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. 2020 Mar;52(2):262-267.
doi: 10.1111/evj.13173. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Horse owners' knowledge, and opinions on recognising colic in the horse

A Bowden  1 , J H Burford  1 , M L Brennan  1 , G C W England  1 , S L Freeman  1
Affiliations

Horse owners' knowledge, and opinions on recognising colic in the horse

A Bowden et al. Equine Vet J. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Colic is the most common emergency problem in the horse. An owner's ability to recognise colic and seek assistance is a critical first step in determining case outcome.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess horse owners' knowledge and opinions on recognising colic.

Study design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to horse owners with open and closed questions on their knowledge of normal clinical parameters in the horse, confidence and approach to recognising colic (including assessment through case scenarios), and their demographics. Descriptive and chi squared statistical analyses were performed.

Results: There were 1564 participants. Many respondents either did not know or provided incorrect estimates for their horse's normal clinical parameters: only 45% (n = 693/1540) gave correct normal values for heart rate, 45% (n = 694/1541) for respiratory rate and 67% (n = 1028/1534) for rectal temperature. Knowledge of normal values was statistically associated with participants' educational qualifications (P<0.01). Owners said if they suspected their horse had colic they would assess faecal output (76%; n = 1131/1486), gastrointestinal sounds (75%; n = 1113/1486), respiratory rate (65%; n = 967/1486) and heart rate (54%; n = 797/1486). There was a lack of consensus on whether to call a vet for behavioural signs of colic, unless the signs were severe or persistent. The majority of participants (61%) were confident that they could recognise most types of colic. In the case scenarios, 49% were confident deciding that a surgical case had colic, but 9% were confident deciding an impaction case had colic.

Main limitations: Most respondents were UK based; risk of self-selection bias for owners with previous experience of colic.

Conclusions: There was marked variation in horse owners' recognition and responses to colic, and significant gaps in knowledge. This highlights the need for the development of accessible educational resources to support owners' decision-making.

Keywords: colic; decision-making; horse; knowledge; owner; signs.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Boxplot of the responses of participants (n = 1540) when asked to provide the low and high values for the normal reference range of heart rate and respiratory rate in an online surgery of horse owner's knowledge and understanding of colic. Circles represent responses between 1.5 and 3 times the interquartile range, and asterisks greater than three times the interquartile range.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Specific types of colic experience of participants (n = 1433) in an online survey of horse owners’ knowledge and understanding of colic.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Participants’ certainty that a horse had colic or not when provided with different scenarios in an online survey of horse owners’ knowledge and understanding of colic (n = 1427–1434). Participants were provided with three scenarios (based on presentation and signs that would/might be seen with a surgical colic, pelvic flexure impaction and a medically responsive colic) and they were asked how likely they thought it was that the horse in the scenario had colic. The red area on the bar indicates that the participant thought that the horse did not have colic, whilst the green that they thought it did have colic. The darker shades demonstrate a greater certainty. *Expressed as a percentage of the number of respondents for each case outcome.
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