Horse Care and Management in Horse Clubs in China

The objective of this survey was to document and evaluate horse management and use in Chinese horse clubs. A total of 1713 horses were reported, the majority of which were less than 10 yr old (n=983, 57.4%). Only 1.8% of horses were older than 20 yr. Warmbloods made up the greatest number of imported breeds (30.8%), with Thoroughbreds and Arabians being the next most popular (17.9% and 15.4%, respectively). Mongolian horses (29.4%) were the most common indigenous breed. Major horse health problems included hoof issues (31.6%) and injuries (31.6%). Colic was reported as an issue in 23.7% of horse clubs. Four clubs reported no turnout space available, and only 5 clubs (20%) had access to turnout areas with grass. Turnout size ranged from 50 to 30,000 m2. As in the United States, the majority of horses were used for recreation (20.5%), with breeding (17.5%) and dressage (15.2%) following. Horses were used between 4-7 d/wk during heaviest use. Daily logs were used in 40% of clubs to track horse use, and 36.7% reported having a single person in charge to prevent overuse of horses. Interestingly, 3 clubs (10%) reported having “no such situation” relative to overuse of horses. Although 38.8% of employees reportedly held a certificate or degree associated with equine science, foreign specialists were often employed to support club activities, including teaching general riding (42.9%) and dressage (21.4%). Over 26% came from France