Equine professionals' perception of welfare in Mangalarga Marchador horses during competitive events in Brazil: an exploratory cluster and correlation analysis

This study analyzed how equine professionals, people who derive income or professional standing from Mangalarga Marchador horses at competitive events in Brazil, perceive the welfare of those horses, and whether these perceptions varied across professional groups and covaried with management practices, infrastructure and a selection of reported distress indicators. In this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire was administered online between February and November 2024 to a convenience sample of 90 professionals recruited in person at Mangalarga Marchador events and through breeders' online groups. Analyses comprised descriptive statistics, K-means clustering supported by Principal Component Analysis, and Spearman's rank correlation with Bonferroni correction. Four exploratory clusters emerged: positive infrastructure with normalized perception (n = 37); critical welfare assessment (n = 15); stress-aware but resource-adequate (n = 17); and structural limitations with high abnormal repetitive behaviour (n = 21). Cluster membership differed most strongly for access to water and feed, routine monitoring for stress and reported abnormal repetitive behavior (all P < 0.001). All correlations were weak (maximum |ρ| = 0.33) and none survived correction, so they are reported as exploratory. Cluster separation was weak and welfare was not measured directly; the results describe what professionals report perceiving, not the welfare status of the horses. Predominantly positive perceptions among the most involved professionals are compatible with habituation to potentially stressful practices, although this was not tested directly. The findings indicate a need to enforce and audit standardized good practices and to complement professional perception with animal-based welfare measures, since training alone does not guarantee their adoption.