Smith Rebecca, Pinchbeck Gina, McGowan Catherine, Ireland Joanne, Perkins Elizabeth
Department of Equine Clinical Science, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Equine Vet J. 2025 Jul;57(4):1053-1064. doi: 10.1111/evj.14444. Epub 2024 Nov 27.
In Great Britain, owners are keeping their horses into increasingly older age, reflecting societal changes in human-animal relationships. The uptake of routine veterinary services is reported to reduce as horses age. Horse owners seek information regarding their animal's health from alternative sources before and/or following veterinary involvement. Information regarding the experiences and behaviours of veterinarians toward older horse health care provision is limited.
This study sought to explore how veterinary care for the ageing horse is conceptualised and approached by veterinarians treating horses in Great Britain.
Exploratory qualitative.
A subset of qualitative data, collected as part of a larger study investigating how owners and veterinarians make decisions regarding the care of the older horses, was analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Data included semi-structured in-depth interviews with nine veterinarians and veterinary clinical records pertaining to the horses of 13 participating owners.
Veterinarians valued regular interactions with owners to optimise a horse's management, however, the timing and nature of veterinary involvement varied. The context of older age shaped decision-making and 'age-appropriate' interventions were negotiated within the context of each horse and owner. Where participants had concerns about a horse, they sought to achieve an owner's adherence to their advice while navigating the veterinarian-owner relationship. Interpersonal dimensions of veterinarian-owner interactions appeared to shape, and could challenge, veterinarians' delivery of health care services and their own sense of being a professional who cares for animals, and about people.
A sample of veterinarians were recruited for this study based on horse owners' involvement.
The provision of veterinary care for the older horse rests upon networks of relationships. Collaboration between the profession and owners in both the design and delivery of, veterinary health care services may better enable different types of knowledge and values to be brought together more effectively.
在英国，马主们让他们的马匹饲养到越来越大的年龄，这反映了人类与动物关系中的社会变化。据报道，随着马匹年龄增长，常规兽医服务的使用率会降低。马主们在兽医介入之前和/或之后会从其他渠道寻求有关其动物健康的信息。关于兽医在老年马匹保健方面的经验和行为的信息有限。
本研究旨在探讨在英国治疗马匹的兽医如何看待和处理老年马匹的兽医护理。
探索性定性研究。
作为一项关于马主和兽医如何就老年马匹护理做出决策的更大规模研究的一部分收集的定性数据子集，采用建构主义扎根理论方法进行分析。数据包括对九名兽医的半结构化深度访谈以及与13名参与马主的马匹相关的兽医临床记录。
兽医重视与马主的定期互动以优化马匹管理，然而，兽医介入的时间和性质各不相同。老年的背景影响决策，并且在每匹马和马主的背景下协商“适合年龄”的干预措施。当参与者对某匹马感到担忧时，他们会在处理兽医与马主关系的同时，努力让马主听从他们的建议。兽医与马主互动的人际层面似乎会影响并可能挑战兽医提供医疗服务以及他们作为照顾动物和人的专业人员的自我认知。
本研究基于马主的参与招募了一批兽医样本。
老年马匹的兽医护理依赖于关系网络。兽医行业与马主在兽医保健服务的设计和提供方面的合作可能会更好地使不同类型的知识和价值观更有效地结合在一起。
