Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot.

People working in the field of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) often state that they perceive animal welfare as a matter of paramount importance; nevertheless, most scientific literature focuses on the effectiveness of interventions from the user's perspective. Before focusing on the animals' management and welfare during their interactions with users, it is important to ensure animal welfare during their "ordinary lives". This article reports information and considerations about the management of donkeys involved in AAIs in Northern Italy. Six facilities with several years of experience in Donkey-Assisted Interventions were visited for the purpose of an initial data collection regarding the management of donkeys involved in AAIs. Some knowledge gaps regarding the nutritional needs of the donkey and its preventive medicine have been identified; this study also highlighted a need for efforts to create a more stimulating and enriched environment for animals involved in AAIs. Some possible areas for improvement in the management of donkeys involved in AAIs have been highlighted. Further studies are necessary to provide a more comprehensive picture of the welfare of donkeys involved in this context.

Unhandled horses classified with broken/unbroken test (BUT) exhibit longer avoidance, flight reactions, and displacement behaviors when approached by humans.

Horses with a low level of tameness are at higher risk for transport-related disease and injury; hence, European regulations for the protection of animals during transport (EC 1/2005) are stricter for unhandled (unbroken) horses. However, the regulation does not provide adequate tools for unhandled horse identification. The Broken/Unbroken Test (BUT) was developed and validated to easily identify whether a horse is broken (handled) or not. As a further validation step, the aim of this study was to assess whether there is any correspondence between the BUT classification and the behavioral response of the horse. A total of 100 healthy Italian Heavy Draft horses were video recorded when assessed with the BUT. In total, 90 videos (48 handled and 42 unhandled horses) matched the inclusion criteria and were assessed. The behavior of each horse was evaluated by three observers blinded as to the horses' experience with a focal animal continuous recording method. Behaviors were classified in four categories: stress, avoidance, displacement, and aggression. A Mann-Whitney test was used to identify differences in behavioral patterns between horses classified as handled or unhandled with the BUT. Unhandled horses showed not only a significantly longer time to be approached by the handler but also more avoidance and flight reactions (p < 0.001). Unhandled horses showed significantly longer displacement behaviors, such as sniffing (p < 0.001). These findings further validate the BUT classification and confirm that horses classified as unhandled are more prone to show avoidance and flight reactions when approached by humans. For this reason, the adoption of the BUT could be helpful to minimize humans' horse-related injuries and, if applied regularly before loading, to contribute to safeguard the welfare of horses during transport.