‘10 Practical Steps to Protect Equine Health:’ Video Series Launched with Support from Across the Irish Equine Industry
The maintenance of equine health is a critical part of equine welfare, and both are intrinsically interlinked with the equine social licence i.e. the approval and acceptance of the equine industry in society. The concept of ‘one health and one welfare’ also recognises that the health and welfare of people is deeply connected to the health and welfare of animals and the health of the environment, and this is particularly true in Ireland, which is known worldwide as the Land of the Horse.
Reducing the incidence of disease or ill health, and the spread of infection where disease occurs, must always be to the forefront of equine management with the consistent strategic focus being to protect the health of the (national) herd. Over the last two years a collaborative team from University College Dublin’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Teagasc and The Irish Equine Centre worked with a wide range of industry ambassadors to produce a series of short videos, providing 10 easy steps to protecting the health of all equines in the national herd.
The full series of videos can be accessed below.
The work was a true collaboration across the entire Industry, with those contributing including Cathal Beale (Irish National Stud); Sarah Ennis (Sarah Ennis Eventing), Neilus Hayes (Knockainey Stud), Andrew Hughes (Ennisnag Stud), Cian O’Connor (Karlswood Stables), John O’Connor (Ballylinch Stud), and Richard Sheane (Cooley Farm), while other farms provided locations to film including Dermot Weld Racing, Gordon Elliot Racing, Ross O’Sullivan Racing and Staffordstown Stud.
The ‘10 Practical Steps to Protect Equine Health’ initiative was launched at the RDS Dublin Horse Show in August this year. At the launch, Martin Heydon T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said; ‘I welcome this initiative which aims to educate all those involved with horses on simple preventive actions they can take to ensure their horses stay healthy. Protecting the wellbeing of our horses is vital to ensure the sustainability of this sector which brings so much pleasure to so many. I would also like to commend those lending their voices to this video series. As industry leaders, I’m sure their endorsement will have a wide ranging and positive impact.’
During the launch, Vivienne Duggan, Associate Professor of Equine Medicine at the School of Veterinary Medicine UCD, and a member of the collaborative team, emphasised ‘it is increasingly difficult to kill pathogens and treat infectious disease when we really need to. Antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs are simply not as effective as they once were. We must place more emphasis on disease prevention. A very important element of this approach is ensuring equines have a ‘clean’ environment to inhabit, and ‘hygienic’ high quality feed, water and bedding sources. The best prevention of asthmatic conditions and optimisation of respiratory health overall is to decrease exposure to dust in the environment while also providing well-ventilated spaces.’
It is hoped that this initiative will spark continued collaborative efforts across the industry to bring the best knowledge and information to equine owners, breeders and trainers across Ireland to enhance and protect the health and welfare of the equine national herd. The group are planning to roll out further events over the coming year to disseminate the information as widely as possible across the country.
Pictured (above) at the RDS Dublin Horse Show launch: Vivienne Duggan (UCD School of Veterinary Medicine), Martin Heydon T.D. (Minister of State at DAFM), Cian O’Connor, (Karlswood Stables), Sarah Ennis (Sarah Ennis Eventing), Alan Creighton (Irish Equine Centre), Debbie Grey (Irish Equine Centre), Wendy Conlon (Teagasc)
