Researchers at Tufts University looked at relationships between horse owners/managers and the primary and secondary horses in their care. Primary horses were those the owners/managers had the most interaction with. The study further categorized horses as geriatric (20 years or older) and non-geriatric.

Their goal was to assess relationships between horse owners (or lessees) and geriatric or non-geriatric horses and to investigate factors influencing veterinary care decision-making.

The Survey

Researchers used an online survey to gather information. Respondents were first asked to answer a set of questions about the horse they interacted with the most (considered the primary horse for study purposes). Participants who owned or leased two horses were then asked to provide information related to the second horse. Those who indicated they had more than two horses were asked to provide responses regarding their oldest horse.

The study asked age, breed, and sex of the horse and the duration of ownership or leasing. Respondents described the role(s) of each horse (companion animal, competition horse, pleasure riding horse, part of a business, or retired). The survey allowed multiple answers to define each horse’s use accurately.

Participants indicated the veterinary procedures their horse(s) underwent in the previous 12 months. A checklist of 14 procedures was provided, ranging from basic wellness and preventative care. An open-ended field was provided for additional responses.

Researchers asked participants to estimate their financial expenditures on veterinary care in the previous year.

There were 2,395 participants. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 79 years. Females comprised 2,363 of the 2,395 respondents (98.7%). Not all respondents answered every question.

Attachment to Horse

Participants ranked their agreement with 10 “attachment” statements on the survey that indicated their relationships with their horses.

Tufts researchers previously developed this attachment scale, pilot-tested it in a sample of horse owners, and found it had good reliability.

The survey asked participants if they had lost a horse in the last year. A modified bereavement questionnaire captured how owners and managers felt.

Challenges and accommodations in caring for geriatric horses were also covered in the survey.

Veterinary Care

Respondents ranked factors influencing how they made decisions about veterinary care. The nine points covered included financial cost, emotional attachment to the horse, prognosis for short-term recovery, prognosis for long-term recovery, the horse’s ability to lead a comfortable life, feelings of responsibility for the horse’s wellbeing, the veterinarian’s opinion, opinions of family members and/or friends, and the horse’s age.

Survey Results

Respondents said 22.6% of their primary horses were geriatric. Of 1,062 participants who reported data for their second horse, 385 (36.3%) indicated it was ≥ 20 years of age, and 76 (7.2%) indicated this horse was ≥ 30 years of age.

Participants owned or leased geriatric horses for a significantly longer duration than non-geriatric horses.

Participants indicated a high degree of attachment to both primary and secondary horses. The amount spent for treatment of geriatric horses did not differ significantly from that spent for treatment of non-geriatric horses.

The horse’s ability to lead a comfortable life was ranked highest in importance for influencing decisions about expensive or long-term veterinary treatments for a primary horse.

Horse Death

Four hundred and forty-six of the 2,110 (21.1%) participants reported the death of a horse in the previous year, and 331 of those 446 (74.2%) indicated that the horse had been euthanized. 

The level of bereavement was significantly higher for respondents whose deceased horses were geriatric than for those whose deceased horses were non-geriatric.

Relationships and Accommodations

Of the 869 respondents with geriatric horses, 534 (61.4%) provided qualitative information regarding special accommodations or strategies they used in caring for their horses:

  • 311 of 534 (58.2%) made a change in the type of feed, amount of feed, or method of feeding (i.e., soaking, more frequent feedings, or separating the horse from other horses for feeding);
  • 153 (28.7%) added supplements to their horses’ feed;
  • 53 (9.9%) added medications (i.e., phenylbutazone);
  • 66 (12.4%) made changes to their horses’ type of housing (i.e., full board, run-in shed, or access to a stall) and comfort (i.e., additional bedding, fans, heat lamps);
  • 62 (11.6%) changed the frequency and type of turnout provided;
  • 50 (9.4%) changed blanketing (i.e., blanket type, frequency of blanket use, circumstances of use);
  • 25 (4.7%) provided companionship (i.e., other horses) for geriatric horses.

Other common accommodations for geriatric horses included changes in workload, use of special equipment such as equine boots and different saddles, and retirement from work.

Changes commonly reported by respondents who altered the horse’s workload included less rigorous exercise, increased warm-up time, and reduced jumping activity.

Reference

  1. Survey of human-horse relationships and veterinary care for geriatric horses.  Megan Kiely Mueller; Carolyn Sween; Nicholas Frank; Mary Rose Paradis. JAVMA. 2018

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  • Kimberly S. Brown and Jewell

    Kimberly S. Brown is an award-winning writer and publisher. She founded My Senior Horse for Equine Network and Linda Mars in her retirement, and now she is an editor of the brand. Brown previously had spent 10 years at Equine Network. Prior to that she worked for three years in equine nutrition after she retired from nearly 30 years working at The Blood-Horse. Brown spent the last 15 years of her time at that organization creating and developing the award-winning The Horse and TheHorse.com.

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