{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:01:54Z","timestamp":1760058114228,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]],"date-time":"2025-03-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741910400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Preventing the spread of infectious diseases in horses requires breaking the chain of infection through appropriate prophylaxis. In Poland, where the horse population reached 273,006 in 2023, vaccinations are voluntary and primarily the responsibility of horse owners, with mandatory influenza vaccinations limited to sport horses. This study aimed to evaluate the vaccination status of Polish horses against infectious diseases through a survey of 980 horse owners and an analysis of 123 horse passports from slaughterhouses. Survey participants represented all provinces, predominantly owning warmblood horses (86%), but also 10% coldblood and 4% ponies or unidentified. Nearly half engaged in equestrian competitions. While over 90% of sport and pleasure horses were vaccinated against key diseases such as equine influenza and tetanus, only 2.4% of slaughter horses had similar prophylaxis. Cold-blooded horses were underrepresented in the survey (10.4%) but made up 68.3% of the analyzed slaughterhouse sample. The findings highlight a significant disparity in vaccination practices, primarily influenced by the horse\u2019s intended use, with sport and leisure horses receiving better preventive care than slaughter horses. These results underscore the need for targeted educational efforts and policy interventions to improve the epizootiological status of Poland\u2019s horse population and ensure a more uniform approach to disease prevention. A limitation of this study is the accuracy of vaccination records in horse passports, as some owners may not have them during vaccination, leading to discrepancies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15060834","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]],"date-time":"2025-03-14T07:02:16Z","timestamp":1741935736000},"page":"834","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Vaccination Status of Horses in Poland Based on an Internet Survey of the Horse Owners"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Marta","family":"Rykala","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic for Horses, Dogs, and Cats, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 47, 50-366 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marcin","family":"Jasiak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic for Horses, Dogs, and Cats, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 47, 50-366 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8925-4853","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Artur","family":"Niedzwiedz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic for Horses, Dogs, and Cats, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 47, 50-366 Wroclaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Polish Horse Breeders Association (2025, January 15). The Horse Population in Poland. Available online: https:\/\/www.pzhk.pl\/hodowla\/poglowie-koni-polsce\/."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Central Equidae Database (2024, December 01). The Number of Equidae. Available online: https:\/\/www.pzhk.pl\/hodowla\/statystyka-cbdk\/."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Polish Equestrian Association (2024, December 01). Development Strategy of Polish Horse Riding in the Years 2019\u20132022. Available online: https:\/\/pzj.pl\/sites\/default\/files\/%20Strona%20WWW.%20PZJ.Nowelizacja%2010.05.2019%20r.%20MSiT%20STRATEGIA%20ROZWOJU%20POLSKIEGO%20%20%20JE%C5%B9DZIECTWA%202019-2022.pdf."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Official Journal of the European Union (2025, January 15). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015\/262 of February 17, 2015, Laying Down, Pursuant to Council Directives 90\/427\/EEC and 2009\/156\/EC, Rules on Methods for the Identification of Equidae. Available online: https:\/\/www.pzhk.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rozporzadzenie_UE-2015_262.pdf."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Polish Equestrian Association (2025, January 15). Veterinary Regulations of the Polish Equestrian Federation. Available online: https:\/\/pzj.pl\/sites\/default\/files\/przepisy\/Przepisy%20Weterynaryjne_2.pdf."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jevs.2014.06.019","article-title":"A Survey of Horse Owner\u2019s Compliance with the Finnish Vaccination Program","volume":"34","author":"Koskinen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Equine Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"National Equine Health Survey (NEHS) (2025, January 10). *018 Report. Available online: https:\/\/www.bluecross.org.uk\/national-equine-health-survey-0."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"(2024, December 01). Types of Horse Use in Poland\u2014Meat Use. Available online: http:\/\/konie-pkz.dzs.pl\/rodzaje-uzytkowania\/miesne\/."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Central Statistical Office (2025, January 10). Salaries in Poland According to Data from the Central Statistical Office, Available online: https:\/\/stat.gov.pl\/."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1136\/vr.l1203","article-title":"Florida Clade 1 Equine Influenza Virus in France","volume":"184","author":"Paillot","year":"2019","journal-title":"Vet. Rec."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100664","DOI":"10.1016\/j.onehlt.2023.100664","article-title":"Genomic Epidemiology of West Nile Virus in Europe","volume":"18","author":"Koch","year":"2024","journal-title":"One Health"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2009.08.006","article-title":"The Equine Influenza Epidemic in Australia: Spatial and Temporal Descriptive Analyses of a Large Propagating Epidemic","volume":"92","author":"Cowled","year":"2009","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/15\/6\/834\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T16:53:37Z","timestamp":1760028817000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/15\/6\/834"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3]]}},"alternative-id":["ani15060834"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani15060834","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2076-2615"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,14]]}}}