A Survey-Based Investigation of Human Factors Associated With Transport Related Injuries in Horses

Abstract

Injuries resulting from road transport are common in horses and are a potential welfare concern, as well as, a source of economic loss. An online cross sectional survey was used to determine the prevalence of road transport related injuries to horses in New Zealand and the association of human factors including demographics, industry background, training and the horse handling experience of the respondents with transport related injury. The survey generated 1133 valid responses that were analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. At least one injured horse was reported by 201/1133 (17.7%) respondents as occurring during the two previous years. Only 191 respondents chose to provide further information on when the injury occurred and most injuries (133/191; 69.6%) occurred in transit. The respondent perceived possible reason for injury was reported by 190, and was most frequently thought to be either horse-associated (87/190; 45.8%) or associated with a driver mistake (18/190; 9.5%). Variables that remained as significantly associated with injury in a multivariate model focusing on human factors were experience in horse handling, the industry sector, and the amateur or professional involvement with the horse industry. The odds of injury associated with professionals may reflect greater exposure due to more frequent transport and larger numbers of horses in their care than amateurs. Findings confirm that human factors are associated with the risk of an injury during transport. Although further studies are required to determine if any of these relationships are causative, education on transport best practices with consideration of these factors may mitigate their influence.

A Retrospective Survey of Factors Affecting the Risk of Incidents and Equine Injury During Non-Commercial Transportation by Road in the United Kingdom

“…The findings of the current study carried out in the UK agree with those of comparable surveys conducted in Australia [6] and New Zealand [7], that those who transport horses for competitive and/or professional purposes were more likely to have experienced a transport-related incident than those transporting for leisure and recreation. This is in part likely to be a consequence of the increased frequency of travel, as well as the greater number of horses managed by those in the professional sector [7]. In Australia, in a survey of horse injury during non-commercial transport, 24.7% of participants reported transport-related injuries to their horses [6].…”

“…The scale of the problem and the prevalence of injuries sustained during non-commercial transportation for sport, leisure and related purposes has yet to be determined. Recent surveys conducted in Australia [6] and New Zealand [7] indicate that transport-related incidents in the equine sporting and leisure sectors are not uncommon, with the potential scale of the problem dependent upon transportation frequency [7]. In the United Kingdom (UK), an online survey of horse owners found that approximately 60% of respondents regularly transported their horse to attend events and activities [8] and a cross-sectional UK study found that, out of a sample of 797 survey respondents, 22.5% had transported their animals within the previous week (54.7% in a trailer, 41.3% in a horsebox, and 3.9% used both) [1].…”

“…In Australia, a survey of horse injury during non-commercial transport that was conducted at competitive events found that 24.7% of participants reported transport-related injuries to their horses [6]. In New Zealand, in a recent study of the human factors associated with equine road transport issues, 17.7% of survey participants reported that they had experienced at least one transport-related horse injury over the past two years [7]. Those with a professional involvement with horses were found to have experienced more incidents than those with an amateur involvement, with the increased frequency of travel as well as the greater number of horses managed by those in the professional sector being suggested as contributory factors [7].…”

“…Replication of the non-commercial transport experience in an experimental situation is challenging and would not reflect the variety of road conditions experienced in reality [5]. Consequently, a retrospective survey-based approach has been used in previous studies to evaluate the risk of injury during equine transport [6,7,27,29,30]. To date, surveys aimed at evaluating these risk factors in the non-commercial transport of equines have been conducted in Australia [6,27,30], New Zealand [7] and the United States [29].…”

Effects of Transport Conditions on Behavioural and Physiological Responses of Horses

“…Transportation has been identified as a stressor for horses, and has been associated with several adverse outcomes including injury, respiratory and gastrointestinal disease [1][2][3][4][5][6]. We have recently shown that 12 hours' transportation is associated with ulceration of the gastric squamous mucosa in fasted horses, associated with increased pH of gastric content, and possibly with decreased gastrointestinal motility in horses fed 1 h and 6 h prior to transportation [7].…”