The Brooke - A Case Study of a Risk Assessment in Pakistan

Lip lesions in horses, mules and donkeys pulling carts and tongas (people carriages) in Mardan and Gujranwala, Pakistan.

The Welfare Issue

68% of the animals pulling carts and tongas in Mardan and Gujranwala, Pakistan, were found to have lesions of the lips. Such lesions cause continuous pain and may have secondary effects on the animals by preventing eating.

Horse pulling Tonga (people carriage) in Pakistan Lip lesion with extended tissue on a cart horse in Pakistan Donkey cart in Pakistan

The Assessment

254 working equines in Mardan and 120 in Gujranwala were assessed
For each animal, 203 measurements and observations were made
Recorded factors included everything from the rustiness of the bit to the frequency with which the driver pulled the reins during work.
On average the assessment took the team 45 minutes per animal
Each of the assessments (Mardan and Gujranwala) took less than a month.

You can see some examples of forms used in this assessment by looking in the "downloads" on the left of this page.

Dr. Zahir Shah measuring the diameter of a tonga wheel

Measuring lip lesion size with a transparent plastic measuring tool

Measuring the diameter of the bar of the bit

Developing a technique for measuring any extension (deformity) of the lips by calculating a ratio of lengths in lesion-free horses

The Result:

Twenty main factors were found to contribute to lip lesions size severity or presence
- Four of these related to the bit
- Six related to the attitude and behaviour of the owner
- Four related to the animal itself
- Six related to the cart and harness
Bits with a joint in the bar (snaffle style) were found to be far higher risk than bits without joints in the bar. Jointed bar bits had previously been assumed to be the kindest and safest style of bit.
Some examples of other identified risk factors include
- Suspension of the cart
- Absence of nosebands
- Thinness of the animal

Non-jointed bit

Jointed bit with moving rings

Using the results

Seventeen recommendations have been made by the Risk Assessment Team for the design of an intervention that should reduce dramatically and perhaps eliminate the problem of lip lesions in Mardan and Gujranwala.
Many of these recommendations are long term and involve complex behavioural and attitude changes in the equine owning communities.
We are currently working with our Intervention staff to design strategies for introducing these changes to the communities through established community groups, in ways that will be effective and will be “owned” by the communities themselves.
Intervention is implemented by first running smaller-scale studies in the communities to ensure their efficacy and to identify any likely complications.

We can now be confident that we can target all the factors contributing to lip lesions and have a real chance of solving this painful problem.