According to the 2015 APH Horse Care Survey, horse owners and managers are most likely to make horse health care decisions themselves regardless of whether their horse is kept at home or boarded; they are about three times as likely to make the decisions themselves than to make health care decisions in combination with other professionals, such as barn/farm managers, trainers, and/or veterinarians.
What's best for my horse?
According to the 2015 APH Horse Care Survey, horse owners and managers are most likely to make horse health care decisions themselves rather than relying on veterinarians and other horse professionals.
A change in the alternatives from the previous two surveys makes the responses difficult to compare. Following this general question, respondents were asked mores specific questions regarding vaccinations, deworming, and the use of sedatives.
Vaccinations for Horses
For West Nile Virus, Western and Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis, Rabies, Equine Herpesvirus, and Equine Influenza, a majority of respondents vaccinate once a year (58% - 72%, depending on the vaccine). However, it is not uncommon for respondents to vaccinate against these diseases twice a year (about 20%), with the exception of rabies (only 3.6% of respondents vaccinate against rabies twice year).
Very few respondents vaccinate their horses more than twice a year for any disease. Leptospirosis and strangles are not vaccinated against by as many respondents; 45.4% of respondents do not vaccinate against leptospirosis, and 39.5% do not vaccinate against strangles.
About 78% of respondents purchase vaccines from their veterinarian. Unsurprisingly, veterinarians are overwhelmingly the largest source of influence on the decision to purchase vaccines (66.8%), with price being a distant second (9.1%).
Deworming of Horses
The second set of horse health questions focused on deworming. Respondents were first asked to identify the strategy they used when deworming their horses. Rotational deworming was the most common approach (55.3%), followed by fecal egg counts and deworming according to the results (38.2%), and daily deworming (3.0%). 1.1% of respondents report that they do not deworm their horses.
When asked how often an individual deworms their horses, the most common response was four times per year (27.3%), followed by twice a year (20.9%) every other month (18.7%), and three times a year (16.1%). Respondents also chose the "Other" category often (12.6%), and the most common responses were as needed, based on fecal egg count, or daily.
Over 88% of respondents deworm the horses in their care themselves; 6.6% have their barn managers deworm; these numbers are nearly identical to the 2012 survey. Nearly all horse owners and managers that deworm their horses use a tube/paste dewormer (94.5%); 25.2% report using a gel dewormer.
About half of the respondents (48%) indicate that their veterinarian is involved in developing their horsesâ deworming schedules; this result continues the increasing trend from 2012 (44.3%) and 2009-2010 (15.7%).
Nearly 80% of respondents indicate that they are concerned about drug resistance in parasites; this figure is nearly identical to the 2012 survey. About 50% indicated that their veterinarian had recommended a fecal egg count; almost 54% had actually had a fecal egg count performed.
Ivermectin is the most frequently used dewormer (74.8%), followed by ivermectin/praziquantel (67.1%), pyrantel pamoate (53.8%), and fenbendazole single dose (49.9%). Moxidectin (28.7%), moxidectin/praziquantel (26.9%), oxibendazole (19.4%), fendbendazole multiple dose (18.8%), and pyrantel tartrate (1.5%) are used less frequently.
About 52% of respondents most frequently purchase dewormers at local feed stores; online websites are the second most frequently identified source for purchasing dewormers (36.9%), and farm fleet/chain stores (like Tractor Supply Company or Southern States) are third (26.3%). Veterinarians have the largest source of influence on which dewormers are purchased (35.0%); in addition, price is a common determinant in which dewormers are selected (22.6%).
Horse Sedatives and Tranquilizers
The final set of health care questions focused on the use of sedatives and tranquilizers. These questions are a new addition to the 2015 AHP Equine Industry Survey.
70% of respondents indicated they had used a sedative or tranquilizer product for their horse. These products were most often used for dental work on the horse (79.5%) and veterinary work (75.4%), followed by shoeing (17.0%) and clipping (16.9%). Almost 94% of respondents purchase sedative products from their veterinarian. 6.4% of respondents sometimes purchase sedative products online, and 5.7% sometimes purchase them from a feed store.
Respondents were asked to report their preferences regarding which sedative product they use. 42.5% prefer an injection given by their veterinarian, and 20.9% prefer a sedative dispensed by their veterinarian. Acepromazine was preferred by 16.3% of respondents, Dormosedan Gel by 8.4%, Xylazine/Rompun by 5.9%, and Calm and Cool by 2.8%
Summary
The 2015 AHP Equine Industry Survey follows the 2012 and 2009-2010 surveys. With results from three surveys now, it is possible to better understand participation trends and management practices in the U.S. equine industry, changes (if any) in which issues currently facing the equine industry are perceived as being most critical among those who own or manage horses, and to analyze issues pertaining to horse health.
Four main results can be identified from this horse-care study, and they are outlined below.
- A little over 70% of respondents own/manage the same number of horses they did last year, suggesting a continued increase in stability in the number of horses compared to the previous two surveys. In addition, the proportion of respondents who expect to own or manage more horses in 2016 is a few points higher than the one-year forecast from the previous survey.
- Based on results from the study, it appears that there is also stability in the number of competitions that respondents expect to attend this year and next. Similar to the 2012 survey, most of the increase in competitions is occurring among the younger age groups.
- The relationship between humans and horses is complex. Respondents were most likely to view their horses as family members, companion animals, performance partners, and/or best friends. This is perhaps cemented by the statistic that an estimated 1/3 of horses owned/managed by respondents are idle, retired, or otherwise not working.
- Veterinarians play an integral role in horse health. They have a large influence in vaccination decisions, and it appears that their influence in deworming approaches may also be increasing; there was a slight but noticeable increase in the percentage of respondents who had a fecal egg count conducted.
As in the 2009-2010 and 2012 surveys, the unwanted horse issue (and what to do with them) is still the most important issue facing the industry today; however, the percentage of respondents identifying that issue has been declining (62.9% in 2009-2010, 55.8% in 2012, and 53.7% in 2015). The cost of horsekeeping and overbreeding continue to be important issues, but land-related issues, such as loss of riding areas and competition for open space, appear to be becoming increasingly more important compared to 2012.
From the study, in terms or horse ownership and participation, it appears that the equine industry has stabilized in its recovery from the decline following the Great Recession of 2008-2009. There is some indication that respondents expect to be slightly more active in the future if economic conditions remain constant.