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Abbas G, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Jacobson C, El-Hage C, Wilkes EJA, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Beveridge I, Nielsen MK, Hughes KJ, Stevenson MA, Jabbar A. Worm control practices used by Thoroughbred horse managers in Australia: A national survey. Vet Parasitol 2024; 327:110116. [PMID: 38244523 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
This study assessed worm control practices used by Australian Thoroughbred farm managers with an online questionnaire survey. The questionnaire comprised 52 questions (close-ended: 44; open-ended: 8) about farm demography and general husbandry practices, farm managers' knowledge of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and their importance, diagnosis, worm control strategies and anthelmintics, anthelmintic resistance (AR) and grazing management. Following the pilot survey, the link for the questionnaire survey was sent to all (n = 657) registered members of the Thoroughbred Breeders Australia on 12th April 2020. The response rate for the questionnaire was 18.5% (122 of 675). The farm managers reported a good understanding of GIN and their importance in different age groups of horses as most respondents (70% of 122) perceived worm-related illness to be more important in young (i.e., foals, weanlings and yearlings) than adult (> 3 years old) horses. Although most respondents (93%, 113 of 122) used anthelmintics prophylactically to control GIN, only 15% (18 of 122) observed worm-related illness in their horses. Just under 40% of respondents were performing faecal egg counts, with less than 20% using the results of faecal egg counts to guide deworming decisions. The interval-based deworming strategy was the most common method (≥55% of 122 respondents) to control GIN in all age groups of horses. Macrocyclic lactones were the first choice of anthelmintics for all age groups of horses. Although the majority of respondents (88%, 107 of 122) perceived resistance in GIN against commonly used anthelmintics as an important issue in managing worms in horses, only 29% assessed the efficacy of anthelmintics and 91% (111 of 122) were unaware of AR on their properties. Grazing management practices, such as manure removal, were more frequently performed on smaller paddocks (<0.20 ha: 58%) than on larger paddocks (>0.20 ha: 18%). Multiple correspondence analyses showed that the likelihood of suboptimal worm control practices on small farms (n = ≤50 horses) was greater than that of medium (n = 51-100) and large (n = >100) farms. This study provides insights into the demography of Thoroughbred farms in Australia, husbandry practices used by stud managers and their knowledge about worms, control options and AR concerns, thereby paving the way for taking any initiatives to address the problem of AR in GIN of Australian Thoroughbred horses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ghazanfar Abbas
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
| | - Jenni Bauquier
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
| | - Anne Beasley
- School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Caroline Jacobson
- Centre for Animal Production and Health, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Charles El-Hage
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
| | | | - Peter Carrigan
- Scone Equine Hospital, Scone, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lucy Cudmore
- Scone Equine Hospital, Scone, New South Wales, Australia
| | - John Hurley
- Swettenham Stud, Nagambie, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ian Beveridge
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
| | - Martin K Nielsen
- M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Kristopher J Hughes
- School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark A Stevenson
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia
| | - Abdul Jabbar
- Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria 3030, Australia.
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