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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Welfare of Aged Horses.
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2011; 1(4); 366-376; doi: 10.3390/ani1040366

Welfare of Aged Horses.

Abstract: Horses form a unique and special part of their owners' lives and aged horses are no exception. This review considers the health and management of aged horses, including the role of the owner and their perceptions of aged horses, potential threats or risks to their welfare and finally, factors affecting quality of life and euthanasia of aged horses. Owners of aged horses are concerned about the health, welfare and quality of life of their aged animals. Yet surveys of management and preventive healthcare reflect that there may be some limitations to what owners are actually achieving in practice. They show declining management as horses age, particularly for the retired horse and insufficient appropriate preventive healthcare via veterinary surgeons. The veterinary surgeon plays an essential and influential role in preventive healthcare, management of diseases and disorders and ultimately in the decision making process for euthanasia of aged horses at the end of their lives. The value of aged horses should not be underestimated by veterinarians and others working with them and the continuing care of aged horses should be regarded with the same importance as the care of younger horses with more obvious monetary value.
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Publication Date: 2011-10-31 PubMed ID: 26486621PubMed Central: PMC4513472DOI: 10.3390/ani1040366Google Scholar: Lookup
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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.

The research article is focused on the welfare, management and health concerns of aged horses, including the role of their owners, potential risks, quality of life and considerations for euthanasia.

Owners’ Role and Perception

  • The study identifies that owners of aged horses consider these animals an integral part of their lives and show great concern for their health, welfare and quality of life.
  • However, these same owners may not be fully realizing the potential extent of their role in managing their aged horses’ preventative healthcare, as reflected by survey data.

Risks to Aged Horses’ Welfare

  • The review points out some potential threats to the welfare of aged horses, which might derive from the declining involvement of owners in horse management, more so in the case of retired horses.
  • Insufficient access to appropriate preventative healthcare services from veterinary professionals is emphasized as another significant threat.

The Crucial Role of Veterinary Surgeons

  • The paper underscores the influential and essential role that veterinary surgeons play in preventive healthcare of aged horses, apt disease and disorder management, and guiding the decision-making process concerning euthanasia when required.
  • Importantly, it’s suggested that the veterinary community should ideally regard the care of aged horses with the same priority as that of younger horses, even if the latter may have more obvious economic value.

Quality of Life and Euthanasia Considerations

  • This research takes into account specific factors that can impact the quality of life of aged horses and outlines how these should be responsibly addressed.
  • Further, the sensitive topic of euthanasia is broached, including the factors that influence such crucial decisions, underscoring the role that veterinarians play in ethically guiding this process when the quality of life of aged horses drastically declines or can no longer be preserved.

Cite This Article

APA
McGowan C. (2011). Welfare of Aged Horses. Animals (Basel), 1(4), 366-376. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1040366

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 1
Issue: 4
Pages: 366-376

Researcher Affiliations

McGowan, Catherine
  • Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, CH64 7TE, UK. C.M.Mcgowan@liverpool.ac.uk.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
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  2. Shnaiderman-Torban A, Marchaim D, Navon-Venezia S, Lubrani O, Paitan Y, Arielly H, Steinman A. Third Generation Cephalosporin Resistant Enterobacterales Infections in Hospitalized Horses and Donkeys: A Case-Case-Control Analysis.. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021 Feb 4;10(2).
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  3. Shnaiderman-Torban A, Navon-Venezia S, Dor Z, Paitan Y, Arielly H, Ahmad WA, Kelmer G, Fulde M, Steinman A. Extended-Spectrum β-lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Shedding in Farm Horses Versus Hospitalized Horses: Prevalence and Risk Factors.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Feb 11;10(2).
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