Opinions of trainers of Warmblood, Thoroughbred and Trotter horses in Germany on the pretraining management of yearlings and two-year-old horses - a qualitative analysis

Background: The early career start of racehorses, the pretraining of two-year-old Warmblood stallions for licensing, and individual housing of young horses increasingly raise animal welfare concerns. Aims/objectives: Assess pretraining practices and the opinion of trainers on housing of young horses, minimum age to commence training and pretraining injuries. Methods: Qualitative interviews with trainers of Warmblood stallions and Thoroughbred and Trotter racehorses (n = 10 each). Results: Pretraining of Thoroughbreds and Trotters began at 18 months, whereas licensing preparation of Warmblood stallions began at 29-30 months. For horses not achieving the expected results, procedures for Warmblood stallions differed from racehorses. Warmblood stallions not meeting expectations were often castrated and trained as riding horses, whereas Thoroughbreds and Trotters remained in training, but intensity was reduced. Warmblood trainers did not report injuries requiring pretraining interruption. Thoroughbred and Trotter trainers suggested tendon damage as an occasional problem. Group housing was not utilized because of the risk of injury due to agonistic behavior, especially among stallions, the difficulty of individual feeding and disruption in a group whenever horses were removed and returned. Straw bedding was used in 28 out of 30 yards and horses were fed 8-10 kg of hay/day. Except for three yards, horses were provided contact with neighbors through bars in the side walls of the stalls. Conclusions: Trainers largely fulfilled legal horse welfare requirements but horses had limited free movement and social interaction. None of the trainers agreed with the suggestion of a minimum age of 30 months for training.