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Horses are cherished companions to humans, often playing many roles throughout their lives, from work and sport to providing emotional support. Ensuring the wellbeing and quality of life of our horses is a priority, even during challenging times such as end-of-life.

Quality of Life (QoL) assessments provide an objective evaluation to guide end-of-life decisions. These assessments include a thorough examination of the horse’s physical, mental, and social well-being.

Veterinarians and horse owners can use these assessments to track how a horse’s wellbeing changes over time, particularly in cases of untreatable chronic disease, severe injury, or age-related decline.

By identifying these changes early, the caretaking team can implement treatment or management changes to improve quality of life, or make the ultimate end-of-life decision to preserve horse welfare.

Read on to learn more about equine quality of life, assessment factors, and making decisions about humane euthanasia so you are equipped to provide your beloved horses with the best standard of care in their senior years.

Quality of Life for Horses

Quality of Life (QoL) is an important concept in veterinary medicine, animal welfare, and animal ownership. The way we manage and care for our animals directly impacts their welfare and wellness.

Animal scientists define QoL as the individual animal’s sense of well-being as they perceive it at any point in time. [1] This includes factors such as: [1]

  • Health
  • Social needs
  • Environmental needs
  • Basic species-specific needs

Determining adequate quality of life for animals is challenging, as they cannot tell us what they are experiencing directly. [2] Additionally, individual needs often vary depending on the animal’s health status, mental state, environment, and other factors. [2]

Setting a minimum standard for quality of life is difficult, as there is little consensus regarding what adequate QoL entails. [2] For example, many experts argue that adequate QoL should go beyond simply coping and meeting basic needs, and should also include aspects of play, exploration, and social engagement that allow an animal to enjoy their life and flourish. [2]

Five Freedoms of Equine Welfare

At a minimum, all animals should have the Five Freedoms met in their day-to-day life: [2]

  • Freedom from hunger and thirst
  • Freedom from discomfort
  • Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
  • Freedom to express normal behavior
  • Freedom from fear and distress

What Factors Affect a Horse’s Quality of Life?

Quality of Life is fundamentally an assessment of the positive and negative experiences in a horse’s life. Most of these experiences can be categorized as impactful to the horse’s physical or mental wellbeing. During Quality of Life assessment, it is also important to consider the effect of the horse’s health on the owner’s QoL.

Physical Wellbeing

Physical wellbeing encompasses both the horse’s physical health and their ability to meet their biological needs. Factors to consider regarding physical wellbeing include: [3][4]

Mental Wellbeing

Although challenging to interpret, the horse’s mental wellbeing is an important part of their overall quality of life and is part of a robust QoL assessment. Factors to consider when evaluating mental wellbeing include: [3][5]

  • Indications of fear or stress
  • Changes in behavior, including aggression
  • Level of interest in their surroundings, handlers, and other horses
  • Level of participation in herd activities
  • Positive or negative interactions with other horses and their handlers
  • Expressions of playfulness and curiosity
  • Signs of boredom or frustration, including stereotypies such as cribbing or weaving

Human-Animal Bond in Quality of Life

Although the human-animal bond does not directly impact the horse’s Quality of Life, it is an important consideration when making end-of-life decisions.

Owners of horses with significant health concerns are susceptible to developing caregiver burden, characterized by increased stress related to the demands of caregiving. [6] This can include treatment-related demands, such as physical demands, time spent, or financial concerns, as well as emotional experiences such as frustration or guilt related to ongoing care. [6]

Caregiver burden can directly impact the owner’s quality of life by affecting their ability to meet their own mental and physical needs. [6] This can also affect the human-animal bond by leading to feelings of resentment, burden, or stress surrounding interactions with the horse. [6]

Factors regarding the human-animal bond to consider include: [6]

  • Feelings of guilt, frustration, anger, stress, or anxiety
  • Financial burden associated with ongoing care
  • Time spent on care for the animal
  • Effect on family and personal relationships
  • Effect on personal health and wellbeing
  • Ability of the caretaker to care for the animal

Assessing Quality of Life

Veterinarians, other animal health professionals, and owners typically perform QoL assessments when making end of life decisions for all kinds of domesticated animals, including horses. [2] These assessments can help owners make objective decisions by providing a clear perspective unclouded by the love, care, and attachment they have for their animal. [2]

QoL assessments are also an important part of making treatment decisions for health problems, as the effect of treatment, recovery, and long-term outcomes on quality of life may change the owner’s decision to pursue treatment. [2]

Currently, there is no single QoL assessment method that is widely used for horses. [1][5][7] Researchers suggest that developing a standardized method would be beneficial for the equine industry as a whole. [5]

Quality of Life Assessment Chart

The following QoL assessment method is adapted from several sources. [1][3][4][5] In the absence of a more widely available tool, this checklist may be helpful for owners to assess their horse’s QoL. Work with your veterinarian if you have specific questions about using this method or are unsure how to interpret your horse’s cues.

When evaluating QoL, it is important to remain as objective as possible, as personal biases can cloud interpretation of the horse’s wellbeing. [5]

If you check “Yes” for any of the parameters on the list, seek veterinary advice.

 

QoL Assessment Parameter
Physical Wellbeing
My horse requires assistance to stand after laying down or rolling
My horse is losing weight
My horse is not eating as much as before
My horse is having difficulty eating
My horse is not drinking as much as before
My horse is not as active as normal, e.g. reluctant to walk, stiff gait, does not move voluntarily
My horse has a dull coat
My horse does not defecate or urinate normally, e.g. diarrhea, straining to urinate
My horse is not breathing normally
Mental Wellbeing
My horse does not interact with me in the same way, e.g. does not come to the gate to greet you
My horse does not interact with other horses in the same way, e.g. stays separate from the herd
My horse seems dull, lethargic, or depressed
My horse’s behaviour has changed significantly, e.g. increased aggression
My horse is showing signs of stress or anxiety
My horse does not show interest in their environment, e.g. no sense of exploration or play
Human-Animal Bond
I no longer have a satisfying human-animal bond with my horse
My horse requires unsustainable levels of treatment, time, or money to stay comfortable
Final Assessment
My horse is having more “bad days” than “good days”
I think my horse has a poor quality of life

After discussion with your veterinarian about treatment options, prognosis, and long-term quality of life, you can use this chart for identifying changes in QoL over time. QoL can be assessed daily, weekly, or monthly, based on the advice of your veterinarian. If you answer “Yes” to any new parameters, advise your veterinarian.

Other strategies include ranking quality of life factors on a scale from 1 – 10 each week. [3][8] Tracking how these rankings change over time can help owners identify declining QoL and provide them insight into their horse’s wellbeing. Similar rankings for caregiver QoL are also recommended.