An estimated 100 million horses, donkeys, and mules support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries. Their welfare is inseparable from the human welfare of the communities they serve.
Working equid welfare exists in a context of human poverty that must be understood for interventions to be effective. Owners who overload or underfeed their animals are often doing so out of economic necessity rather than cruelty. Effective welfare improvement programmes provide veterinary training, harness fitting guidance, and awareness education that make better welfare economically rational for owners. These programmes achieve durable change because they work with rather than against the owner incentive structure. Punitive approaches that criminalise poor welfare without addressing economic drivers rarely succeed and can harm livelihoods.