3 Aug 2015
Vicki Farr
Job Title
The first Horse Health Week, starting on September 21 as part of the Keeping Britain’s Horses Healthy (KBHH) campaign, has allowed us to give specific focus to equine preventive health care.
To mark the event, MSD Animal Health decided to find out more about the habits of Britain’s horse owners through an online survey with Horse and Hound magazine. The four-minute survey attracted more than 1,000 responses and the results were revealing.
The first major positive was finding 62% of respondents claimed to go to their vet for advice on preventive health, and 67% did so because they believed their vet to be the most knowledgeable on this subject. A total of 27% chose their vet because he or she is friendly and understands the needs of their horse.
While this is a good result it still means 38% of horse owners seek advice from less knowledgeable sources, such as friends and the internet.
This was an issue discussed at a KBHH round table meeting last September, which was attended by a number of equine experts who raised concerns about the number of horse owners relying on advice from unpredictable sources, such as internet forums.
It’s perfectly understandable today that the internet is used as a source of information – we all do it – so, not surprisingly, 53% said they used the internet because it was convenient. Equine vets are possibly missing a trick here when it comes to use of their own digital media. Websites and social media are commonly used as sources of information, so vets, let it be yours they access. This way, not only will you help your clients get accurate, professionally guided information, but you’re also more likely to maintain client loyalty and develop ongoing strong relationships, as opposed to leaving them to look elsewhere.
What further informs us is 35% of horse owners said the reason they don’t go to their vet is because they believe he or she will insist on a visit and examination. This further emphasises the need for vets to provide information at the convenience of their clients, allowing them to make informed and educated decisions regarding their horses’ care. This is also important because 21% said they were worried about wasting their vet’s time – another good reason to help an informed choice.
The survey also gave some indications of the aspects of preventive health care most important to respondents. In order of priority, these included:
This list may not come as a complete surprise, but is a good reminder that all these bases need to be covered by equine vets, with dentistry presenting many vets with an additional opportunity for growth.
Andrew Harrison, partner at Three Counties Equine Hospital and president of BEVA, said: “Many vets are concerned about clients accessing information and advice through ‘Dr Google’, which is understandable, but rather than avoiding the issue, they need to embrace this desire for information. Horse owners are educated, intelligent consumers who have a thirst for information, so this is a chance for vets to engage and be part of the process by directing them to the best and most appropriate websites. This can be readily achieved through our own practice websites and social media.”
The survey then looked specifically at infectious diseases. On this topic respondents were mostly concerned with strangles, with 55% putting this top of their list, and 20% for tetanus. Other diseases owners were concerned about were influenza and herpes virus. The high level of concern about strangles probably reflects the high level of disease circulating.
More surprisingly, however, only 37% believed strangles could be vaccinated against – with the same percentage for herpes virus. This was reflected in the diseases owners claimed to have their horses vaccinated against; only 9% vaccinated for strangles. What was even more startling was only 2% of respondents said their vet had recommended the need to vaccinate.
Clearly, some equine practices need to fill some communication gaps. Also, only around half of respondents claimed their reason to vaccinate was to protect the health of their horse and from other horses that come into contact with their horse. This means the other half of respondents are possibly not fully aware of the risk of disease to their horse, even if it is not in direct contact with other horses.
Josh Slater, professor of equine clinical studies at the RVC, said: “The survey results quite accurately reflect the issues I hear raised at equine vet and owner CPD events. Many owners are less concerned about ‘flu because they know there are effective vaccines available to help prevent against it, and vaccination coverage therefore tends to be quite good. For both ‘flu and equine herpes virus, disease is usually only seen sporadically. As a result, there is little discussion between the vet and owner and, unless there is an outbreak in the area, they are dealt with as part of the annual vaccination cycle.
“As many owners are not aware vaccines are available for strangles, however, fewer horses are vaccinated against the disease than ‘flu, but it is seen more often and this raises concerns for owners. Vets therefore need to be actively engaging with owners to talk about the whole range of infectious diseases and how the vaccines available fit in with the owner’s whole health management plan.
“Vets also need to manage their client’s expectations and understanding of how vaccines work; 100% prevention is unrealistic for any vaccine so considering the preventive health measures appropriate for the wider group of horses, rather than any individual, when discussing vaccination, is vital. Vaccines are most effective when the majority of the ‘herd’ is treated – whether that means the whole yard of horses or the other horses with which it has contact.”
The final section of the survey looked at preventive health care issues other than vaccination. These results showed while 99% of respondents claimed to worm their horses, only 57% targeted the treatment for specific worms at specific times of year, dependent on the results of a worm egg count. This leaves 43% that worm routinely – whether once or twice a year, every three months, or every six to eight weeks.
Of the respondents, 65% said they score their horse’s body condition more than twice a year, which is a positive result, though 17% did this less than twice a year and 18% said they never scored it. The results of checking a horse’s feet were less positive. Only 20% picked out their horses’ feet more than twice a day, while 55% claimed to pick out feet every day. However, disappointingly, 25% were checking their horses’ feet less than a couple of times a week.
When it came to dental care, this again revealed a wake up call for equine vets. Only 39% of respondents said their horses received routine dental treatment twice a year, and 53% once a year. The remainder said their horses received treatment either every few years, only if showing signs of disease, or not at all. This is certainly an area that requires education and attention from horse owners and equine vets.
Mr Harrison added: “Worming is a really important issue and we should be educating owners on strategic worming rather than accepting the practice of blanket worming, which, in my experience, is relatively common – particularly on professional yards.
“Wormer resistance, like antibiotic resistance, is an increasing problem, which may be exacerbated by blanket worming, so even though it can be hard to change mindsets we need to start to break these old habits. Checking body condition is also a vital issue. We probably see more obese horses than we see under-condition horses these days, so regular checks are increasingly important to avoid long-term health issues such as laminitis and equine metabolic syndrome.
“The lack of foot care, which the survey highlights, is lamentable. Regular, at least once daily, foot checks of a stabled horse is part of basic horsemanship. It’s easy and quick to do so educating owners on the importance of checking and picking out feet should be standard practice.
“The results on dental checks are also concerning. Horse owners need to understand annual dental checks are an essential part of their horse’s preventive health care programme. No treatment may be required. However, from experience, significant dental disease can rapidly develop unnoticed by the owner, therefore vets should be doing regular checks at least once a year to avoid this happening.”
While the results of this survey should only be seen as an indication of the behaviour of Britain’s horse owners, it raises some important issues for equine vets.
There are communication gaps in terms of the infectious diseases that raise concern and the levels of knowledge associated with those diseases. Dentistry and caring for a horse’s teeth is a clear area of opportunity for equine vets in terms of providing educational materials and services.
There is also a wide range of broader preventive health care topics that present equine vets with an opening for improving communication, such as taking care of horses’ feet and getting the right nutrition and parasite control.
As found at the beginning of the survey, vets are a trusted source of information. Make the most of it because if vets don’t fill these information gaps, a potentially unreliable and unqualified source will.
