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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / ‘I want to be the sort of owner that he wants me to be...
Equine veterinary journal2024; 57(1); 183-192; doi: 10.1111/evj.14047

‘I want to be the sort of owner that he wants me to be’: Rationales for biosecurity implementation among British horse owners.

Abstract: Horse owners play a critical role in mitigating the risk of pathogen spread between horses. However, little is known about how they view biosecurity and whether they experience barriers to the uptake of preventive measures. Objective: To explore horse owners' attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of biosecurity and identify how these factors shape horse owners' decisions for biosecurity implementation. Methods: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 23 horse owners across Great Britain. Participants were purposively selected to include those in different geographic regions, with different management arrangements, and varied length of horse ownership experience. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a critical realist thematic analysis. Results: Participants felt a moral obligation to prioritise their horse's happiness, which became a challenge when certain biosecurity measures (e.g., quarantine) were perceived as compromising their horse's happiness or comfort (Theme 1). A lack of biosecurity was the social norm among shared yards and competition venues (Theme 2), which made it difficult for participants to implement biosecurity measures effectively on their own. Combined with the sense of moral obligation participants felt towards their horse, this meant that participants had to 'care double' (i.e., be more vigilant than they would otherwise) to compensate for collective inaction (Theme 3). Conclusions: Participants may have been more interested in and/or knowledgeable about biosecurity than the general horse owning population. Conclusions: The findings highlight several challenges that could be addressed to improve biosecurity implementation among horse owners. Efforts to encourage improved uptake of biosecurity measures should focus on communicating how reducing the risk of disease aligns with horse care. Further research on social norms in the horse industry is needed, in addition to identifying strategies to encourage a collective adoption of biosecurity measures.
© 2024 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2024-01-04 PubMed ID: 38177092PubMed Central: PMC11616952DOI: 10.1111/evj.14047Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research focuses on exploring the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of British horse owners with regards to biosecurity, and how these factors influence their decisions to implement these measures. The study discovered challenges in implementing biosecurity resulting from societal norms and individual moral obligations towards their horses.

Study Overview

  • The research employed a qualitative study method, using semi-structured interviews to gather data.
  • The interviews were conducted with 23 horse owners across Great Britain. The selection of participants took diverse factors into account such as geographic regions, different management arrangements, and varied length of horse ownership experience.
  • The collected data was then transcribed and analyzed using a critical realist thematic analysis, which helped to shed light on several obstacles affecting biosecurity implementation among horse owners.

Key Findings

  • Firstly, among participants, there was a strong feeling of moral obligation to prioritise their horse’s happiness. However, implementing some biosecurity measures, such as quarantine, often led them to believe they were compromising the happiness or comfort of their horses which made implementation challenging.
  • Secondly, the study found a general lack of biosecurity to be a social norm particularly among shared yards and competition venues, making it difficult for participants to effectively implement biosecurity measures on their own.
  • Combined with the sense of moral obligation horse owners felt towards their horses, this social norm meant that participants had to be twice as vigilant or “care double” to counter for the collective inaction in terms of biosecurity.

Conclusion and Suggestions

  • It was noted that those participating in the study may have been more interested in and/or knowledgeable about biosecurity than the general horse-owning population, thus suggesting that the results may not be fully representative of the larger group.
  • The study concluded by identifying the need to address these challenges to improve biosecurity implementation among horse owners. The suggestion was made that efforts should focus on showing horse owners how reducing the risk of disease aligns with horse care, which is a priority for them.
  • The study also recommended further research into social norms within the horse industry and the development of strategies to encourage the collective adoption of biosecurity measures.

Cite This Article

APA
Spence KL, Rosanowski SM, Slater J, Cardwell JM. (2024). ‘I want to be the sort of owner that he wants me to be’: Rationales for biosecurity implementation among British horse owners. Equine Vet J, 57(1), 183-192. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14047

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 57
Issue: 1
Pages: 183-192

Researcher Affiliations

Spence, Kelsey L
  • Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.
Rosanowski, Sarah M
  • Digital Agriculture, Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch Limited, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
  • Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
Slater, Josh
  • Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
Cardwell, Jacqueline M
  • Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, UK.

MeSH Terms

  • Horses
  • Animals
  • United Kingdom
  • Animal Husbandry / methods
  • Humans
  • Horse Diseases / prevention & control
  • Ownership
  • Male
  • Female
  • Adult
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Middle Aged

Grant Funding

  • Alborada Trust

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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