Questionnaire study on parasite control practices on Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding farms in New Zealand

Cross‐sectional survey of parasite control practices on Thoroughbred and Standardbred training yards in New Zealand

“…Half of both Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers were using an interval regimen for spellers and racehorses. The reliance on the interval strategy is consistent with previous studies of Thoroughbreds and Standardbred stud farms in New Zealand [8,14]. Similarly, the median number of treatments horses received annually was comparable with the number of treatments on stud farms, with racehorses treated as frequently as yearlings at up to 15 times annually [8].…”

“…The reliance on the interval strategy is consistent with previous studies of Thoroughbreds and Standardbred stud farms in New Zealand . Similarly, the median number of treatments horses received annually was comparable with the number of treatments on stud farms, with racehorses treated as frequently as yearlings at up to 15 times annually . Worldwide, the treatment of Thoroughbreds at intervals and with a high frequency is commonplace in training establishments and stud farms .…”

“…A surveillance-based control strategy is now considered to be the best way to control parasites in horses and slow the development of anthelmintic resistance [2,16]. However, the findings of the current study alongside the frequent treatment of horses on commercial stud farms [8] is indicative of a systemic failure in the dissemination and/or the uptake of surveillance-based control strategies. Half of both Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers were using an interval regimen for spellers and racehorses.…”

“…The distribution of respondents in age, in experience and geographically are representative of the underlying populations of Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers . While this study has identified that practices are relatively uniform between industries and between breeding and training facilities , care should be taken in interpreting the generalisability of these results and further work should be undertaken in this area.…”

“…The survey design was similar to that described by Bolwell et al . . Briefly, the survey (Supplementary Item 1) consisted of 30 questions and the survey was divided into 4 sections that included: demographics of respondents, parasite control methods, grazing management and quarantine, and use of faecal egg counts (FEC).…”