Review of validated welfare scoring systems for horses, including body condition scoring, the Horse Grimace Scale, behavioral assessment tools, and integrated welfare outcome frameworks.
Welfare scoring systems transform subjective assessments into reproducible, comparable measures that can track welfare over time and across populations. For horses, the proliferation of validated assessment tools in recent decades represents genuine scientific progress — we now have evidence-based ways to assess body condition, acute pain, behavioral welfare, and affective state rather than relying on informal judgment. The challenge is translating validated research tools into practical field instruments that horse owners, vets, and inspectors can reliably use in everyday settings. An integrated approach using multiple tools — physical condition, behavior, and environment — provides the most complete welfare picture. Training people to use these tools consistently is as important as developing them.