Want to improve your horses’ welfare further, but unsure where to start?

You want your horses to have opportunities to move, graze, rest and spend time with other horses, but making that work with your land, facilities, budget and daily routine can involve difficult decisions. - How well does your current environment meet your horses’ needs? - Which changes could make a useful difference? - What can you do when space or facilities are limited? - How can you support welfare while caring for the land? This course helps you understand how horses’ physical and behavioural needs connect with the environments we create for them. You’ll explore pasture, forage, shelter, movement and social contact, and learn how to assess management options in light of your own circumstances. The aim is to help you recognise opportunities for improvement and make considered decisions, rather than feel you need to create an ideal system all at once. Whether you care for one horse or manage an entire yard, you’ll build an understanding you can return to as your horses, land and circumstances change.

Understand your horses’ welfare needs Explore how physical health, behaviour, nutrition and environment interact, and use welfare frameworks to consider how well your current management meets your horses’ needs.

Identify practical improvements Learn how grazing, shelter, space, terrain, water, forage and social grouping can support welfare, including options to consider when land or facilities are restricted.

Connect horse welfare with pasture management Understand how soil, plants, horses and management influence one another, so you can weigh up decisions that support your horses and the land they live on.

About this course

Good welfare is shaped by everyday management decisions. Where horses live, how they access forage and water, who they spend time with and how freely they can move all form part of that picture. This course brings those connections together. You’ll explore the Five Freedoms, Five Domains and 3 F’s frameworks, then look at what they mean for practical horse keeping. Lessons cover species-appropriate environments, pasture and grazing management, forage, social grouping and environmental factors associated with discomfort, injury and disease. You’ll also consider the compromises owners face and how to work towards improvements within real-world constraints. Scientific explanations, practical activities, quizzes and case studies help you connect the principles with decisions on your own land.

Who this course is for

- Horse owners who want a clearer understanding of welfare-led management - People reviewing their horses’ grazing, turnout or living environment - Owners working with limited land or facilities - Yard managers making decisions for several horses - Equine professionals interested in the relationship between welfare and pasture management You don’t need to be planning a new pasture system. The course can help you review your existing setup and identify changes to consider.

What's included

- 8 chapters and 60 lessons - Self-paced online learning - Quizzes and practical activities - Resources, case studies and further reading - Lifetime access to the course - Lifetime access to the learner community, where you can ask questions and learn from other owners

Explore the course before you decide

The free preview includes the Shelter lesson and its accompanying quiz, giving you a chance to experience the teaching before enrolling.

£75.00

Enrol now Try the free preview

About the Instructor

Sian Constantine is the founder of Hoof & Habitat and an ENFAR Registered Feed Advisor, with a background in biochemistry and life sciences. She combines scientific research with practical horse ownership to explain how grazing management, pasture ecology and horse behaviour interact to influence welfare. Her teaching helps horse owners understand the systems behind everyday management decisions, so they can assess options for their own horses, land and circumstances.

Course Curriculum

8 Chapters · 60 Lessons

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome. Meet Your Instructor & Course Overview

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Diversifying pasture improves more than horse welfare

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      The BRAINS Tool

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Before we start...

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Types of grazing and pasture management

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      3 Frameworks for Welfare

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      The 3 Frameworks compared

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      The Five Domains: The Environment underpins ever other domain

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 2 Conclusion

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz: Welfare

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      The Five Provisions 2016

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      NEW: The Five Provisions 2026

    10. (Included in full purchase)

      The Five Provisions Poster 2026

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction to Module 3

    2. Shelter Free preview
    3. Quiz 1: Shelter Free preview
    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Space and Terrain 1/3

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Space and Terrain 2/3

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Space and Terrain 3/3

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Safety

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Water

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz 2 Water

    10. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage 1/3

    11. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage 2/3

    12. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage 3/3 - Increase Biodiversity

    13. (Included in full purchase)

      Scratch and Roll!

    14. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 3. Conclusion

    15. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz 3 - Forage

    16. (Included in full purchase)

      Additional Reading: Are we accidentally poisoning our horses

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction to Module 4

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Terminology

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Mud: Mud Fever

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Activity: Mud Fever

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Mud: Hooves

    6. (Included in full purchase)

      Mud: RAO/IAD and Colic

    7. (Included in full purchase)

      Mud: Management to prevent mud related issues

    8. (Included in full purchase)

      Slipping Injuries

    9. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage: Related Issues

    10. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage: Ideal Management

    11. (Included in full purchase)

      Forage: Back to Reality

    12. (Included in full purchase)

      Freedom: Movement Related Issues

    13. (Included in full purchase)

      Freedom: Management when land is restricted

    14. (Included in full purchase)

      Freedom: Forage and Water

    15. (Included in full purchase)

      Allergies

    16. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz: Allegies

    17. (Included in full purchase)

      Fighting Injuries

    18. (Included in full purchase)

      Hoof: Related Issues

    19. (Included in full purchase)

      Hoof: Management

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Introduction and Background

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Normal behaviour and social grouping

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      What horses need, and the barriers we face

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz: Freedom

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 6: Species appropriate diet (forage)

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Quiz: Forage

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Summary and Next Steps

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      References

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Further Reading

    3. (Included in full purchase)

      Case Study: Sian and Faith

    4. (Included in full purchase)

      Case Study: Video - Helen and the three musketeers

    5. (Included in full purchase)

      Case Study: Helen and the three musketeers

Frequently Asked Questions

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲? Yes. This is a self-paced online course, so you can work through the lessons when it suits you and revisit topics as you put your learning into practice. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Enrolment includes lifetime access to the course and learner community. You can return to the lessons as your horses, land or management needs change. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? The course explores the barriers horse owners face, including restricted space, and the management options to consider. The aim is to help you assess practical improvements within your circumstances. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? Pasture is an important part of the course, alongside shelter, water, forage, movement, social contact and opportunities for normal behaviour. You’ll explore how these parts of the environment work together to influence welfare. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲? The course helps you understand welfare needs and assess management options. Your horses, land, facilities and circumstances all influence what is suitable, so the teaching focuses on informed decisions rather than prescribing one system for everyone. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀? Yes. Enrolment includes access to the learner community, where you can ask questions, share experiences and learn from other owners. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴? Yes. Select “Try the free preview” to explore the Shelter lesson and its accompanying quiz before deciding whether to enrol.

Build an understanding you can use for years to come

You don’t have to change everything at once. Understanding how your horses’ environment influences their welfare can help you identify priorities and make thoughtful improvements over time. Start with the free preview, or enrol for lifetime access to the full course and learner community. Self-paced online course · Lifetime access

£75.00

Enrol Now Try the free preview