The Blue Cross, one of the UK’s leading animal charities, is urgently calling all horse, pony, donkey and mule owners to take part in a ground-breaking online survey during the week of 15 – 21 November 2010, to help improve the health of all equines in the UK.

The charity is working with The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and Josh Slater, Professor of Equine Clinical Studies at The Royal Veterinary College to conduct the National Equine Health Survey, which has been piloted over the past two years and is now being opened up to the public for the first time. The simple online survey takes only five minutes to complete and will help build a clear picture of non-infectious and common health problems, such as coughs, skin diseases and lameness, suffered by equines in the UK.

Kerry Doyle, education officer at The Blue Cross explained: “Currently disease surveillance is based around exotic diseases such as African Horse Sickness and West Nile Virus and some non-exotic infections like influenza which leaves a gap in our knowledge about other more common health problems faced by the UK horse population. This survey will help us highlight trends in equine health, enabling research into disease prevention, veterinary training and education to be targeted accordingly.”

Kerry continued: “We’re appealing to horse owners to play their part by helping us collect data from 5000 horses. If you own or loan a horse, own a riding school or know friends at a livery yard who may be interested in taking part in this survey then please register. Whether its data from one horse or 30 horses we would love to hear from you.”

The National Equine Health Survey needs to be completed on any one day during the week of 15 – 21 November 2010. Details of all horse owners will remain anonymous. It’s very quick and easy to complete and should only take around five minutes. To register online visit www.bluecross.org.uk/NEHS or email [email protected]