Research publications and conference presentations

We aim to share our work widely to encourage learning and stimulate debate on working equine welfare. We list our peer reviewed published papers with links to summaries or full texts wherever possible. A listing of our oral presentations at scientific conferences since 2012 is also provided.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Papers from 2005 to date are listed in reverse chronological order, together with a link to either the abstract or, where available open access, the full text of the paper.

Latest publication

Assessing the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules on the largest scale to date

Rebecca Sommerville, Ashleigh Brown and Melissa Upjohn present the Standardised Equine-Based Welfare Assessment Tool (SEBWAT). Over six years, SEBWAT has been used more than 71,000 times in 11 countries.

Since mid-2014, we have published our work in open access format whenever possible to make sharing easier.

Please contact the Evidence and Research team if you have difficulty accessing a piece of work or would like further information on our research.

Other publications

Download copies of our printed publications and policies including reports, policy briefings, the Sharing the Load manual, the Standardised Equine Based Welfare Assessment Tool and conference papers.

Scientific conference oral presentations

Brooke Country Programme teams, supported by the UK Evidence and Research team, aim to present their work at conferences both within the animal welfare sector and beyond. These include:

  • four yearly International Colloquium on Working Equids, most recently held in 2014
  • biennial World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) congresses, most recently held in 2015
  • biennial Welfare Assessment at Farm Level (WAFL) conferences, most recently held in 2014
  • annual International Society for Animal Ethology (ISAE) conferences and
  • annual Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) symposia

Work is presented at either national and international events, according to the topic concerned and the most relevant audience. Brooke is keen to share learning about working equine welfare that may be of use to others and to stimulate discussion about the importance of this field and application of learning to wider contexts.

Please contact the Evidence and Research team if you would like further information on any of these presentations or for information on those which took place prior to 2012. We are also happy to share on request Brooke posters that have been presented at scientific conferences.

Presentations since 2012 to date are listed in reverse chronological order.

  • Assessment of donkey body lesions and work types using the Brooke’s Standardised Equine Based Welfare Assessment Tool (SEBWAT) in Kenya. (2015) J Kithuka 14th International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics conference, 3-7 November, Yucatan, Mexico
  • Intervention to mitigate Trypanosoma evansi in equids in Qalander community in India: A retrospective study. (2015) D S Mohite, S Singh, S Sharma, A Kumar 14th International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics conference, 3-7 November, Yucatan, Mexico
  • Creating owner demand for animal health service provision. (2015) Laura Skippen, Polly Compston, Aurelie Thomas and Klara Saville, 14th International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics conference, 3-7 November, Yucatan, Mexico
  • Women’s Practices and Donkey Behaviour in Kitui, Kenya. (2015) Kawe N and Kavata L International Society for Anthrozoology, 7-8 July, Saratoga, USA.
  • Formulation of balanced feed for working equids under field conditions. (2014) Kalita J 2nd International Conference on Animal & Dairy Sciences, 15th-17th September, Hyderabad, India.
  • What role do working equids play in human livelihoods and how well is this currently recognised? (2014) Pritchard J. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Voices from women: working equids as ‘invisible helpers’. (2014) Valette D. and Upjohn M. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Contribution of working equids to the livelihoods of their owners in Uttar Pradesh, India. (2014) Zaman, S., Kumar A. and Compston P. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Community-led actions in India: a path-finding approach for sustainable equine welfare India (2014) Kalita, J., Gogoi, P, Ali, M. and Compston, P. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Holistic approaches to monitoring and evaluation of working equid programmatic activities (2014) Kawe, N., Kumar, A., Nawaz, S. and Upjohn M. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Exploring approaches to dentistry in working equids. (2014) Skippen, L., Compston, P., Saville, K., Upjohn, M. and Hirson T. 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids, 1-3 July, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
  • Working equids and livelihoods. (2013) Reed, K. First International Havemeyer Foundation Workshop - Infectious Diseases of Horses and Donkeys, 18-22 November, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Future disease control strategies. (2013) Reed, K. First International Havemeyer Foundation Workshop - Infectious Diseases of Horses and Donkeys, 18-22 November, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Next steps, goals and strategies for Governments and Policies. (2013) Pritchard, J. First International Havemeyer Foundation Workshop - Infectious Diseases of Horses and Donkeys, 18-22 November, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • Superficial Corneal Ulcer in Horses - A Review of 12 Cases. (2013) Bharti, B., Kumar, B., Chittora, R. K. and Varshneya, V. XXXVII Annual Congress of Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery and National Symposium, 6-8 November, Kerala, India.
  • Surgical Management of Upward Fixation of Patella in a Donkey: A Case Study. (2013) Varshneya V., Kumar B. and Bharti B. XXXVII Annual Congress of Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery and National Symposium, 6-8 November, Kerala, India.
  • Surra in working equids in northern India – a review of 8 cases. (2013) Zaman, S. F. The World Equine Veterinary Association conference, 3-5 October, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Measuring improvement in equine welfare using SEBWAT. (2013) Mishra, V. C. The World Equine Veterinary Association conference, 3-5 October, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Evaluation of current methods used to treat back and wither wounds in equines, Guatemala. (2013) Sapon, M. Montufar, M. Upjohn, M. and Fowler, V. Universities Federation for Animal Welfare International Animal Welfare Science Symposium. Science in the Service of Animals: Priorities around the world. 4-5 July, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Methods to improve the welfare of working equines through decrease in prevalence and severity of lip lesions in Mardan, Pakistan. (2013) Shah, S.Z.A. Nawaz, S. Khan, G. Eager, R. Upjohn, M. and Fowler, V. Universities Federation for Animal Welfare International Animal Welfare Science Symposium. Science in the Service of Animals: Priorities around the world. 4-5 July, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Coprological prevalence of helminths in working donkeys and their effect on selected animal based indicators in three KENDAT operation areas, Kenya. (2013) Gichure, Kinyanjui, G., Mwirigi, L.,Ochieng, F., Upjohn M., Fowler, V. 47th Annual Scientific Conference of the Kenya Veterinary Association, 24-26 April, Mombasa, Kenya.
  • Ocular squamous cell carcinoma in a working horse in India. (2013) Bhardwaj, N. and Sachan V. Voorjaarsdagen 46th International Veterinary Conference, 18-20 April, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Hemangiosarcoma of oral cavity in a working horse in India. (2013) Bhardwaj, N. and Singh, K. Voorjaarsdagen 46th International Veterinary Conference, 18-20 April, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Management of colic due to enterolith in a working mare, India. (2013) Mohite, D.S, Zaman, S.F, Upreti, N.C. and Harsola, V.K. Voorjaarsdagen 46th International Veterinary Conference, 18-20 April, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • Bran Disease/Big Head Disease in a Horse: A Case Study (2013) Bharti, B. and Chittora, R.K. 31st Annual Convention of Indian Society for Veterinary Medicine (ISVM). College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, 9-11 January, Mhow, India.
  • Colic in horses: A Review of 96 Clinical Cases. (2013) Chittora, R.K. and Bharti, B. 31st Annual Convention of Indian Society for Veterinary Medicine (ISVM). College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, 9-11 January, Mhow, India.
  • Participatory impact assessment of animal health through collective action to enhance the stake of equine-owning communities. (2012) Ali, M. and Pradhan S.K. The Participatory Epidemiology Network for Animal and Public Health (PENAPH) First Technical Workshop 11-13 December, Chiang Mai, Thailand.