What is horse welfare?

What a lovely question!

For me, it means the horse's wellbeing always, always comes first. Their basic needs are met, movement, stimulation in the paddock, the herd, enough forage, clean water and so on, and these are allowed to take priority over our own need for convenience.

Horse welfare is also about responsibility, making sure we have the time and the money to put the horse's best interests first. For example, giving them veterinary care when they need it, and making sure we have time to look after the horse. Sadly, that is not always a given.