Approximately 100 million working horses, donkeys, and mules provide livelihoods for 600 million people in developing nations. Their welfare is inseparable from the welfare of the families who depend on them.
Working equid welfare is both an animal welfare issue and a rural development issue: healthy working horses and donkeys are more productive, live longer, and create more economic value for the families who depend on them. The welfare interventions most impactful in this context are practical and field-adaptable: correct harness fitting to prevent sores, load management to prevent exhaustion, provision of adequate water and rest during working hours, and basic veterinary care for wounds and disease. International organisations like Brooke and SPANA work within these communities to provide training, mobile veterinary services, and improved equipment. Supporting these programs is a high-impact welfare intervention that simultaneously improves animal welfare and the livelihoods of the rural poor whose animals make their farming possible.