{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T12:20:10Z","timestamp":1780316410795,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,17]],"date-time":"2022-11-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1668643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The welfare of working equids in developing countries is sometimes threatened due to the limited resources and\/or knowledge of their owners. The objective of this study is to evaluate the welfare of creole horses and mules using a validated protocol that assesses animal-based indicators. A total of 160 horses and 40 mules from three municipalities in the Colombian coffee-growing region were evaluated by means of direct observation of health and behavioral parameters. A descriptive analysis of the variables expressed in proportions was performed. Interactions between the different measurements were examined using the Chi-squared test. Spearman correlations were used to relate the measurements. Horses and mules demonstrated friendly behavior in front of the evaluators (78.13 and 61.54%, respectively); apathetic or severely depressed behavior was low (10.7 and 17.5%, <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;gt; 0.05). Significant differences in body condition score (BCS) were observed between mules and horses (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05); eighty percent of the mules and 54.4% of the horses exhibited a healthy body condition score (3 or more on a scale of 1 to 5). Less than 15% of the animals had eye problems, limb deformities, and gait abnormalities. Injuries to the head, withers, spine, ribs\/flank, hindquarters, and hind legs were observed in a frequency between 12.5 and 30.43% of the animals, with a higher frequency in horses (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). Weak correlations (R2 coefficient &amp;lt; 0.5), although statistically significant, were observed between low body conditions and the presence of skin and deeper tissue lesions, systemic health abnormalities, and limb problems (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). The results indicate that owners care for their animals. However, the presence of skin and deep tissue lesions, especially in horses, suggests that they are subjected to high workloads. Therefore, it is essential to train owners in aspects related to the importance of providing their equids with adequate rest periods to recover from work and develop actions to strengthen human-equine interaction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2022.1031192","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,17]],"date-time":"2022-11-17T06:42:16Z","timestamp":1668667336000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Welfare assessment of horses and mules used in recreational and muleteer work in the Colombian coffee region"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Marlyn H.","family":"Romero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fernando","family":"Meneses","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jorge A.","family":"Sanchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2010.08.004","article-title":"Animal traction and transport in the 21st century: getting the priorities right","volume":"186","author":"Pritchard","year":"2010","journal-title":"Vet J."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1623","DOI":"10.1007\/s11250-011-9881-6","article-title":"The role of working equines to livelihoods in current day campesino hill-slope communities in central Mexico","volume":"43","author":"Vel\u00e1zquez-Beltr\u00e1n","year":"2011","journal-title":"Trop Anim Health Prod."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jevs.2012.04.001","article-title":"The relationship between behavioral and other welfare indicators of working horses","volume":"33","author":"Popescu","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Equine Vet Sci."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2015.12.001","article-title":"A welfare assessment scoring system for working equids\u2014A method for identifying at risk populations and for monitoring progress of welfare enhancement strategies (trialed in Egypt)","volume":"176","author":"Ali","year":"2016","journal-title":"Appl Anim Behav Sci."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.5897\/JVMAH10.017","article-title":"Management practices and welfare problems encountered on working equids in Hawassa town, Southern Ethiopia","volume":"5","author":"Mekuria","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Vet Med Anim Heal."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"265","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2005.02.002","article-title":"Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters","volume":"69","author":"Pritchard","year":"2005","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.12804\/territ32.2015.02","article-title":"Paisaje Cultural Cafetero, Patrimonio de la Humanidad. 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