In the rapidly changing context of research on animal health, INRA launched a collective discussion on the challenges facing the field, its distinguishing features, and synergies with biomedical research. As has been declared forcibly by the heads of WHO, FAO and OIE, the challenges facing animal health, beyond diseases transmissible to humans, are critically important and involve food security, agriculture economics, and the ensemble of economic activities associated with agriculture. There are in addition issues related to public health (zoonoses, xenobiotics, antimicrobial resistance), the environment, and animal welfare. Animal health research is distinguished by particular methodologies and scientific questions that stem from the specific biological features of domestic species and from animal husbandry practices.

Generic and methodological synergies nevertheless exist with biomedical research, particularly with regard to tools and biological models. Certain domestic species furthermore present more functional similarities with humans than laboratory rodents. The singularity of animal health research in relation to biomedical research should be taken into account in the organization, evaluation, and funding of the field through a policy that clearly recognizes the specific issues at stake. At the same time, the One Health approach should facilitate closer collaboration between biomedical and animal health research at the level of research teams and programmes.if we just learn to understand what they’re trying to communicate. With keen observation, time and patience, you can learn to read your horse.

The assessment of equine welfare typically involves a number of measures. Among the most common indicators of equine health and welfare management are the degrees to which horses are supervised and provided with preventive and maintenance health care including deworming, vaccination, scheduled nonemergency veterinary health monitoring, dentistry. However, there are diverse and conflicting opinions about what constitutes best practice in routine care, in what ways it may be conditional, and how often and by whom it should be administered. Identifying existing husbandry practices is necessary to determine the welfare status of horses with respect to equine health management, as an indicator of the success or failure of translation of equine health knowledge, and to identify priority areas for owner behaviour change initiatives.