Human Injuries Associated with the Transport of Horses by Road.

Animals (Basel). May 2023;13(10):.

Christopher B Riley¹, Barbara Padalino², Chris W Rogers³, Kirrilly R Thompson⁴

¹ Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.; ² Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-Alimentari, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Viale Fanin 50, 40126 Bologna, Italy.; ³ School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.; ⁴ School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2300, Australia.

Abstract

There is an increased understanding of shared human-animal risk in terms of "one welfare", whereby when animals are at risk, so are people, so preventing injury to one species may also prevent injury to the other. Because transport-related injuries to horses are common, the authors considered this paradigm to study road equine transport-related injuries to humans in New Zealand. The aim was to determine their frequency and associated factors by distributing a survey to horse industry participants through industry organisations asking about their horse activities, road transport experiences, and any related self-injury. There were 112/1067 (10.5%) handlers injured while preparing (13/112), loading (39/112), traveling (6/112), or unloading (33/112). Of these, 40% had multiple injury types, and 33% had several body regions affected. Hand injuries were most common (46%), followed by the foot (25%), arm (17%), and head or face (15%). Median recovery time was 7 days. Injuries were associated with the responder's industry educational background, years of driving experience, and reporting a horse injured during road transport in the past two years. Wearing helmets and gloves, and adopting strategies designed to eliminate equine injuries associated with the road transport of horses to reduce the risk of injury to their handlers are recommended.

Keywords

equine; horse; human; injury; one welfare; risk; road; transport; transportation;

Article Tools:

Medline

Email to me

Archives Highlights:

Performing an Avian Physical Examination in Practice
As with mammalian physical examinations, it is important to develop a consistent order for the avian examination to thoroughly evaluate each body system. Some components of the physical examination differ between avian species. For example, cloacal palpation is performed in chickens, but not in parrots.

Case Series: Computed Tomography Features of Extraskeletal Osteosarcoma in Six Dogs.
Although the presence of intralesional mineralization is not a pathognomonic finding, it was consistently identified in the present case series. Therefore, exOSA should be considered in the differential diagnosis when mineralization occurs in a mass unrelated to osseous structures.

Life tables of annual life expectancy and risk factors for mortality in cats in the UK.
Life expectancy at age 0 for UK companion cats overall was 11.74 years. Among the 12 breeds (including crossbred) analysed, Burmese and Birman had the longest life expectancy at year 0, showing 14.42 years and 14.39 years, respectively. Sphynx had the shortest life expectancy at year 0 among the analysed breeds at 6.68 years. Being entire, purebred, and with a non-ideal body weight were significantly linked to a decreased lifespan.

Companion animal veterinary personnel have occupational risk for tularemia and One Health role for tularemia prevention in Kansas.
Forty-three percent (47 of 109) of veterinarians reported diagnosing tularemia in cats and 13% (14 of 109) in dogs. Seven percent (8 of 109) of veterinarians reported having had tularemia. When performing procedures with a high risk of exposure, such as lancing abscesses in tularemia suspects, glove use was 100% but additional personal protective equipment was inconsistent, including eye protection (70%) and surgical face mask (59%).

Transmucosal administration of pentobarbital and phenytoin solution induces euthanasia in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps).
An initial dose of euthanasia solution containing pentobarbital and phenytoin sodium was administered transmucosally in conscious lizards (100 mg/kg pentobarbital dose), followed by a second dose 20 minutes later (400 mg/kg pentobarbital dose). The median time to death was 300 minutes (range, 300 to 360 minutes), median time to respiratory arrest was 30 minutes (range, 30 to 50 minutes), and median time to loss of deep pain response was 30 minutes (range, 20 to 50 minutes). Signs consistent with oral irritation occurred in 4 of 6 (66.7%) lizards, including 2 lizards that exhibited whole-body spasms after euthanasia solution administration.