Wellness: What Every Horse Deserves

As a proud member of the equine industry, Zoetis believed in joining The Right Horse Initiative from the very beginning, in effort to help improve welfare for every horse. As an equine health leader, equine wellness is at the very core of everything we do. The Right Horse Initiative naturally aligns with our values, which made partnership a natural choice.

Without hesitation, Zoetis joined the meaningful work to support greater equine welfare because it is the right thing to do for the equine industry. It is the right thing to do for the many horses who are unfortunately considered “at risk.”

At Zoetis, we are proud to work with The Right Horse Initiative to help secure safe environments and excellent care for horses everywhere. Zoetis is devoted to every horse, and we believe in collaboration with veterinarians, horse owners and industry professionals to help ensure equine wellness and safety. We know many veterinarians are faced with the reality of horses lacking wellness care — whether due to unfortunate neglect or, in many cases, a lack of understanding from owners about their horse’s wellness needs. Consequently, we partner with veterinarians to help resolve this critical problem in our industry.

The Right Horse Initiative is working to improve equine welfare. And at Zoetis, we also work to improve equine welfare by providing high quality horse health products and services. From horses retired at pasture to horses competing at the highest levels, every horse deserves core disease vaccination and an Individualized Deworming™ plan tailored to their needs.

Core Disease Protection for Every Horse, Every Spring

When adopting a horse there are many things to consider, but one requirement to plan for no matter what your horse’s role will be or where you live is annual spring vaccination against the core equine diseases. Core vaccination is needed as every horse is exposed to mosquitoes, wildlife and soil bacteria that serve as vectors for these potentially fatal diseases.

Work with your veterinarian to develop a vaccination program and consider using this tool to record and track your horse’s vaccines.

Individualized Deworming for Every Horse, with Every Need

Every horse deserves Individualized Deworming, which is why Zoetis partnered with The Right Horse to provide horse health items for more than 1,500 new adopter kits. The take-home kits for new horse owners are used as a resource for equine health, wellness and training. Included in the kit are equine deworming resources, such as Individualized Deworming fecal egg count (FEC) testing bags.

Considering that 90% of equine internal parasites like small strongyles, tapeworms and pinworms come from your horse’s environment, an effective deworming program is critical.^[1] Because every horse is unique, I encourage horse owners to work with their veterinarian to complete an annual FEC test to determine a horse’s parasite level.

Once a baseline is established, you and your veterinarian can develop an Individualized Deworming plan tailored to your horse’s needs. If you’re adopting a new horse, be sure to get prior deworming records to understand your horse’s treatment history.

Zoetis provides class-leading solutions to horses and their veterinarians – among a range of other species and those caring for them. Similarly, the Right Horse Initiative is improving welfare by bringing the equine community together to tackle the issue of horses in transition and increasing horse adoption. This is a critical issue facing our industry, and Zoetis is proud to be a part of the solution.

Together we are helping secure safe haven and equine wellness for every horse — across every role and lifestyle.

To learn more about your horse’s vaccination and deworming needs, contact your veterinarian. For more information about Zoetis, and vaccines and dewormers available to help ensure your horse’s safety and wellness, visit ZoetisUS.com.

Nathan Voris, DVM, MBA, is the Associate Director, Equine Technical Services with Zoetis.

References:
¹Reinemeyer C, Nielsen M. Handbook of Equine Parasite Control (2013). Environmental Factors Affecting Parasite Transmission, Page 45. Accessed Sept. 24, 2018.

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