{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T12:03:26Z","timestamp":1773662606101,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773619200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Assessing the welfare of the working horses is crucial for identifying health and management issues and implementing effective solutions. This study evaluated the welfare of working horses in South Darfur, Sudan, by integrating clinical examination with indirect indicators through owner interviews. A total of 400 horse\u2013owner pairs were included. Most horses (61.7%) worked every day, and 77% of owners reported using whips to encourage movement. Clinical assessment revealed that 29.0% of horses were thin, over half had dirty coats, 50.5% harbored external parasites, 43% had abnormal discharges, 25.0% showed poor hoof health, and many exhibited gait abnormalities. Behavioral assessments indicated that fewer than 40% of horses displayed alert attitudes, while over half responded indifferently to stimuli. Horses working daily tended to be thin, have skin lesions, and show gait problems, reflecting poor welfare. Horses with better attitude responses were more frequently fed and worked fewer days per week. Overall, the findings highlight poor physical, behavioral, and management conditions among working horses, emphasizing the urgent need for owner education, training programs, and further research to improve their welfare in the study area.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13030274","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T10:10:43Z","timestamp":1773655843000},"page":"274","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessment of the Welfare of Working Horses: Combining Clinical Evaluations with Indirect Indicators"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Abdallah A.","family":"Basher","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Institute, Darfur University College, Nyala 155, Sudan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4015-2845","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdelkareem A.","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research Institute, Darfur University College, Nyala 155, Sudan"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Science, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gaborone Private Bag 0027, Botswana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1818-5723","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Davies M.","family":"Pfukenyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Science, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Gaborone Private Bag 0027, Botswana"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8529-1147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hao-Yu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0380-9712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohamed Osman Abdalrahem","family":"Essa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Albutana University, Rufaa 22217, Sudan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8993-3507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hosameldeen Mohamed","family":"Husien","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Albutana University, Rufaa 22217, Sudan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1314-8066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed A.","family":"Saleh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal and Fish Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Al-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 11865, Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3722-7220","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Saber Y.","family":"Adam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Institute, Darfur University College, Nyala 155, Sudan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0500-5292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Demin","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","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. 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