A new study looks into how humans can hold conflicting thoughts about horse welfare at the same time – and how they reconcile and rationalise their actions to quieten those uncomfortable feelings.

“But my horse is well cared for” is the title quote from the study , published in Animal Welfare, an international journal of animal welfare science. It found these mental processes appear to be “a barrier to change”, and researchers hope the findings can be useful in informing human behaviour change strategies to improve horse welfare.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln took on “a qualitative exploration of cognitive dissonance and enculturation in equestrian attitudes toward performance horses and their welfare”. The dictionary definition of cognitive dissonance is “a state in which

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