Assessments – HWAC – Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada

Equine Care Assessments

The HWAC Equine Care Assessments have been designed to gather information for educational and improvement purposes and to compare to a welfare standard. In Canada that standard is the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines (the equine Code). The assessments are designed so equine owners and caregivers can evaluate, improve and manage the welfare of equine on their property and / or in their care. The assessment standards are based on the requirements within the Code that was developed by a team of equine representatives and industry specialists.

Owners and caregivers are encouraged to refer to the Equine Code when completing an assessment.

The Approach

The aspects of day-to-day activities that impact the health and welfare of equine have been identified in the Equine Care Assessments. By responding to the statements within the assessment, animal owners and caregivers will be able to assess the welfare of horses including housing, nutrition, health care, husbandry and transport. An assessment can also be used as a reference by equine owners housing or considering housing animals at a boarding or training stable.

HWAC offers the following Equine Care Assessments:

From the list above, click on the assessment that best applies. Complete the assessment on your computer, tablet or phone electronically or print a copy to complete offline.

Each statement requires a response of yes, no or N/A (not applicable). Once the assessment is complete, review the areas that are not in compliant and reference the equine Code or the HWAC equine Code on-line training program to learn how to reach compliance by taking corrective actions.