Horse Welfare in Therapeutic Riding

Horses used in therapeutic riding and equine-assisted therapy programmes play vital roles in human health support, but face specific welfare challenges from their therapeutic work.

Key Facts

Equine-assisted therapy is used for physical rehabilitation, mental health support, and educational programmes globally
Therapeutic horses typically work with multiple clients per day, including individuals with complex needs
Horses show physiological stress responses including elevated cortisol when working with anxious or unpredictable individuals
Burnout in therapeutic horses manifests as learned helplessness, stereotypic behaviours, and reduced willingness
Best practice standards for therapeutic riding include welfare monitoring, workload limits, and regular rest
The Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) in the UK has welfare standards for horses in member centres

Welfare Considerations

Therapeutic horses give enormously to human wellbeing and deserve equally rigorous attention to their own welfare. The emotional and physical demands of therapeutic work require structured rest periods, careful workload management, regular welfare assessment, and retirement planning. Accreditation standards that include horse welfare alongside human therapeutic outcomes are essential to ensure the animals involved in this work are genuine beneficiaries rather than tools.

What You Can Do

Support RDA and similar organisations with strong horse welfare standards
Ask therapeutic riding centres about their horse welfare monitoring and workload management
Donate to organisations providing retirement and aftercare for therapeutic horses
Advocate for horse welfare standards to be mandatory components of therapeutic programme accreditation
Raise welfare concerns if you observe signs of stress or burnout in therapeutic horses