Does housing system affect horse welfare? The AWIN welfare assessment protocol applied to horses kept in an outdoor group-housing system: The 'parcours'.

Outdoor group housing is generally reported as being beneficial to the welfare of horses compared to single boxes, being considered to show greater similarities with the living conditions of feral horses, allowing full expression of behaviours such as grazing, social interactions and free movement. However, concerns persist regarding the ability to maintain a good nutritional state and the possibility of acquiring injury. No data reporting a comprehensive assessment of welfare for horses in outdoor group-housing systems are currently available. The present study aimed at applying a scientifically valid welfare assessment protocol to group-housed outdoor horses in 'parcours', a particular management system used in the south of France. 'Parcours' are semi-natural areas, grazed by domestic herbivores located in lowland, mountain, or marsh. One hundred and seventy-one horses older than a year pertaining to six farms and kept on 'parcours' were evaluated by a trained veterinarian using a modified version of the second level Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses. No major welfare issues were detected. Horses in 'parcours' displayed few abnormal behaviours, they could move freely for most of the day and interact with conspecifics, maintaining a healthy state of nutrition and a good relationship with humans. The main welfare concerns were related to the presence of superficial integument alterations such as alopecia, difficulty in reaching quality controlled water sources and a lack of shelter. As the number of facilities involved in this study is relatively limited, further harmonised data collection should aim to enlarge the sample size and allow comparison with different outdoor group-housing conditions.