What BEVA’s Welfare Discussions Mean for Temporary Stabling

Research shared at this year’s Congress raises important considerations for how welfare-led temporary stabling supports welfare in practice.

Intro

The BEVA Congress this week brings together equine vets and professionals to explore the science behind horse health and welfare. The research and guidance presented at BEVA are relevant far beyond the clinic. For those of us designing and delivering welfare-led temporary stabling, it is an opportunity to reflect on how veterinary thinking can inform the environments where horses rest, recover, and prepare.

The veterinary evidence presented at BEVA has direct implications for stabling. It ranges from how horses respond to work, to the management of infectious disease, and how welfare is demonstrated to the wider public. In practice, these themes translate into four key considerations for those designing and delivering temporary stabling.

1. Welfare Beyond the Arena

Sessions such as ‘Social Licence: Injury Prevention’ and ‘Basics of Subjective Lameness Examination’ underline the close links between health, welfare, and performance. They focus on preventing injury or recognising early signs of lameness. Horses spend more time in their stables than in competition. The conditions of those stables directly influence recovery, behaviour, and readiness to perform. See also our article on Temporary Stables, Permanent Welfare.

At events and on yards, the stable environment shapes how horses rest, recover, and prepare to perform, so temporary stabling must deliver more than shelter alone.

2. Biosecurity and Disease Control

The Congress also includes sessions on infectious diseases, vaccine strategies, and biosecurity – looking at diagnostics, surveillance, and how to manage disease risks in equine populations. These conversations underline a practical truth. Welfare isn’t just about management protocols, but about infrastructure. Non-porous, wipe-clean walling, robust drainage, and thoughtful layouts support thorough and consistent disinfection between uses. They also help reduce cross-contamination risks at busy events or on training yards.

For veterinary-led guidance on disease prevention and biosecurity, see BEVA’s Infection Control resources.

3. Reducing Stress in Welfare-Led Temporary Stabling

Talks on behaviour and stress indicators highlight that signs such as weaving, pawing, or disrupted rest go beyond routine management. They often reflect environmental shortcomings. Features such as ventilation, natural light, adequate space, and noise-reducing build quality all help horses settle more quickly. ‘Temporary’ should never mean compromised when it comes to reducing stress.

4. Professional Care, Not Just Compliance

The programme’s inclusion of social licence reflects a wider truth: veterinary research is shaping expectations across the industry. As one presentation in BEVA’s Social Licence: Injury Prevention session notes, the challenge is to ‘gain insight into how horses respond to work and how to support their performances.’

For many event organisers, yard managers, and professionals, this isn’t about meeting minimum requirements. It is about genuine care for their horses. Welfare-led temporary stabling should be the standard. It is not only required, but also the right way to support health, performance, and long-term trust in equestrian sport.

Close

We are not part of the veterinary debate itself, but we are following the outcomes with interest. BEVA is presenting research on lameness prevention to infectious disease control, which reinforces many of the same considerations that guide our own approach to temporary stabling. For Woodhouse, this means listening carefully to veterinary thinking and applying it through design, materials, and build standards. It is why we continue to innovate in welfare-led stabling: ensuring that horses, and the people who care for them, are consistently supported, whatever the setting.

For more on how welfare is built into every aspect of our approach, see our article: Temporary Stables, Permanent Welfare.