title: Preventive health care and owner-reported disease prevalence of horses and ponies in Great Britain.
abstract: This study aimed to describe the provision of preventive health care and owner-reported disease prevalence in horses and ponies within Great Britain (GB), and to assess geographical variations in health care provision. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, using a postal questionnaire administered to a random sample of veterinary-registered owners of horses and ponies in GB (n=797). The majority of animals received regular preventive health care: 95.6% had regular hoof care; 71.3% were vaccinated for both influenza and tetanus and median time since last anthelmintic administration was 8.7 weeks. Thirty-one percent of owners indicated their animal was overweight/obese. A new health problem within the previous 7 days was reported for 7.4% of animals, 59.3% of which were veterinary-diagnosed. Thirty-two percent of animals were reported to have a long-term/recurrent condition, of which osteoarthritis (13.9%) was the most prevalent. Obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, and dermatological conditions were the most prevalent conditions affecting veterinary-registered horses/ponies.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Department, Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK. jo.ireland@aht.org.uk
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Wylie
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: K L P
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Verheyen
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Newton
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D003625:Data Collection; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006736:Horses; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Disease prevalence; Epidemiology; Equine; Preventive health care; Survey