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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 (minimum)
Walkways - 5B+ Wide and 5B+ tall (4.5 optional on edges for detailing if using stairs or slabs) (minimum)
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, half 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 maneuver a horse into and out of the stall.

Fundamentals (Information)

Fundamentals - Stalls                                 
Location Horses must always be housed above ground - completely underground stalls are never permitted as they prohibit fresh air, natural light, and are threat to flood. Minimum 50% above ground.
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.
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 5x5 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.
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.

Note: 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.
Note: Foaling stalls are generally bigger, but can be achieved within regulation sizing.


 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 but always recommended addition.





Purpose
A paddock is intended to extend the floorspace of a smaller (interior) stall and allow access to fresh air, grass, and sunlight.





It is not intended for, or substitute to, turning a horse out into a pasture for grazing, exercise, and/or socialization.





Floorspace
 The minimum required area (in blocks) which excludes walls, fences, and doorways.





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 1:3 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).





Shared Space
Paddocks may be shared between stalls provided that the paddocks meet the size requirements of ALL stalls sharing access to it.





Privacy
Horses should always have at least one corner of their stall and/or paddock to hide from sight. Over-socialized horses may become irritable, fearful, or buddy sour.





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)~11x11) 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 (120B). However, this represents the absolute minimum requirement for space and nutrition, we still encourage 15x15B (225B). per horse as standard!

Fundamentals (Information)

Fundamentals - Pastures                                






Purpose
 A pasture is intended to turn a horse out into for passive exercise, socialising, and grazing.
It is not considered the same as a paddock adjacent to a stall -since horses are moved to and from a pasture by athe player.
Occupancy (AsPastures above) It shouldcan only accommodate as many horses as it can sustain the(sustain) grazing of and shelter.shelter for.
Grazing Area
 ItPastures shouldrequire havea sufficientminimum grazingof 120 blocks per horse to sustain the100% horse(s)grass within,feeding even (if additional food is provided.necessary).
RequiredPastures 225require an additional 240 blocks per additional 10 horses to prevent crowding.

120B per horse (~15x15),represents plusthe anminimum additionalto 225sustain blocksneeds/space per- 10more horses.is always encouraged!
Shelter



 SheltersPasture shelter should protect horses from the elements (sun, rain, wind, snow) andwith secure,dry, dryfirm footing. 
ShelterPasture structuresshelter (structures) must be a minimum 5bof 5B tall at the (lowest point,point) from ground to ceiling.roof. Each shelter should have at least 2B tall walls on 2-3+ edges for wind and rain cover.
APasture shelter can count natural shelter of trees if dense enough to offer coverage + meet capacity.
Pasture shelter must offer 3x3 ofminimum sheltered space is requiredfloorspace for each horse,horse (excluding food/feed/water amenities, up to capacity of the pasture. The shelter (or lack thereof) will decide the capacity of the pasture.amenities).

IfBoarding thefacilities 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 haveoffer adequatefull-capacity airstructure flowshelters withininstead roof to allow healthy breathing for the horses.
Natural shelter (excluding boarding facilities) may be sufficient if the biome permits, ifof natural sheltershelter.

is dense enough to shelter from rains and winds.
Security
 Paddocks should

Pastures must be checkedsecure forwith no escape points (breaks in fences, orstep areasups whereto get over the fencefence).

can be jumped).
Fences/walls

Pasture fences must be at1.5-2B+. leastUse 1.5bof (1 fence/wall/block)full fence and ideally 2b+ (Double fence, single with aone half fence on top,top doubleis block)recommended.

Additional                                     
Width
Pastures shouldmust not be (recommended) no narrower than 11 blocks wide.on the shortest edge.
Entry
PasturesPasture entrances (gates) must havebe ata leastminimum twoof 2 block wide and 4 block tall entrances.(headspace).
Terrain
Pastures dowill notideally necessarilyhave needgrass, but it is permitted to have grassdry lots (ifno horsesgrass) are silage fed to supplement) butprovided the footing mustis besoft, softnatural and giving.
giving, such as with dirt, coarse dirt or grass path. Horses will require bales!
Pastures should benot level,have extreme terrain - instead level or gently sloping and avoid many steep inclines (1:3 gradegrade) for no50%+ more than half of the enclosed area).area.

Calculating Pasture Requirements

225BPastures need 120B+ per horse + 225B240B additional per 10 horses.

ToWork determineout howpasture largearea: Multiply the long edge (# blocks) by the short edge = area. This is the inner space excluding fences. 
Work out pasture capacity: Divide the pasture area by 120 = approximate capacity, or use our quick reference chart below!
--- Example: 980B area divided by 120 = 8 Horses. That is 8.1 rounded down to 8 as you cannot accommodate 0.1 of a horse.
Work out pasture shouldlength: be, divide the total blocks required, by a numberIf you wantknow one edge toand be.the capacity, divide capacity by the length and you'll get the width.
--- Example:
2475B (10700 horses)required /capacity 50divided by 30B on one edge = 5024B x(23.3) 49.5 blockswidth.

Pasture Size Chart
Number of horses Base requirement (225/120/h) 10+ horse add-on (225/240/10h) Total
1 225120 0 225120
2 450240 0 450240
3 675360 0 675360
4 900480 0 900480
5 1125600 0 1125600
6 1350720 0 1350720
7 1575840 0 1575840
8 1800960 0 1800960
9 20251080 0 20251080
10 22501200 225240 (1 x 225)240) 24751440
11 24751320 225240 27001560
12 27001440 225240 29251680
13 29251560 225240 31501800
14 31501680 225240 33751920
15 33751800 225240 36002040
16 36001920 225240 38252160
17 38252040 225240 40502280
18 40502160 225240 42752400
19 42752280 225240 45002520
20 45002400 450480 (2 x 225)240) 47252880
21 47252520 450480 49503000
22 49502640 450480 51753120
23 51752760 450480 54003240
24 54002880 450480 56253360
25 56253000 450480 58503480
26 58503120 450480 60753600
27 60753240 450480 63003720
28 63003360 450480 65253840
29 65253480 450480 67503960
30 67503600 450480 69754080

Treatment

AllOur playersserver areis expecteddeeply torooted in respect everyfor animalanimals and player.their Forwelfare. animals,This thisdoes not onlyjust include their amenities in stalls, provision of needs via food, shelter and turnout. It also includes their amenities but also theiroverall treatment. ThisWe includesencourage care(and when* tiedenforce) up,the carefollowing:

  • * Horses should have safe, secure and welfare standard accommodation(s).
  • * Horses should have reliable access to food and water.
  • * Horses should have routine cleaning of stall and turnout spaces.
  • * Horses should be untacked when the playerowner is offline, attentionor do not require the horse for an extended period of time.
  • * Horses should not be left tethered when the owner is offline - as they will be unable to safetyattend whento riding,their breaksneeds.
    • on
  • * longHorses rides,should pettingnot vsbe hitting,harmed thermalor attention,killed andinhumanely languageby towardsany theplayer.
    • horse.
  • Owners Hitting,should take every effort to keep their horse safe while riding (see below).
  • Owners should treat their horse with respect; avoiding derogatory language, andabuse, behavioror likeabandonment.
    • it
will
be

Safety

seen

COMING as abusive and may result in Charges.SOON!

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 anyone 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, merciful death. Any other purposeful death will be considered abusive and may result in Charges.

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