Equine welfare is an increasingly important topic in the Netherlands and abroad. While existing literature broadly captures equine welfare concerns, research focused on Dutch horse enthusiasts is sparse. This study aims to identify what aspects horse enthusiasts in the Netherlands consider essential to safeguard equine welfare. An online survey comprising four binary yes-no questions, and 12 open questions was disseminated via social media. Survey data were analyzed qualitatively using inductive thematic analysis. The survey received 875 complete responses. Thematic analysis led to the identification of three higher-order themes: Equine Husbandry, Human-Horse Interaction and Equitation. Aspects relating to Equine Husbandry were mentioned most, suggesting that Dutch equine enthusiasts consider aspects relating to housing and management more important to overall equine welfare. Within this theme, lower-order themes such as the ability to perform natural behavior and feeding were most prominent. On the theme of Human-Horse Interaction, respondents highlighted the importance of understanding horse behavior and human-horse communication to ensure their welfare, as well as ethical considerations for treating horses as sentient beings deserving respect. On the theme of Equitation, various aspects of training the rider and the horse were highlighted, including a sound knowledge of tack and equipment. Respondents emphasized the importance of qualified instruction on horse care and welfare. Despite evident awareness of a wide variety of welfare aspects among equestrians, considerable discrepancy between knowledge and practice persists, pointing to the need for tailored education and training to facilitate better application of welfare principles.
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In Sicht von oben, ‘Powers of Ten’ und Bildpolitiken der Vertikalität (Spector Books, Leipzig, 2022) German media theorist and curator Vera Tollmann analyses the power aspects of the technical view from above. The context here is not so much the first manned flight with a balloon in 1783 in Paris but the iconic 1968/77 short film Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames, which can be considered the first virtual camera trip. Her study can be seen as material image analysis along the lines of Friedrich Kittler’s optical media and is strongly informed by the work of Hito Steyerl. Part one deals with the verticality of the image regime, while part two focuses on the vertical aspect and part three theorizes scale and scalability.
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Interview with German Media Theorist Vera Tollmann on View from Above By Geert Lovink This interview was previously published on October 11, 2023 on Geert Lovink’s blog, Net Critique, at: https://networkcultures.org/geert/2023/10/11/interview-with-german-media-theorist-vera-tollmann-on-view-from-above/
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