Reix Christine E, Dikshit Amit K, Hockenhull Jo, Parker Richard M A, Banerjee Anindo, Burn Charlotte C, Pritchard Joy C, Whay Helen R
School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford House, North Somerset, United Kingdom; The Brooke, London, United Kingdom.
Help in Suffering, Maharani Farm, Durgapura, Jaipur, India.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 21;10(4):e0124342. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124342. eCollection 2015.
Participatory methods are increasingly used in international human development, but scientific evaluation of their efficacy versus a control group is rare. Working horses support families in impoverished communities. Lameness and limb abnormalities are highly prevalent in these animals and a cause for welfare concern. We aimed to stimulate and evaluate improvements in lameness and limb abnormalities in horses whose owners took part in a 2-year participatory intervention project to reduce lameness (PI) versus a control group (C) in Jaipur, India.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In total, 439 owners of 862 horses participated in the study. PI group owners from 21 communities were encouraged to meet regularly to discuss management and work practices influencing lameness and poor welfare and to track their own progress in improving these. Lameness examinations (41 parameters) were conducted at the start of the study (Baseline), and after 1 year and 2 years. Results were compared with control horses from a further 21 communities outside the intervention. Of the 149 horses assessed on all three occasions, PI horses showed significantly (P<0.05) greater improvement than C horses in 20 parameters, most notably overall lameness score, measures of sole pain and range of movement on limb flexion. Control horses showed slight but significantly greater improvements in four parameters, including frog quality in fore and hindlimbs.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This participatory intervention succeeded in improving lameness and some limb abnormalities in working horses, by encouraging changes in management and work practices which were feasible within owners' socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Demonstration of the potentially sustainable improvements achieved here should encourage further development of participatory intervention approaches to benefit humans and animals in other contexts.
参与式方法在国际人类发展中越来越常用，但与对照组相比对其效果进行科学评估的情况却很少见。役用马支撑着贫困社区的家庭。跛行和肢体异常在这些动物中非常普遍，是一个值得关注的福利问题。我们旨在刺激并评估参与了一项为期两年的减少跛行参与式干预项目（PI）的马匹与印度斋浦尔的对照组（C）相比，其跛行和肢体异常情况的改善情况。
方法/主要发现：共有862匹马的439名主人参与了该研究。来自21个社区的PI组主人被鼓励定期会面，讨论影响跛行和不良福利的管理及工作实践，并跟踪自己在改善这些方面的进展。在研究开始时（基线）、1年后和2年后进行跛行检查（41项参数）。将结果与干预区外另外21个社区的对照马匹进行比较。在所有三个时间点都接受评估的149匹马中，PI组马匹在20项参数上的改善显著（P<0.05）大于C组马匹，最明显的是整体跛行评分、蹄底疼痛测量值和肢体屈曲时的活动范围。对照马匹在四项参数上有轻微但显著更大的改善，包括前肢和后肢的蹄叉质量。
结论/意义：这种参与式干预通过鼓励在主人的社会经济和环境限制范围内可行的管理和工作实践的改变，成功改善了役用马的跛行和一些肢体异常情况。此处实现的潜在可持续改善的证明应鼓励进一步发展参与式干预方法，以造福其他环境中的人类和动物。
