimming of facial hair prior to its implementation in July 2022.
The research found that when asked if facial hair trimming should be banned in all equine competitions, most disciplines broadly agreed (60.5% to 84.6%) apart from showing with only 22.9% of respondents agreeing with a ban.
Indeed, some who took part in the research also believed that horses did not need muzzle or ear hairs for day-to-day living.
However, in response to the question on whether facial hair trimming should be banned only in elite sports, all disciplines disagreed strongly with this statement.
The study highlighted that those who entered horses into show competitions believed they were more likely to win if they trimmed their muzzle and ear hair and that the practice was normal and common place in their discipline.
Despite this, equine organizations from around the world – including Australia – banned the practice at competitions on welfare grounds.
This is because the hairs located around the muzzle and eyes have sensory functions that are important to horses.
The hairs are needed to help identify textures of grass and to aid spatial awareness and environmental navigation which is impeded by blind spots in front of their foreheads and below their noses.
Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the University of Newcastle, Australia, surveyed 422 horse owners from Australia of which 85% entered their horses into competitions with showing and dressage being the two most popular types.
Most respondents were female (96%) and lived in South Australia (56%) with a good spread of ages from 18-24 to 55-64, and fewer aged over 65 years.
The study sought to determine the proportions of horse owners trimming equine facial hairs (ear and muzzle hair) across different types of equestrian disciplines in Australia, the types of facial hairs trimmed, whether horses were restrained for trimming, and attitudes related to the practice.
Dr Kirrilly Thompson, a co-author on the paper, from the University of Newcastle, Australia, said, “The results of this study provide valuable insight into the widespread trimming of horse muzzle and ear hairs in some horse disciplines prior to the implementation of the ban in Australia in July 2022.
“The information gained may also be useful for the design and implementation of behaviour change interventions for other management and presentation practices used for horses and other animals.”
The German Equestrian Federation (FN) was the first federation to ban the trimming of whiskers and ear hairs in competitive horses – making it illegal in 1998.
The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) then passed a ban – except for where individual sensory hairs have been removed by a veterinarian to prevent pain or discomfort to the horse – in July 2020.
British Dressage in their 2022 rule changed banned the practice of trimming facial hairs stating: “Trimming of the horse’s sensory hairs around the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears is not permitted as this may reduce the horses’ sensory ability.”
The researchers highlighted that there has been limited studies into how people trim facial hair in horses and attitudes to this practice.
They add that their study provides preliminary results on how widespread the practice was in Australian equestrian sports prior to a ban being introduced, and the reasons and attitudes people in the equine industry have to the trimming of horse facial hairs.
Dr Susan Hazel, lead author of the research, from the University of Adelaide, said, “Further studies are needed to determine if and how the practice and attitudes to facial hair trimming in horses have changed with the enforcement of the ban.
“Findings from the present study, however, may also be useful for understanding and addressing other non-regulated horse presentation practices that can compromise welfare, such as clipping hair from the ear canal and ‘pulling’ manes and tails.”
Additional information
Full paper reference
Hazel, Susan; Holman, Carly; Thompson, Kirrilly, ‘What’s the fuzz: The frequency, practice and perceptions of equine facial hair trimming revealed in survey of horse owners in Australia,’ Human-Animal Interactions, 15 June (2023), DOI: 10.1079/hai.2023.0023
The paper can be read open access from 10:0hrs UK time 15 June, 2023, here: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2023.0023
Media enquiries
For more information and an advance copy of the paper contact:
Dr Kirrilly Thompson, Honorary Lecturer, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Australia – email: kirrilly.thompson@gmail.com
Wayne Coles, Senior PR Manager, CABI – email: w.coles@cabi.org
About Human—Animal Interactions
Human—Animal Interactions is an open access interdisciplinary journal devoted to the dissemination of research in all fields related to interactions between non-human animals and their human counterparts.
About CABI
CABI is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.
Through knowledge sharing and science, CABI helps address issues of global concern such as improving global food security and safeguarding the environment. We do this by helping farmers grow more and lose less of what they produce, combating threats to agriculture and the environment from pests and diseases, protecting biodiversity from invasive species, and improving access to agricultural and environmental scientific knowledge. Our 49-member countries guide and influence our core areas of work, which include development and research projects, scientific publishing and microbial services.
We gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate-General for International Cooperation, and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). Other sources of funding include programme/project funding from development agencies, the fees paid by our member countries and profits from our publishing activities which enable CABI to support rural development and scientific research around the world.
JOURNAL
Human-Animal Interactions
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
What’s the fuzz: The frequency, practice and perceptions of equine facial hair trimming revealed in survey of horse owners in Australia
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
15-Jun-2023
No comments:
Post a Comment