Survey of human-horse relationships and veterinary care for geriatric horses

OBJECTIVE To assess relationships between horse owners (or lessees) and geriatric or nongeriatric horses and to investigate factors influencing veterinary care decision-making. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional, survey-based study. SAMPLE 2,879 people who owned or leased ≥ 1 horse. PROCEDURES Participants were recruited through social media and online horse forums to participate in an online survey about their horses, including measures of attachment, veterinary care decision-making, and experiences surrounding the death of a horse. Data were collected for primary horses (those respondents interacted with most) and secondary horses. Horses were further categorized as geriatric (≥ 20 years of age) and nongeriatric. RESULTS Geriatric primary horses were considered companion animals, retired, or used as part of a business significantly more frequently, and described as competition horses significantly less frequently, than nongeriatric horses. Geriatric horses were owned or leased significantly longer than...