Rate of obesity within a mixed-breed group of horses in Ireland and their owners’ perceptions of body condition and useability of an equine body condition scoring scale.
Abstract: Equine obesity is a significant health and welfare concern. The proportion of domestic horse populations that are overweight are as high as 45%. As the primary decision-makers for their horses' care, owners are theoretically ideally placed to identify whether their horses are appropriately conditioned, however, research in other countries has shown that many owners are unable to accurately judge their horse's body condition. In this study, through the comparison of body condition scoring (BCS) performed by an expert and the horse owners and interviews with owners, we aimed to identify the proportion of horses that were overweight or obese, to assess the accuracy of horse owners' BCS assessment both prior to and after receiving information and instructions on body condition scoring, and to identify common themes amongst owners' views regarding BCS assessment and the Henneke BCS system. Results: Forty-five percent of the horses in this study were overweight or obese. The agreement between the owners and an equine veterinarian regarding the horses' BCS was fair to good both prior to (κ = .311, P < 0.001; ICC = .502, P < 0.001) and after (κ = .381, P < 0.001; ICC = .561, P < 0.001) receiving information and instructions on scoring. Three quarters of the owners who took part in the study did not use any method of monitoring their horse's body condition. Thematic analysis of owner responses was varied, with the most common theme being an awareness of the need to monitor or make changes to their horse's condition with responses in this theme split between owners who felt in control and those who did not. Owner feedback on the utility and useability of the scorning system was that it was useful however parts are too technical or need improvement. Conclusions: Equine obesity is a significant problem in this population in Ireland. Horse owners' ability to accurately judge their horse's condition does not improve with provision of instructions on body condition scoring. These results combined with owners' feedback on the Henneke BCS system indicate that it is not a tool that can be reliably used by owners.
© 2023. The Author(s).
Publication Date: 2023-04-06 PubMed ID: 37024919PubMed Central: PMC10077657DOI: 10.1186/s13620-023-00237-wGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article discusses the high prevalence of obesity in a group of mixed-breed horses in Ireland and investigates the owners’ understanding and application of the body condition scoring (BCS) system, a body weight estimation scale for horses. Interestingly, despite the provision of additional instruction and information on the BCS system, the owners’ accuracy to measure their horses’ condition did not improve significantly.
Research Objectives and Methodology
- The research was conducted with the primary goal of understanding the proportion of overweight or obese horses, by comparing body condition scoring (performed by an expert and horse owners).
- It also investigated whether providing owners with additional information and instructions on the BCS system would improve their judgement accuracy of their horse’s body condition.
- Moreover, the study analysed the common themes among the horse owners’ views concerning body condition assessment, and their understanding and utilization of the Henneke BCS system.
- The researchers compared the owner assessed BCS scores to an equine veterinarian’s assessment, both before and after they received additional information and instructions about body condition scoring.
Research Findings
- About 45% of the horses in this particular mixed-breed group were found to be overweight or obese.
- The owners’ ability to accurately judge their horses’ body condition did not significantly improve even after receiving additional information and instructions on the BCS system.
- Shockingly, three-quarters of the horse owners did not use any method to monitor their horse’s body condition consistently.
- Themes derived from the owners’ responses were varied, with the most common theme indicating awareness of the need for monitoring and making changes to their horse’s condition. However, a disparity was noted as some owners felt in control of maintaining their horse’s weight, while others did not.
- Lastly, upon receiving feedback on the Henneke BCS system’s utility and usability, the owners considered it useful yet overly technical parts and areas for improvement were identified.
Conclusions
- The research concludes that equine obesity is a significant problem within the studied horse population in Ireland, mirroring global concerns.
- The ability of the horse owners to accurately judge their horse’s body condition did not demonstrably improve with the provision of additional instructions on the BCS system.
- Lastly, the findings combined with the owners’ feedback suggest that the Henneke BCS system cannot be a reliable tool for the owners in its current state.
Cite This Article
APA
Golding E, Al Ansari ASA, Sutton GA, Walshe N, Duggan V.
(2023).
Rate of obesity within a mixed-breed group of horses in Ireland and their owners’ perceptions of body condition and useability of an equine body condition scoring scale.
Ir Vet J, 76(1), 9.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-023-00237-w Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. emma.golding@ucd.ie.
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
- Large Animal Department, Robert H Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Ross M, Proudfoot K, Campbell Nishimura E, Morabito E, Merkies K, Mitchell J, Ritter C. 'It's more emotionally based': Prince Edward Island horse owner perspectives of horse weight management. Anim Welf 2024;33:e14.
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