Equine-assisted therapy uses horses to support human therapeutic goals. The welfare of the horses in these programmes is a critical and often underaddressed concern alongside the human outcomes.
EAT horse welfare is frequently subordinated to human therapeutic goals in programmes that prioritise client access over equine welfare. Horses used in these settings face stressors that most domestic horses rarely encounter: unpredictable handling from individuals with varied abilities, increased physical contact from multiple handlers, noise and sudden movements, and working with clients whose emotional states are often dysregulated. Horses cannot consent to this role and often show stress indicators that are normalised as 'the horse knows best' or 'they love helping people' - anthropomorphising that obscures genuine welfare signals. Welfare-positive EAT requires horse welfare assessment protocols with equal priority to human outcome measurement.