For the wellbeing of the horse
Equine Philosophy
SAEFIA members hold strong values and beliefs that always place the equine partner(s) and their wellbeing at the core of our work. Horses both inspire and teach us, and through our partnership with these magnificent beings arises quite naturally the desire for us to explore all the ways by which we could create a living environment and horse-human interactions through which he can become the best expression of himself, and thrive alongside us. Below are a selection of philosophies that inform our practices.
The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness
“The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states. Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the
neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviours. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Nonhuman animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.”​
The Five Domains of
[Equine] Animal Welfare
The model evolved from the model of the Five Freedoms by Andy Beck, as a tool for measuring welfare
It has come to light that specifically addressing the affective states of animals, such as they are created through human-animal interaction, needed to be included in order to come to a model that can truly support development of a welfare context in which animals are able to thrive, rather than merely exist.
A key aspect of The Five Domains is acknowledgement that simply minimising or resolving negative physical or mental states does not necessarily result in positive welfare, but may only provide, at best, a neutral state. For animals to thrive, it is necessary to go beyond minimising negatives to focusing on providing them with a life that is filled with positive mental and emotional experiences.