ABSTRACT

Equine obesity is a major welfare concern in the UK, and the problem is thought to be increasing. Leisure horses are known to be most at risk of obesity, yet despite plenty of conjecture, the reasons for this are unknown. This study, therefore, aimed to establish the social and environmental factors which owners considered might contribute to levels of obesity in leisure horses in order to address the problem. This project used qualitative research methods to bring together data from interviews with 28 horse owners and 19 equine professionals, two focus groups, two years of field notes, and 17 threads from equine discussion fora. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. This study determined that the environment around the UK’s leisure horses is “obesogenic”; that is, the environment is structured in numerous ways that make obesity a likely outcome. This is a result of multiple factors related to the changing relationships between humans and their horses in recent decades, which has led to horses being kept for their companionship rather than for their physical abilities as work or competition animals. In addition, commercial environments have been developed to cater for these leisure horses, including livery yards which often have inflexible rules and rich grasses, a heavily moralized feed and equine care industry, and lack of options for “safe” exercise. In these obesogenic environments, horse owners often find it difficult to make changes to their horses’ condition.

摘要

马肥胖症是英国的一个主要福利问题，而且这个问题被认为正在增加。众所周知，休闲马最容易肥胖，尽管有很多猜测，但原因尚不清楚。因此，本研究旨在确定马主认为可能导致休闲马肥胖水平的社会和环境因素，以解决该问题。该项目使用定性研究方法汇集了对 28 位马主和 19 位马业专业人士、两个焦点小组、两年的实地记录以及来自马业讨论论坛的 17 个主题的访谈数据。使用扎根理论方法分析数据。这项研究确定英国休闲马周围的环境是“致肥”的；那是，环境以多种方式构建，使肥胖成为可能的结果。这是与近几十年来人与马之间关系不断变化的多种因素有关的结果，这导致人们饲养马是为了陪伴，而不是为了它们作为工作或竞赛动物的身体能力。此外，还开发了商业环境来满足这些休闲马匹的需求，包括通常规则不灵活且草质丰富的制服场、严重道德化的饲料和马匹护理行业，以及缺乏“安全”运动的选择。在这些致肥环境中，马主经常发现很难改变马匹的状况。这导致人们饲养马匹是为了陪伴，而不是为了它们作为工作或竞赛动物的身体能力。此外，还开发了商业环境来满足这些休闲马匹的需求，包括通常规则不灵活且草质丰富的制服场、严重道德化的饲料和马匹护理行业，以及缺乏“安全”运动的选择。在这些致肥环境中，马主经常发现很难改变马匹的状况。这导致人们饲养马匹是为了陪伴，而不是为了它们作为工作或竞赛动物的身体能力。此外，还开发了商业环境来满足这些休闲马匹的需求，包括通常规则不灵活且草质丰富的制服场、严重道德化的饲料和马匹护理行业，以及缺乏“安全”运动的选择。在这些致肥环境中，马主经常发现很难改变马匹的状况。并且缺乏“安全”锻炼的选择。在这些致肥环境中，马主经常发现很难改变马匹的状况。并且缺乏“安全”锻炼的选择。在这些致肥环境中，马主经常发现很难改变马匹的状况。