Horse Welfare Standards

Welfare Regulations

These requirements are enacted to help players adapt to standards that will be mandatory on SWE's release. These standards are not only representative of good welfare for horses, but could potentially be integrated as systems impacting horse health and happiness in the mod for future releases.

Note: SWE/M Horses will be mentioned as "horses", while vanilla horses are mentioned as "ponies". This page does not cover pony care.

Building / Barn Principles

The following should always be considered for SWEM horses:

Doorways - 2B+ Wide and 4B+ tall
Walkways - 5B+ Wide and 5B+ tall (4.5 optional on edges for detailing if using stairs or slabs)
Secure - It is recommended:

All barn areas or property access routes have a secure gate to prevent escape.
Make walls or barriers tall enough to avoid escape, check perimeter for blocks they can use to jump over!
Avoid using scalable blocks that horses can hop over (unless 2B+): single blocks, glass pane, bars.
- Non-scalable blocks are 1.5B and include walls and fences.

Horses cannot jump on troughs or feeders unless another block or high shavings level allows them to step up onto it.

Official SWEM servers do not recommend (SWE will not allow) the use of barrier blocks in building to secure escape points.

Food & Water

Horses should always have reasonable access to:

Water - As either a replenishing (infinite) water source or adequately filled water container (trough, barrel)
Food - As either forage (grazing on grass) or feed (quality bale, timothy, alfalfa or sweet feed)

Stalls

Stall requirements are implemented for welfare and safety of both horse and rider. A good sized stall allows a horse space to turn around in, lay down (future feature) and decreases the chances of them getting stuck in walls (small stalls). It allows space for a rider to provide unobstructed feed items, bedding and to safely interact with and manoeuvre a horse into and out of the stall. Too large stalls are discouraged for realism as they have poor thermal efficiency (retaining heat or cool) as well as being an inefficient use of space. Foaling stalls are generally bigger, but can be achieved within regulation sizing.

Fundamentals (Information)

	Fundamentals - Stalls
Location	Horses must always be housed above ground - underground stalls are never permitted as they prohibit fresh air and natural light.
Purpose	A safe sheltered area with dry, comfortable footing and access to constant food and water.
Floorspace	The minimum required area (in blocks) which excludes walls and doorways.
Floorspace	Detail: Troughs, feeders, and shavings can be placed within the stall, they do not impact floorspace.
Footing	Footing must be soft and non-slip, ideally easily cleanable and non-digestible. Unsafe footing will either not be counted for floorspace or be cause for a welfare check/bump to change the footing.
Width / Length	A minimum of 5 blocks (Width x Length) of floorspace to comfortably allow turning, lying down, movement and animal handling.
Height	Stalls should be 5 blocks in height at its lowest point (floor to ceiling)
Sunlight	Stalls should be well lit with an element of natural lighting (ie window, bars, half slabs) but be protected from most direct sunlight.
Sunlight	Detail: Skylights (roof windows) should be 15% or less of stall roof blocks - too much direct sunlight could overheat or sunburn a horse.
Occupancy	With the exception of foaling stalls, stalls are not intended for multiple occupancy unless two regulation stalls are merged and can be blocked off again if needed.

Recommended sizings are SWEM defaults and the size(s) that have been used regularly by beta testers and staff builders. It offers a functional space for the horse, neither too large or too small for the average barn, that looks good and works well with most styles and shapes of barns.

	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	INDEX
4	16	20	24	28	32	36	40	44	48		Not permitted (too small/large)
5	20	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60		Not permitted (poor use of space)
6	24	30	36	42	48	54	60	66	72		Permitted with a paddock (5x5+)
7	28	35	42	49	56	63	70	77	84		Permitted
8	32	40	48	56	64	72	80	88	96		Recommended sizing
9	36	45	54	63	72	81	90	99	108		Foaling stall (Minimum recommended sizes)
10	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	110	120	Foaling stalls are for pregnant mares (V2) and mares with nursing foals. These stalls are expected to be larger than standard regulations for comfort and safety.
11	44	55	66	77	88	99	110	121	132
12	48	60	72	84	96	108	120	132	144

Paddocks

Paddocks are small enclosed 'runs' attached to a stall, it can offer limited grazing space or just outdoor access with soft footing.

Fundamentals (Information)

	Fundamentals - Paddocks
Requirements	Paddocks are only required if the floorspace of a stall does not meet minimum requirements. Otherwise, it is an optional addition.
Purpose	A paddock is intended to extend the floorspace of a smaller (interior) stall and allow access to fresh air, grass and sunlight.
Purpose	It is not intended for, or substitute to, turning a horse out into a pasture for grazing, exercise, and/or socialisation.
Floorspace	The minimum required area (in blocks) which excludes walls, fences and doorways.
Floorspace	Detail: Troughs and feeders can be placed within the paddock, they do not impact floorspace.
Access	If a stall requires a paddock to meet the minimum sizing requirements, horses should have constant access to both areas.
	With shared paddocks, stalls must have a door to close off access to a stall if/when a horse is being fed or temporarily isolated.
	Exception: Short periods of times for feeding, tacking up, awaiting exercise or turnout while owner/stable staff are online.
Sunlight	Paddocks should be uncovered from all but a 1 block wide roof overhang (if applicable).
Terrain	Terrain should be even, or with a gradual slope up/down 3 blocks. Does not necessarily have to be grass but must be soft terrain.
Security	Fences/walls must be at least 1.5b (1 fence/wall/block) and ideally 2b+ (Double fence, single with a half fence on top, double block)
Privacy	Paddocks may be shared between stalls provided that the paddocks meet the size requirements of ALL stalls sharing access to it.

All paddocks should be at least 5 wide x 5 long, but depending on the size of your stall it may be that the width of the external wall varies. Example a 7 x 8 stall could have an 7 x 5 or an 8 x 5 paddock depending on which way the stall is rotated.

As a general rule, we do not recommend paddocks be any larger than 3x the size of the stall, and some larger maximum paddocks do not result in an ideal shape.

Paddock Size Chart (Min/Max)

	Minimum	Maximum
5 x 5	5 x 5	5 x 15
5 x 6	5 x 5	5 x 18	6 x 15
5 x 7	5 x 5	5 x 21	7 x 15
5 x 8	5 x 5	5 x 24	8 x 15
5 x 9	5 x 5	5 x 27	9 x 15
5 x 10	5 x 5	5 x 30	10 x 15
5 x 11	5 x 5	5 x 33	11 x 15
6 x 6	6 x 5	6 x 18
6 x 7	6 x 5	6 x 21	7 x 18
6 x 8	6 x 5	6 x 24	8 x 18
6 x 9	6 x 5	6 x 27	9 x 18
6 x 10	6 x 5	6 x 30	10 x 18
6 x 11	6 x 5	6 x 33	11 x 18
7 x 7	7 x 5	7 x 21
7 x 8	7 x 5	7 x 24	8 x 21
7 x 9	7 x 5	7 x 27	8 x 21
7 x 10	7 x 5	7 x 30	8 x 21
7 x 11	7 x 5	7 x 33	8 x 21
8 x 8	8 x 5	8 x 24
8 x 9	8 x 5	8 x 27	9 x 24
8 x 10	8 x 5	8 x 30	10 x 24
8 x 11	8 x 5	8 x 33	11 x 24
9 x 9	9 x 5	9 x 27
9 x 10	9 x 5	9 x 30	10 x 27
9 x 11	9 x 5	9 x 33	11 x 27
10 x 10	10 x 5	10 x 30
10 x 11	10 x 5	10 x 33	11 x 30
11 x 11	11 x 5	11 x 33

Pastures

Pastures (by SWEM's definition) differ to paddocks as they are generally larger and intended for sustainable longer term grazing, exercise and solo or group turnout of several horses at a time.

Pasture size regulations allows for adequate space (15x15) for each horse and sufficient grazing area to meet the daily nutritional needs of a horse and to sustain a horse fully when out to pasture (225B).

Fundamentals (Information)

	Fundamentals - Pastures
Purpose	A pasture is intended to turn a horse out into for passive exercise, socialising, and grazing.
	It is not the same as a paddock adjacent to a stall - horses are moved to and from a pasture by a player.
Occupancy	(As above) It should only accommodate as many horses as it can sustain the grazing of and shelter.
Grazing Area	It should have sufficient grazing to sustain the horse(s) within, even if additional food is provided.
	Required 225 blocks per horse (~15x15), plus an additional 225 blocks per 10 horses.
Shelter	Shelters should protect from the elements (sun, rain, wind, snow) and secure, dry footing.
	Shelter structures must be minimum 5b tall at the lowest point, from ground to ceiling.
	A 3x3 of sheltered space is required for each horse, excluding food/water amenities, up to capacity of the pasture or the shelter (or lack thereof) will decide the capacity of the pasture.
	If the shelter is not connected to the fence: 2 full walls (connected sides, one long, one short). If the shelter is connected to the fence: 3.5 full walls (connected sides, 1 long, 3 short).
	Shelter must have adequate air flow within roof to allow healthy breathing for the horses.
	Natural shelter (excluding boarding facilities) may be sufficient if the biome permits, is natural shelter is dense enough to shelter from rains and winds.
Security	Paddocks should be checked for escape points (breaks in fences, or areas where the fence can be jumped).
	Fences/walls must be at least 1.5b (1 fence/wall/block) and ideally 2b+ (Double fence, single with a half fence on top, double block)

	Additional
Width	Pastures should be (recommended) no narrower than 11 blocks wide.
Entry	Pastures must have at least two 2 block wide entrances
Terrain	Pastures do not necessarily need to have grass (if horses are silage fed to supplement) but the footing must be soft and giving
Terrain	Pastures should be level, gently sloping and avoid many steep inclines (3:1 grade for no more than half of the enclosed area).

Calculating Pasture Requirements

225B per horse + 225B additional per 10 horses.

To determine how large a pasture should be, divide the total blocks required, by a number you want one edge to be. Example:
2475B (10 horses) / 50 = 50 x 49.5 blocks

Pasture Size Chart

Number of horses	Base requirement (225/h)	10+ horse add-on (225/10h)	Total
1	225	0	225
2	450	0	450
3	675	0	675
4	900	0	900
5	1125	0	1125
6	1350	0	1350
7	1575	0	1575
8	1800	0	1800
9	2025	0	2025
10	2250	225 (1 x 225)	2475
11	2475	225	2700
12	2700	225	2925
13	2925	225	3150
14	3150	225	3375
15	3375	225	3600
16	3600	225	3825
17	3825	225	4050
18	4050	225	4275
19	4275	225	4500
20	4500	450 (2 x 225)	4725
21	4725	450	4950
22	4950	450	5175
23	5175	450	5400
24	5400	450	5625
25	5625	450	5850
26	5850	450	6075
27	6075	450	6300
28	6300	450	6525
29	6525	450	6750
30	6750	450	6975

Treatment

All players are expected to respect every animal and player. For animals, this not only includes their amenities but also their treatment. This includes care when tied up, attention to safety when riding, breaks on long rides, petting vs hitting, and language towards the horse. Hitting, derogatory language, and behavior like it will be seen as abusive and may result in Charges.

Rescue and Destroying

There are two ways to remove a horse from your care. It is very important to note that this is ONLY for the owner of the horse and does not apply to anything not owning the animal.

Rescue

Horses can be donated to the Rescue via the Lost&Found pasture and a Forfeit Horse form. Please fill out the form (2 questions), and leave the horse in Pasture A. A Rescue worker will process the horse and tag in Discord when complete. Please see the Recue Board in-game for more detail.

Destroying

Horses can also be destroyed as long as the owner is the one to destroy the animal. Staff may have to destroy the horse but only under extensive situations. A horse may only be destroyed via a Mercy Blade. It is considered a fast, painless death. Any other purposeful death will be considered abusive and may result in Charges.