Germann Juliet A, O'Sullivan Terri L, Greer Amy L, Spence Kelsey L
Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Equine Vet J. 2025 Mar;57(2):459-470. doi: 10.1111/evj.14115. Epub 2024 Jun 27.
Disease outbreaks present a significant challenge to horse health and welfare and the economic stability of horse industries internationally. This is a particular concern in Ontario, Canada, where there have been frequent outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases among horses. Despite these risks, there has been limited research on whether Ontario horse owners engage in biosecurity measures sufficient to mitigate risk of equine diseases, and whether current events such as the COVID-19 pandemic influence attitudes towards equine biosecurity practices.
To explore Ontario horse owners' perceptions, attitudes and experiences relating to on-farm biosecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualitative study using virtual semi-structured interviews.
Participants (horse owners, frequent horse riders and part boarders) were recruited using social media snowball sampling where advertisements were shared by equine and veterinary organisations. Interviews were conducted virtually between June and September 2022 and were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Three key themes relating to biosecurity perceptions among the 14 participants were identified. Participants relied on minimal preventative measures (such as vaccines) where perceived risk of disease was low, but implemented additional measures including quarantine and handwashing when perceived risk of disease was high. Participants' choice of biosecurity practices often mirrored those recommended by the barn manager. Moreover, participants felt that responsibility for biosecurity was not shared equally across horse owners, with more emphasis placed on those engaging in high-risk situations for disease spread. Despite experiencing biosecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, horse owners were not consistently applying these practices to their horse care routines.
The perspectives reported here are from a small sample of horse owners and may not be generalisable to all populations.
Our findings indicate that horse owners need improved access to and engagement with educational initiatives that emphasise the importance and purpose of all biosecurity measures.
疾病爆发对马匹健康和福利以及国际马匹产业的经济稳定性构成重大挑战。在加拿大安大略省，这一问题尤为令人担忧，该省马匹中经常爆发呼吸道传染病。尽管存在这些风险，但关于安大略省的马匹主人是否采取了足以降低马匹疾病风险的生物安全措施，以及诸如新冠疫情等当前事件是否会影响对马匹生物安全措施的态度，相关研究却很有限。
探讨新冠疫情期间安大略省马匹主人对农场生物安全的认知、态度和经历。
采用虚拟半结构化访谈的定性研究。
通过社交媒体滚雪球抽样招募参与者（马匹主人、经常骑马者和部分寄宿者），相关广告由马术和兽医组织分享。访谈于2022年6月至9月期间以虚拟方式进行，并采用反思性主题分析法进行分析。
在14名参与者中确定了与生物安全认知相关的三个关键主题。当认为疾病风险较低时，参与者依赖最少的预防措施（如疫苗），但当认为疾病风险较高时，会采取额外措施，包括隔离和洗手。参与者对生物安全措施的选择通常与马厩经理的建议一致。此外，参与者认为生物安全责任在马匹主人中分配不均，更多地强调那些处于疾病传播高风险情况的人。尽管在新冠疫情期间经历了生物安全措施，但马匹主人并未始终将这些措施应用于日常马匹护理中。
此处报告的观点来自一小部分马匹主人样本，可能不适用于所有人群。
我们的研究结果表明，马匹主人需要更好地获取并参与强调所有生物安全措施的重要性和目的的教育活动。
