Equine obesity is a significant health and welfare concern. The proportion of domestic horse populations that are overweight are as high as 45%. As the primary decision-makers for their horses’ care, owners are theoretically ideally placed to identify whether their horses are appropriately conditioned, however, research in other countries has shown that many owners are unable to accurately judge their horse’s body condition. In this study, through the comparison of body condition scoring (BCS) performed by an expert and the horse owners and interviews with owners, we aimed to identify the proportion of horses that were overweight or obese, to assess the accuracy of horse owners' BCS assessment both prior to and after receiving information and instructions on body condition scoring, and to identify common themes amongst owners’ views regarding BCS assessment and the Henneke BCS system. Forty-five percent of the horses in this study were overweight or obese. The agreement between the owners and an equine veterinarian regarding the horses’ BCS was fair to good both prior to (κ = .311, P < 0.001; ICC = .502, P < 0.001) and after (κ = .381, P < 0.001; ICC = .561, P < 0.001) receiving information and instructions on scoring. Three quarters of the owners who took part in the study did not use any method of monitoring their horse’s body condition. Thematic analysis of owner responses was varied, with the most common theme being an awareness of the need to monitor or make changes to their horse’s condition with responses in this theme split between owners who felt in control and those who did not. Owner feedback on the utility and useability of the scorning system was that it was useful however parts are too technical or need improvement. Equine obesity is a significant problem in this population in Ireland. Horse owners’ ability to accurately judge their horse’s condition does not improve with provision of instructions on body condition scoring. These results combined with owners’ feedback on the Henneke BCS system indicate that it is not a tool that can be reliably used by owners.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰混血马群的肥胖率及其主人对身体状况的看法和马身体状况评分量表的可用性

马的肥胖是一个重要的健康和福利问题。国内超重马匹比例高达45%。作为马匹护理的主要决策者，马主理论上最有资格确定他们的马匹是否处于适当的状态，但是，其他国家的研究表明，许多马主无法准确判断他们马匹的身体状况。在这项研究中，我们通过专家和马主进行的身体状况评分（BCS）的比较以及对马主的访谈，旨在确定超重或肥胖的马匹比例，以评估马主 BCS 的准确性在收到有关身体状况评分的信息和说明之前和之后进行评估，并确定业主对 BCS 评估和 Henneke BCS 系统的看法中的共同主题。本研究中 45% 的马超重或肥胖。马主和马兽医之间关于马匹 BCS 的协议在之前 (κ = .311, P < 0.001; ICC = .502, P < 0.001) 和之后 (κ = .381, P < 0.001) 均良好0.001；ICC = .561，P < 0.001) 接收有关评分的信息和说明。参与研究的四分之三的马主没有使用任何监测马匹身体状况的方法。对马主反应的主题分析是多种多样的，最常见的主题是意识到需要监控或改变他们的马匹状况，对此主题的反应分为感到控制的马主和没有控制力的马主。所有者对 scorning 系统的实用性和可用性的反馈是它很有用，但部分技术性太强或需要改进。马肥胖是爱尔兰这一人群的一个重要问题。马主准确判断马匹状况的能力并没有因提供有关身体状况评分的说明而得到改善。这些结果与业主对 Henneke BCS 系统的反馈相结合表明，业主不能可靠地使用它。