Safety of horse milk to humans and the effects of milking on the welfare of horses

Abstract

Raw horse milk is becoming increasingly popular. This is due to the apparent healing properties. It is still rather unclear for the horse milkers to which regulations they have to comply. With this article it is the intention to clarify this.There were also taken samples of raw milk from twelve horse dairy farms. These milk samples were investigated for possible microbiologic contamination and if working with HACCP lower the microbiologic contamination. Working consciously with HACCP results in a lower total viable count and Enterobacteriaceae. Horses had to adapt themselves to the circumstance. That is why the welfare of horses at horse dairy farms are also investigated. In this research no extreme welfare problems were found.