We know that good equine welfare can help make healthier horses. And, according to one French research team, enriched equine clinics could help improve welfare, leading to quicker healing times and a safer environment for hospital personnel. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

We know that good equine welfare can help make healthier horses. And, according to one French research team, “enriched” equine clinics could help improve welfare, leading to quicker healing times and a safer environment for hospital personnel.

“We see improvements in hospitalized human newborns that can benefit from frequent contact with the mother and ‘kangaroo’ therapy (where the baby is ‘worn’ in a carrying system on the mother), so it made sense to see how horse-friendly improvements could help hospitalized horses,” said Cécile le Moal, DVM, of the French Veterinary Faculty of Maisons-Alfort (ENVA). Le Moal presented her study at the 2015 Equine Ethology Day, held April 9 in Saumur, France.

Le Moal separated 12 horses hospitalized at ENVA’s equine surgery clinic into two groups according to age, sex, and reason for hospitalization