Becoming a matter of veterinary concern.
Authors: Smith Rebecca, Pinchbeck Gina, McGowan Catherine, Ireland Joanne, Perkins Elizabeth
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Becoming a matter of veterinary concern As the UK's horse population ages and bonds between owners and their animals deepen, understanding how health concerns are identified and escalated to veterinary practitioners has become increasingly important. Using grounded theory analysis of qualitative interviews conducted between 2019 and 2022, Smith and colleagues examined how owners and veterinarians navigate the process of recognising when a change in the older horse warrants professional input. Their findings reveal that owners engage in continuous, iterative monitoring and decision-making, but the translation of observed changes into "matters of veterinary concern" depends critically on owners possessing sufficient experiential knowledge to frame issues within the veterinarian's knowledge domain—a process shaped by prior exposure to both their own horse's health history and veterinary interactions. Veterinarians themselves operate from a medicalised perspective on ageing, assessing whether owners are meeting species-specific needs appropriately, yet the research demonstrates that how valued and understood owners feel during veterinary consultations substantially influences whether they accept advice and continue to engage veterinary services. These findings suggest that veterinary-owner relationships are not merely transactional; rather, the quality of interpersonal interaction acts as a powerful but potentially underestimated driver of how comprehensively owners recognise and address emerging health issues in their horses, with implications for both animal welfare outcomes and practice management.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •When discussing health concerns with owners of older horses, veterinarians should actively validate owner observations and ensure owners feel their horse is understood as an individual—this improves compliance with recommendations.
- •Help owners articulate their concerns clearly by asking open-ended questions about what changes they've observed, rather than waiting for them to self-diagnose or frame issues in clinical terms.
- •Recognize that owners' decisions about veterinary care are shaped by their previous experiences with veterinarians and their existing knowledge; tailoring communication to each owner's background builds trust and improves long-term care outcomes.
Key Findings
- •Horse owners undertake iterative assessment, monitoring, and decision-making processes when observing changes in their older horses.
- •Owners must translate observed issues into veterinary terminology/concepts for veterinarians to recognize them as matters of professional concern.
- •Veterinarian-owner relationship quality and perceived valuing of the individual horse significantly influences owner adoption of veterinary advice and future care-seeking behavior.
- •Veterinarians' perspectives on appropriate geriatric care are shaped by their medical training and assessment of whether owners meet species-specific needs.