ArticleEquine veterinary journal2025
Ethical issues concerning UK veterinary surgeons practicing in equine sports medicine.
Article in Equine veterinary journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Beyond cortisol: evaluating serotonin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and oxytocin as indicators of equine welfare across three training regimens.BMC veterinary research · 2026Article
- Ethical issues concerning UK veterinary surgeons practicing in equine sports medicine.Equine veterinary journal · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe ethics of equine sports medicine is a complex subject that is currently understudied. It combines veterinary ethics, sports ethics and associated regulation. Equine sports medicine may raise unique ethical issues and combines common ethical issues in ways distinct from other forms of veterinary medicine.
objectivesThe purpose of this research was to identify and describe ethical issues concerning United Kingdom (UK) veterinary surgeons arising within the practice of equine sports medicine. STUDY
designSurvey.
methodsAn online questionnaire was distributed to UK veterinary surgeons via veterinary organisations and veterinary social media. Responses to questions were collated and descriptive analysis performed. Open ended responses were analysed thematically.
resultsNinety-seven respondents completed the questionnaire. The most commonly identified ethical challenges were the conflicts of interest and the pressures faced by the veterinary surgeon. The primary competing interest was balancing the horse's health and welfare with client wishes for the horse to continue in training and competition. Specific ethical challenges were identified; these related to competition integrity, medication control and prohibited substances, treatment evidence and acceptability, among others. MAIN LIMITATIONS: As anticipated with the use of a questionnaire, the responses did not provide in-depth information about an individual veterinary surgeon's experiences, however, it did provide evidence of the extensive range of issues and concerns facing this group. There is also potential for response bias, whereby respondents may have provided answers they perceived were ethically desirable.
conclusionsThis is the first empirical study that explores the ethical issues faced by equine sports medicine veterinary surgeons and has identified wide ranging concerns that demand further study. Areas which may pose reputational risk to equestrian sport, or the veterinary profession were identified. Governing bodies should consider how to improve support for veterinary surgeons facing ethical challenges, as for some, these cause moral distress and may impact retention within the profession.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.