Table 1 Summary of questions in the questionnaire
Question | Reply options |
|---|---|
Type of establishment | |
Type of horses1 | Trotters; riding horses; cold-blooded trotters; ponies; working horses; Thoroughbreds; Icelandic |
Type of establishment1 | Stud; livery; trotting stable; riding school; small private farm |
Total number of horses | |
Number of individuals younger than 5 years | |
Pasture management | |
Access to grazing area | No access; pasture summertime; all-year-round paddocks with grass |
Do you practice mixed or rotational grazing? | Yes; no |
Grazing areas and procedures practiced1 | Permanent pastures; fertilisers used; aftermath grazed; ploughing and re-seeding every 2nd–3rd year; rotation between clean plots; pasture clipping/harrowing; grazing areas are part of crop rotation system |
Do you remove manure from the grazing areas? | No; at least once per week; at least once per month; at least once per year |
Use of anthelmintic drugs | |
Do you de-worm your horses? | Yes; no |
Person responsible for de-worming | Horse owners; manager; staff; veterinarian; other |
How is the dosage calculated? | By guessing the horse weight; by measuring the horse weight; by age; one tube of paste per animal |
Which drug brands were used at different months for the last 12 months2? | |
When did you de-worm horses <5 yrs for the last 12 months?3 | |
When did you de-worm horses >4 yrs for the last 12 months?3 | |
Do you de-worm regularly against tapeworm? | No/sporadically; yes with double dose of pyrantel; yes with praziquantel; do not know |
Which of the following drugs have you used during the past 24 months1? | All anthelmintic drugs and brands registered for horse are shown to the responder |
Which routines are practiced on your farm?1 | De-worming of new horses; individual de-worming programmes; horses sharing pasture de-wormed together; horses of the same age de-wormed together; all horses on the farm de-wormed together |
What time of the year do you think is the most important for de-worming? | Jan-March; April-June; July-Sept; Oct-Dec |
Do you look for parasites in faeces after deworming? | Yes; no |
Attitudes and encountering of parasite problems | |
Have you seen bot flies/eggs for the last 2 years? | Yes; no |
What is your attitude regarding anthelmintic usage? State the importance on a 1–5 scale. | Environmental aspects; cost; resistance; targeted de-worming; alternatives to anthelmintic drugs |
Have you had a faecal sample analysed from a healthy horse? | No; once; several times; regularly |
For how many years have you been active with horses? | |
Do you consider helminth infection as a problem in horses? State the magnitude of the problem on a 1–5 scale. | |
Have you experienced problems caused by endoparasites? | Yes; no |
How important are the following sources of information for you? State the importance on a 1–5 scale. | Information on the package of the drug; other horse owners; Apoteksbolaget (Swedish Pharmacy Chain); books; internet; veterinarian; horse magazines |