Theoretical diagram: Model of horse-owners’ approaches to management of a colic episode

... Both veterinary surgeons and owners described a range of attitudes in their own responsibility towards animal welfare. Similar findings have been identified in studies examining horse owner attitudes to colic [39], owner attitudes to making decisions about chronically ill dogs [22,40] and farmers' attitudes to lameness in cattle [41]. The diversity of veterinary surgeons' personal professional identities [42] and limited moral reasoning ability [43] may be additional important factors in this. ...

... Qualitative research methods are increasingly being used to investigate health issues in the farm animal sector [43][44][45][46][47], and have also been used in equine health and welfare research. Litva et al. (2010) [37] investigated perceptions of crib-biting behavior in horses, and Scantlebury et al. (2014) [48] used a mixed methods approach involving in-depth interviews and questionnaires to gauge the level of understanding, and approaches to the management, of equine colic by owners. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to explore equine stakeholders' views on horse welfare [49,50], and qualitative methods have also been used to investigate private veterinarians' [51] and horse owners' [52] attitudes to Hendra virus management in Australia. ...

... However, not many owners are aware that early surgical intervention could improve the outcome of colic. Owners' consent for surgery was mostly influenced by the age of the horse, level of fitness for the horse to travel to the hospital, and the cost of surgery [22]. Many veterinarians have used the response to analgesic treatment as an effective way to determine colic cases that require surgery [23]. ...

... The low incidence of colic in Nairobi County, Kenya, could probably be attributed to horse owners' decisions not to report colic to the veterinarians compared to other parts of the world. It has been shown that some horse owners prefer to consult their "mentors" (who are more experienced horse owners) to calling a veterinary surgeon [22]. The order of occurrence of the various types of colic was similar to that reported previously elsewhere with the highest being spasmodic colic, followed by impaction and obstructive or displacement colic [34]. ...

... Hence, all cases of colic in horses requiring surgery either die or are euthanized. Other studies have shown that the most common reasons for euthanasia included severity of colic, cost of surgery, and non-specific chronic diseases [22,45]. A study conducted in Denmack showed that 59% of all horses recommended for surgery were euthanized, either before surgery or on the operating table, and 10% of the horses were euthanized before the recommended surgical treatment. ...