The scientific evidence base for horse social needs is extensive, establishing companionship as a non-negotiable welfare requirement rather than a management preference.
The scientific evidence for horse social needs is now extensive enough to shift the burden of proof: the question is no longer whether horses need social contact but how to provide it in different management systems. Horses are not merely tolerant of social contact - they actively seek it, become acutely distressed by its withdrawal, and suffer measurable physiological harm from prolonged isolation. Meeting this need requires management system change in many traditional equine keeping arrangements, but the welfare obligation is clear and the evidence is incontrovertible.