Don’t miss the National Equine Health Survey for all Horse Owners

Whether you own a horse yourself or the clients you deal with do, why not take a minute to fill out the online National Equine Health Survey, or suggest others do, to help safeguard the future health and welfare of the UK’s horses and ponies.

The survey will be available online at www.bluecross.org.uk/NEHS between May 5-11 2013.

The National Equine Health Survey, supported by Pfizer Animal Health, is the only survey that looks at the general health of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in the UK. It aims to spot trends so that the main problems affecting our equine friends can be prevented. 

The National Equine Health Survey (NEHS) is run by Blue Cross, in partnership with the British Equine Veterinary Association. Introduced in 2010 and now an annual fixture, it is a quick and easy online snapshot survey that is helping to discover more about common health issues in horses, directly from horse owners themselves. Everyone who takes part will have the chance to win some amazing prizes including Olympia tickets or SPILLERS feed vouchers.

The NEHS data collected has revealed crucial information about common diseases such as skin problems, lameness, weight issues and colic. The results are shared across the sector to help establish benchmarks for equine health and disease in the UK and define priorities for future research, training and education. For example the high incidence (15.2%) of skin disease recorded to date suggests a need to raise awareness of skin disease management and prevention amongst the veterinary industry and owners.

Gemma Taylor, Blue Cross education officer said: ‘We are urging every horse owner to spare just five minutes every year to complete the survey so we can continue to build valuable knowledge to help improve the future health of our nation’s horses.’

Visit www.bluecross.org.uk/NEHS or email NEHS@bluecross.org.uk to register for NEHS. Everyone who takes part will be entered into a competition to win prizes including tickets for a family of four to Olympia, three lots of SPILLERS feed vouchers worth £100 each, a Northants jump, an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the Equine Referral Hospital at the Royal Veterinary College, London and six pairs of Ariat Mudbuster boots.