Equine anthelmintics: survey of the patterns of use, beliefs and attitudes among horse owners in the UK.

The research highlights the habits, beliefs and approaches relating to the use of anthelmintic drugs (worm medicines) for horses in the UK, indicating that many horse owners are aware of drug resistance issues, but are fairly comfortable with their current worming program. The study further uncovers dissatisfaction with imposed worming programs in livery settings and a lack of veterinary consultation as an advice source.

About the Study

• The research was conducted via an online survey, reaching out to horse owners in order to understand their beliefs, attitudes and practices related to the use of anthelmintics, which are drugs designed to treat parasitic worms.
• Out of a total of 574 respondents who took the survey, 89 percent of them identified as ‘leisure riders’. These are horse owners engaged in a range of activities such as eventing, dressage, show jumping, hunter trials, hunting, showing, driving and endurance.

Concerns About Anthelmintics Use

• The study showed that there is a general level of awareness and concern among respondents about anthelmintic resistance, which is when worms develop resistance to the drugs designed to kill them.
• Less than 60 percent of all respondents felt comfortable with their existing anthelmintic programme, suggesting some degree of unease or dissatisfaction with current worming protocols.
• A noticeable portion (25 percent) expressed a desire to decrease the use of anthelmintics in their horses.

Livery Yard’s Anthelmintic Programs

• Around 47 percent of the respondents stated that they used a livery, which is a service that provides care and stabling for horses.
• Around half of those respondents noted that the livery imposed a common anthelmintic program for all horses kept on the premises.
• Notably, 45 percent of these respondents were not entirely happy with the livery yard’s worming programme, indicating a level of dissatisfaction with imposed practices.

Advice on Worming

• The study found that less than 50 percent of all respondents had included a ‘veterinary surgeon’ among their sources of advice on worming. This suggests that a considerable number of horse owners are not primarily utilising professional veterinary advice when making decisions about anthelmintics use.