Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2464476 The Veterinary Journal 2012 8 Pages PDF
Abstract

This study reports on aspects of preventive health care and on the prevalence of disease in geriatric (⩾30 years old) horses and ponies in North-West England and North Wales. Of 128 questionnaires mailed to horse owners, 87 useable responses were received and 69 horses were subject to veterinary examination. Of the animals examined, 16% were underweight with body condition scores (BCS) < 2/5, and 10% were overweight (BCS > 3/5). This contrasted with the owner responses that reported 23% of the animals surveyed to be underweight and only 3% to be overweight.When assessed at trot, 77% of the horses were lame on at least one limb, with 97% having a reduced range of motion in at least one joint. Only 16% of these animals were reported by owners to have been lame within the previous 12 months. Owner-reported changes to hair coat were significantly associated with hirsutism or abnormal moulting detected at clinical examination (39%). At least one ophthalmic lesion was identified in all of the horses and ponies examined and 17% of owners reported that their animal had experienced visual problems within the previous year. Although dental abnormalities were detected in all animals where an oral examination was performed, only 42% of owners reported that their horse suffered from a known dental disorder.In general, despite a high prevalence of disease detected in these geriatric animals and with the majority having multiple abnormalities at clinical examination, there was under-reporting/under-recognition of these health problems by owners.

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Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Animal Science and Zoology
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