Working Equid Welfare: The Economic Value of Working Horses, Donkeys, and Mules and the Interventions That Help Them
- Human(e) Equine Project
- Jan 7
- 5 min read
A scoping review of 84 studies found that working equids are essential to the survival of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries — and that education-based welfare interventions can meaningfully improve their lives when designed with communities rather than for them.
There are an estimated 120 million equids in the world. Of those, roughly 87% live in low- and middle-income countries, where the vast majority perform working roles. They carry water, plow fields, transport goods to market, collect rubbish, haul bricks, and support families whose survival depends entirely on their continued ability to work. They are, in the words of one study cited in this review, "invisible helpers" — essential to communities that rarely feature in equine research, policy, or funding decisions.
This scoping review, published in Animals in January 2026 by researchers at the University of Nottingham in partnership with World Horse Welfare, is one of the most comprehensive attempts to map both the socioeconomic importance of working equids and the evidence base for educational interventions aimed at improving their welfare. It screened over 3,500 sources and included 84 studies across two interconnected questions: what do working equids contribute to the people who depend on them, and what actually works when organizations try to help?
Overview
The review followed the JBI scoping review methodology and PRISMA-ScR framework, searching five major databases and conducting forward and backward citation searches. Studies were eligible if published from 2014 onward and focused on working equids — horses, donkeys, mules, and hinnies — in low- and middle-income countries. Sixty-one studies addressed socioeconomic value, and 23 addressed educational interventions. Research spanned Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and beyond, with Ethiopia, India, and Kenya most heavily represented. Donkeys were the most studied species, consistent with their status as the most numerous working equid globally.
Key findings: Working equid welfare and the value of educational interventions
Working equids are not supplementary income — they are survival. Across the 61 socioeconomic studies, the picture was consistent and stark. In many populations, the working equid was the primary or sole source of household income. One Kenyan study found that 93% of smallholder farmers relied on donkeys as their primary income source, with daily earnings from donkeys five times higher than from other livestock. In Ghana, donkeys contributed up to 60% of household income. In India's brick kilns, donkey owners depended on their animals for virtually all income during the working season. The average monthly income generated from equid use across studies reporting specific figures was approximately USD 217 — for families often living below the poverty line.
The benefits extend well beyond income. Working equids reduce physical labor — often the heaviest burden falling on women — and free time for other income-generating activities, education, and social participation. Multiple studies highlighted their specific value to women: transporting water and firewood, providing direct income, enabling access to healthcare, and increasing social status and community standing. In some communities, women described their donkey as more economically important to the household than their spouse. Working equids were also linked to children's educational outcomes, with their loss due to theft or the hide trade directly reducing families' ability to pay school fees.
Working equids contribute to at least eight UN Sustainable Development Goals. The review mapped working equid roles directly onto the UN's 2030 Agenda, identifying contributions to no poverty, zero hunger, good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, decent work, and sustainable cities and communities. This framing is deliberate — the researchers argue these animals need to be included in policy and funding decisions, and the SDG framework provides the language to make that case.
Poor welfare is pervasive and preventable. Common welfare problems across the included studies included lameness, wounds, poor body condition, parasites, and infectious disease. Many stem from addressable causes: lack of veterinary access, inadequate knowledge of basic husbandry, overloading, unsuitable tack, and long working hours without adequate rest, food, or water. Poor welfare has a direct economic cost — one Ethiopian study estimated that owners lost an average of over USD 1,400 annually due to donkeys being unable to work because of foot problems alone.
Educational interventions work — when they are designed well. Of the 23 intervention studies reviewed, all but one reported success in achieving some or all of their aims. The one failure was a government-run training program whose content and delivery were criticized by participants as irrelevant to their actual needs. Across the successful studies, several features stood out consistently: participatory design (interventions co-created with community members), multilevel targets (addressing owners, farriers, health workers, children, and community leaders simultaneously), and longer timeframes that allowed for behavior change to translate into measurable welfare improvement.
Children are underutilized agents of change. Several studies incorporated children as both targets and ambassadors for welfare education — with notable results. In one Ethiopian program, children who participated in school-based animal welfare clubs persuaded mill owners to provide shade and water for donkeys, convinced parents to seek veterinary care, and challenged community norms around loading and handling. The evidence suggests children can influence adult behavior in meaningful ways and should be included in intervention design more deliberately.
A single training session is rarely enough. Interventions that measured only knowledge and attitudes immediately after a training event could show improvement, but those aiming for actual behavior change and welfare improvement required sustained, multi-component approaches over months or years. This aligns with behavior change research in other fields: information increases awareness, but it does not on its own change practice.
How to apply this in your riding and training
This study sits outside the typical scope of sport horse welfare — but its implications reach anyone who cares about equine welfare as a global reality rather than a local one.
Working equid welfare is equine welfare. The horses, donkeys, and mules described in this research are not peripheral to the equine world — they are the majority of it. Of the estimated 120 million equids on earth, most are working animals in low-income countries. Organizations and individuals engaged in equine welfare advocacy have an opportunity to ensure that policy attention and funding reflect this reality, not just the experience of sport and leisure horses in wealthy nations.
The interventions that work share something important with good horsemanship. The most effective welfare programs in this review were participatory — built with the people affected, not handed down to them. They respected local knowledge, identified barriers honestly, and worked at multiple levels of a community simultaneously. These principles are not unique to international development. They apply equally to any effort to change horse care practices closer to home: education that engages people as partners rather than recipients is more likely to stick.
Supporting organizations working in this space is a direct welfare contribution. World Horse Welfare, The Donkey Sanctuary, The Brooke, and similar organizations are represented throughout this research. Their field programs are among the most evidence-based welfare interventions documented in the literature. For riders, trainers, and horse owners who want their concern for equine welfare to extend beyond their own barn, these organizations represent an established and effective channel.
The welfare of the animal and the welfare of the person are inseparable. The concept of "One Welfare" — that human wellbeing and animal wellbeing are deeply interconnected — runs throughout this review. A donkey with untreated wounds is a family without income. A horse that cannot work is a child who cannot go to school. Improving working equid welfare is not a charitable gesture toward animals; it is an investment in the human communities that depend on them.
Read the study
Cameron, A., Freeman, S. L., Wild, I., Burridge, J., & Burrell, K. (2026). Scoping review of the socioeconomic value of working equids, and the impact of educational interventions aimed at improving their welfare. Animals, 16(2), 165. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16020165
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