We are delighted to see a new article written by Amelia Cameron and colleagues at the University of Nottingham being published in the veterinary peer-reviewed journal “Animals”.
Amelia’s study looked at the difficult subject of assessing end of life decisions for horses, including how to assess welfare and quality of life. Last year the team at Bell Equine worked closely with Amelia during the phase of the study where the input of owners of geriatric horses or those with complex health conditions were sought. Our wonderful clients stepped up and we were able to fill the initial study spaces very quickly and even had a few more who helped over and above the inital number required.
Study participants were given new resources to help assess quality of life, signposted to key information about common problems, and essential information about end of life decisions including support during and afterwards. Our vets then spend time with each owner working through the information and making a personalised plan for each individual horse or pony. Each vet and owner then gave their feedback to Amelia on the information, resources and the appointment where they were able to go through the material together to put together the individual plan a post-study interview.
Our clients and vets involvement, along with other vets and clients in other parts of the UK, helped develop these resources further before its release more widely. It is hoped this study can eventually be there as a set guide to help and support our owners as much as possible when having to make these hard decisions.
If you have any questions about the study or its findings, or if you are concerned about your own horse’s quality of life, please get in touch with us.