Equine-assisted therapy programs provide significant benefits for human participants, but horse welfare in these programs is variable and requires systematic assessment and standards.
Therapy horses give humans enormous benefit, but their welfare requires active protection. Programs that use horses intensively without adequate rest, behavioral monitoring, or client-number limits risk compromising horse welfare. Horses cannot consent to therapy work and may signal distress through behavioral signs that untrained observers miss. Programs with robust welfare standards — including qualified horse behavior assessment, client training, and limits on working hours — achieve better outcomes for both horses and human participants.