Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances
ISSN: Online 1993-601XISSN: Print 1680-5593
Abstract
The population of horses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is significantly growing with more people interested in racing, endurance and showing of horses. However, the available data on common management, nutritional and health factors that impact horse industry is limited. The goal of this study was to explore factors that impact horse sports with emphasize on management, nutrition and common diseases. A written survey was carried out between January 2006 and December 2007 that covered 69 farms located in the major regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The majority of the farms were racing thoroughbred horses followed by racing, endurance and showing Arabian horses. The housing system was mostly individual stall, 72%, that uses sand flooring, 84%. Deworming programs were either no antiparasitic being used in 28%, equlan 28% or mixed 40%. Feeding was focused on the use of crushed barley (62%) as well as vitamin 27% and dates (12%) supplements prior to racing. Most common disease conditions were colic 85%, cough 46%, lameness 40% and dysuria 13% while least commonly reported conditions were diarrhea in 6%, EIPH 4.5%, tying up in 4.5% and pigmented urine in 4% of examined farms. These findings suggest that management and nutritional protocols are satisfactory. Further attention is required to provide the necessary veterinary care for horses suffering common diseases such as colic that can be fatal and cough and lameness that impact the performance of horses.
How to cite this article:
Ghanem M. Al-Ghamdi . Most Common Diseases Impacting Horse Health in the Major Regions of Saudi Arabia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/javaa.2008.581.583
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1680-5593/javaa.2008.581.583