References
Do owners administer inappropriate doses of anthelmintic based on an inaccurate perception of their horse's bodyweight?
Abstract
Background:
Inaccurate dosing and repeated administration of anthelmintic from the same drug class are indicated as factors associated with equine helminth resistance; and resistance is specifically related to the under-dosing of anthelmintic products. Research indicates that many owners may still rely on visual estimation to determine a horse's bodyweight.
Aim:
The pilot study aimed to investigate whether owners administer inappropriate doses of anthelmintic based on an inaccurate perception of their horse's bodyweight.
Method:
Data were collected from 16 horse owners with varying experience and from a variety of equine disciplines. A series of questions were presented in order to capture specific information. Owners were asked to provide the dose of anthelmintic (kg) that they had most recently administered to their horse, to estimate the bodyweight of their horse, and to provide a body condition score (BCS) for their horse using the guide provided. Each horse was then weighed on an equine weighbridge to obtain an accurate bodyweight. The estimated bodyweight was compared with that of the accurate bodyweight, and the most recently administered dose of anthelmintic was compared with both the estimated bodyweight and the accurate bodyweight. The BCS provided by each owner was compared with that of the BCS provided by the researcher. Data were tested for normal distribution using a Shapiro-Wilks test, and analysed using an independent-samples t-test or a paired-samples t-test.
Results:
All of the owners inaccurately estimated the bodyweight of their horse, however there was no statistically significant difference between the estimated bodyweight and the accurate bodyweight (
Conclusion:
Horse owners administer inappropriate doses of equine anthelmintic based on an inaccurate perception of their horse's bodyweight, however the horse's estimated bodyweight does not appear to be the only influencing factor when deciding on the dose of anthelmintic to be administered.
Inaccurate dosing and repeated administration of equine anthelmintic from the same drug class are indicated as factors associated with equine helminth resistance. Evidence also suggests that resistance is specifically related to the under-dosing of anthelmintic products (Batson, 2012; Austin, 2017). The challenges associated with equine helminth resistance have led to the development of new worming protocols and current recommendations suggest that horses are only administered an anthelmintic product when it is specifically required, rather than at regular intervals (Kaplan, 2002; Kaplan and Nielsen, 2010; Matthews, 2014; Peregrine et al, 2014; Tzelos and Matthews, 2016). An inappropriate dose of anthelmintic is one that is not suitable or ideal for use, either an under-dose or an overdose of anthelmintic (Shalaby, 2013). In order to avoid the inappropriate dosing of a pharmaceutical product, it is recommended that body-weight should always be determined as accurately as possible prior to administration (Kaplan and Nielsen, 2010). With significant differences between the estimated body-weight and the accurate bodyweight of equine species, the only way to establish an accurate bodyweight is by using an equine weighbridge, however research indicates that that many owners may still rely on visual estimation to determine a horse's bodyweight (Ellis and Hollands, 1998; Ellis and Hollands, 2002).
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting The Veterinary Nurse and reading some of our peer-reviewed content for veterinary professionals. To continue reading this article, please register today.