Abstract: Native ponies are at increased risk of obesity and metabolic perturbations, such as insulin dysregulation (ID), a key risk factor for endocrinopathic laminitis. Management and feeding practices can be adapted to maintain healthy body condition and support metabolic health, but owners may inadvertently provide their ponies with inappropriate management leading to obesity and exacerbating risk of metabolic disease. Adoption of preventative weight management approaches (WMAs), including regular monitoring of body condition, providing appropriate preserved forage, promoting seasonal weight loss, and using exercise accordingly, are key in supporting native ponies' metabolic health. The factors influencing the adoption of WMAs, such as owners' experience and confidence, require exploration. The aim of the current study was to understand factors influencing owners' likelihood to undertake certain WMAs, to develop our understanding of suitable intervention targets. A total of 571 responses to an online cross-sectional questionnaire were analysed. Mediation analysis revealed that whilst long term (≥20 years) experience caring for native ponies was associated with owners increased, self-reported confidence in identifying disease and managing their native ponies, this did not translate to an increased likelihood of implementing WMAs. Conversely, respondents who managed ponies with dietary requirements related to obesity, laminitis, or equine metabolic syndrome were more likely to use WMAs related to feeding, seasonal weight management and exercise. Owner confidence was assessed and rejected as a mediator of the relationship between experience and WMA use. These results highlight the need for further work that elucidates the pathways leading owners to undertake action against obesity without the need for ponies to develop overt disease, as well as suggesting a need for long term managers of native ponies to update management practices with preventative care as the focus.
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The key finding from the research is that the confidence of pony owners, developed through long-term care and experience, does not increase the likelihood of them implementing weight management strategies for their ponies, despite these strategies being crucial to the animal’s health.
Research Context
Native ponies are prone to obesity and insulin dysregulation, a main risk factor for endocrinopathic laminitis, a disease impacting the hooves of horses.
Adapting management and feeding practices can help maintain a healthy body condition and metabolic health for ponies.
However, inappropriate management can lead to obesity and increased risk of metabolic diseases.
Preventative weight management approaches (WMAs) include regular monitoring of body condition, providing suitable preserved forage, promoting seasonal weight loss, and appropriate exercise.
This research aimed to understand the factors that influence the adoption of WMAs, focusing on the owners’ experience and confidence.
Research Methodology
The researchers conducted an online cross-sectional questionnaire and received a total of 571 responses.
The analysis used in the study is known as mediation analysis. It looks to understand the mechanism or process that underlies an observed relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable via the inclusion of a third hypothetical variable, known as mediator.
Key Findings
Owners with long-term experience (20 years or more) of caring for native ponies have increased confidence in disease identification and management.
However, this confidence does not translate into an increased likelihood of implementing WMAs.
Respondents who managed ponies with dietary requirements related to obesity, laminitis, or equine metabolic syndrome were more likely to use WMAs related to feeding, seasonal weight management, and exercise.
The findings suggest that the owner’s confidence is not a mediator in the relationship between their experience and the use of WMAs.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The findings indicate that further research is needed to understand the pathways that lead horse owners to take action against obesity without waiting for the animal to develop overt disease.
There is also a need for long-term managers of native ponies to update their management practices and focus on preventative care.
Cite This Article
APA
Ward AB, Harris PA, Argo CM, Watson CA, Burns NM, Neacsu M, Russell WR, Grove-White D, Morrison PK.
(2023).
Confidence does not mediate a relationship between owner experience and likelihood of using weight management approaches for native ponies.
PLoS One, 18(10), e0292886.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292886
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