A questionnaire based investigation into horse owners’ awareness and use of equine manual therapy.
Item
- Title
- A questionnaire based investigation into horse owners’ awareness and use of equine manual therapy.
- Abstract
-
IntroductionEquine manual therapy is increasing in popularity, however, there is limited published research on horse owner’s views with reports mainly from New Zealand. ObjectiveTo ascertain East Anglian horse owners’ awareness and use of equine manual therapy, including preferred therapy, reasons for choice, injuries treated and the perceived success of treatment. MethodA questionnaire (requiring anonymous completion online) was constructed and sent to horse owners/carers at private stables in Cambridgeshire (n=30) and Hertfordshire (n=44) and commercial stables in East Anglia (n=130). Responders from private stables were asked to forward the email/letter to other horse owners. ResultsOne-hundred-thirty-one valid responses were received (n=45 commercial, n=86 private). One-hundred-twelve (93%) responders were aware of equine manual therapy and 90 (80%) used equine manual therapy for their horse. Physiotherapy (n=102; 85%) was the most well-known, followed by chiropractic (n=94; 78%), then osteopathy (n=75; 63%), with the majority using physiotherapy (n=57; 63%) then chiropractic (n=48; 53%) then osteopathy (n=33; 37%). Word-of-mouth, practitioner’s reputation and friends/family using the sametherapy were the main reasons for choice. Commonly treated conditions included back soreness, muscle injury and lameness, but in only 29 (34%) cases the veterinarian and therapist worked together. The majority of responders (n=84, 93%) were very satisfied with their horse’s treatment, and 86% (n=97) wanted more information on the role of these therapies.
ConclusionA high percentage of responders were aware of and utilised equine manual therapy, with physiotherapy the most established and osteopathy the least, indicating the need for greater promotion of osteopathy amongst horse owners in East Anglia.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2015
- Date Submitted
- 13.11.2018 14:05:38
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 45
- Submitted by:
- 4457
- Pub-Identifier
- 16307
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Keywords
- Awareness, Chiropractic, Equine, Equine Manual Therapy, Horse, Manual Therapy, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy
- Recommended
- 1
- Item sets
- Thesis
“A questionnaire based investigation into horse owners’ awareness and use of equine manual therapy.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed April 22, 2025, https://library.wso.at/s/orw/item/1585