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Unintentionally Overweight: Many Owners Promote Horse-Human Bond With Calories

Equine obesity is considered one of the most pressing welfare concerns for horses in Britain, as many horse owners are unable to recognize that their horses are overweight, a new study shows.

University of Liverpool veterinarians Drs. Tamzin Furtado, Elizabeth Perkins, Gina Pinchbeck, Catherine McGowan, Francine Watkins and Robert Christley found that between 31 and 54 percent of Britain's horses are overweight. More horses than ever are being used as hobbies, meaning that the horse-human relationship and the ability to care of the horse well are central to horse ownership.

Ownership in this manner, which focuses on relationships and time spent together, brings complex dynamics regarding weight into play. Canine obesity is intricately tied to the human-animal bond, in which the dog is “humanized,” blending the line between human and animal. The scientists set out to determine if the same forces were at play in the horse-human bond that might cause owners to feed their horses too much.

British horse owners consistently underestimate how much their animal weighs and they believe a horse's weight is affected by his job and breed. For example, owners may believe that a show horse can be fatter than an event horse and that a draft breed can consistently weigh more than a lighter breed.

To study the issue, the researchers used 16 threads on online discussion boards, and completed 28 interviews with leisure horse owners, and 19 interviews with equine professionals; they also used two focus groups made up of 21 additional horse owners. They discovered that owners found it difficult to determine what “fat” is compare to how they think a horse should look.

When the owners became aware that the horse's weight could be a threat to their health, but could also be changed, they likened the challenge of removing the weight to a war. They believed weight management was difficult and that it would negatively affect the horse-human relationship.

Once an owner recognized that their horse was overweight, they had to shift how they saw the horse—the extra weight not longer indicated that the horse was in good health; it represented a health problem. How the owners thought the horse looked with regards to weight were reflected in the language owners used.

Though owners knew what steps should be taken to remove excess weight from their horses, such as ramping up exercise or limiting caloric intake, they were sometimes reluctant to take the necessary steps for fear of damaging the horse-human bond, the researchers report. The conclude that adjusting the social norm of overweight horses being OK could be done by celebrating and promoting healthy horse weight. They note that management strategies that maximize horse welfare, like living in herds or turnout on dry lots, would make weight management more positive.

Read the full article here.

Ring Ring: New Resources For Vet Clinics Taking After-Hours Colic Calls

Telephone triage is a critical part of modern patient care in both humans and horses. A British study explored how suspected colic cases called into a veterinarian's office were handled; from there the research team created resources to support decision making.

Drs. Katie Lightfoot, John Burford, Gary England, Mark Bowen and Sarah Freeman created an online survey targeting veterinary practices that took calls from horse owners outside of normal work hours. The team used 116 responses in their analysis: half were from veterinary surgeons, a quarter of responders were members of client care teams, 18 percent were management staff and 4 percent were veterinary nurses.

Of the group, management and client care staff felt less confident offering advice to owners and recognizing critical colic indicators, though they were the ones most likely to answer after-hours emergency colic calls. People in these roles often would not offer advice to horse owners who called the clinic, stating that it was not their role to provide suggestions. Often, information that could affect the speediness of treatment were not asked, like those dealing with equine insurance or transportation to a clinic.

The research team then created evidence-based materials that provide current information about colic and support decision-making made by those taking the calls. The materials included a form for recording information from clients and a flow chat for decision making.

Client care teams were then recruited to employ the new resources and provide feedback. The four teams used worked for East Midlands veterinary practices; they were interviewed before they used the resources and six months after their implementation. All teams reported that the information and resources were helpful, and that they had increased confidence in recognizing critical colic cases and offering owners advice.

The success of the standardization of call response led the researchers to suggest that more should be done to ensure veterinary team members were supported for after-hours emergency calls, including by implementing formal training and standardized protocols. They also acknowledged that some barriers to implementation would include the use of computerized booking systems, practice protocol and owner familiarity may be barriers to implementation.

The resources are available for free through the British Equine Veterinary Association website; they can be used in their current form or adapted to suit other requirements.

Read the full study here.

Three Signs That Indicate Colic Is Critical

Colic is the No. 1 killer of horses in the United States. The term encompasses any equine abdominal pain and it is the most-common reason why horses require emergency veterinary care. Though many colic cases are resolved with simple, on-farm medical management, some cases are critical.

Drs. Adelle Bowden, Gary England, Marnie Louise Brennan, Tim Mair, Wendy Furness, Sarah Freeman and John Burford reviewed the clinical notes from 941 colic cases seen by two major equine clinics in England. The study team was able to identify three “red flags” that indicated that a colic case was critical. “Critical” in this case means that the colic required medical or surgical in-hospital care or resulted in euthanasia or death.

There are three red flags were: an increased heart rate, increasing age and abnormal mucous membrane color. The study team determined that of the 941 cases, 225 (23.9 percent) were critical; 18 percent of the critical cases were euthanized and 1 percent of the cases died.

The researchers note that these three “red flag” parameters should be an essential component of the colicky horse's initial assessment. The team suggests further research into the role a horse's age plays in critical cases; clarification is needed on if older horses are more likely to have critical conditions or if owners are more likely to choose euthanasia instead of treatment in older horses.