Owner reported diseases of working equids in central Ethiopia.
Authors: Stringer A P, Christley R M, Bell C E, Gebreab F, Tefera G, Reed K, Trawford A, Pinchbeck G L
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Owner-Reported Disease Priorities in Ethiopian Working Equids Working equids in developing regions face substantial health challenges, yet veterinary interventions are often designed without understanding which conditions owners themselves identify as most pressing. Stringer and colleagues engaged carthorse and donkey-owners across 16 central Ethiopian sites using participatory methodologies—ranking exercises, matrix scoring and focus group discussions—to identify and prioritise the diseases affecting their animals. Horse-owners most frequently reported a local musculoskeletal syndrome called 'bird' (with clinical features suggestive of exertional rhabdomyolysis), colic and epizootic lymphangitis, whilst donkey-owners prioritised sarcoids, nasal discharge and wounds; coughing emerged as a common concern in both species. Beyond cataloguing 40 distinct disease and health problems, owners demonstrated nuanced understanding of disease severity and variable impacts on working capacity—knowledge that diverged from typical veterinary classifications and revealed previously unreported priorities including rabies in donkeys and uncharacterised respiratory conditions. For equine professionals working in resource-limited settings or designing health interventions, these owner-identified priorities offer a practical foundation for developing targeted educational programmes and directing research efforts toward conditions that genuinely compromise animal welfare and livelihood sustainability.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Owner perception of disease priorities differs significantly between horse and donkey populations; intervention programs should be species-specific and informed by local stakeholder input rather than assumption
- •Participatory assessment methods are valuable for identifying working equid health concerns in resource-limited settings and can reveal previously undocumented conditions and regional disease priorities
- •Educational and veterinary programs targeting working equid populations should prioritize the conditions owners identify as most impactful on animal function and productivity
Key Findings
- •40 separate diseases and health problems were identified by carthorse and donkey owners in central Ethiopia using participatory methodologies
- •Horse-owners prioritized musculoskeletal syndrome ('bird'), colic, and epizootic lymphangitis as most frequent concerns
- •Donkey-owners most frequently reported sarcoids, nasal discharge, and wounds as health concerns
- •Owners demonstrated nuanced understanding of disease manifestations and severity relative to impact on working ability, including previously unreported priorities such as rabies in donkeys and unidentified musculoskeletal syndromes