Recently there has been abundant promotion for a preventive health care program with surgical colic protection for horses. I’ve had a difficult time deciding whether I should discuss this topic because of our desire to avoid commercial endorsements or criticisms. But because I believe this program brings some new and potentially lifesaving features to horse care I decided to go ahead with this article; following you’ll read some of my thoughts on the pro’s and con’s of this subject.

Preventive healthcare is nothing new to horse owners, and results in the widespread practice of vaccination, de–worming, and regular hoof care. Insurance for horses is not new either, mortality, loss of use, medical, and surgical insurance are available, however, due to the high premiums most horse owners don’t carry any. Additionally, some veterinarians around the country have offered preventive healthcare packages for their clients for many years. What is new in this equine healthcare picture is that a large pharmaceutical company has been able to enlist many equine practitioners into their program.

The equine health care offer getting the most publicity is being offered by equine practitioners throughout the United States in conjunction with a large international pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer corporation. Their Preventicare program is being marketed aggressively in an attempt sell more of their de–wormer, Strongid C. If you haven’t heard about this program it consists of 6 basic healthcare requirements: annual physical examination, annual dental examination and care, appropriate immunizations, daily use of Pfizer’s de–wormer Strongid C, twice yearly avermectin de–worming, and nutritional counseling. The company leaves it up to each veterinarian to decide if they want to include any other health benefits and to decide which vaccinations are appropriate for their patients. If you participate and fulfill the above requirements Pfizer will reimburse you for up to $5000 should your horse require colic surgery.

From the perspective of many veterinarians, the program looks pretty good. It incorporates sound equine health principles, allows us to see each horse twice or more yearly and adds the surgical colic protection. Seeing a horse twice annually is obviously more business for the equine practitioner, but having the opportunity to examine them on a regular basis when there aren’t any problems greatly enhances our abilities to prevent problems from happening. It’s almost a luxurious concept for us equine practitioners, actually examining a horse when it’s healthy and doing so twice a year. Consider that we are usually examining a horse because of a specific problem and possibly not addressing the entire horse because of the focus of our attention. When veterinarians get to know their patients well, it is a win–win proposition for all involved.

The only aspect raising some concern with many veterinarians including the author, is maintaining a horse on a particular type of de–wormer year after year. To the knowledge of this author, no resistance or problem has been documented to this daily de–wormer, however equine practitioners and horse owners are a conservative bunch to whom change comes slowly. In defense of unwarranted criticism regarding daily de–worming; it has been given to many thousands of horses over many years without any apparent detriment. When weighing the considerations of this aspect of the program most veterinarians do not believe it to be a problem. If owners are still worried about keeping horses on the same de–wormer year after year, there is no reason not to take advantage of the program intermittently, one year on, one year off.

The other most frequent complaints clients have expressed to me regarding this program are that it is too expensive, and that surgical colics are very rare.

Affordability is obviously a personal judgment each individual must make; am I getting my money’s worth? Is the service and product I’m receiving equal the expense? Can I afford it? Daily de–wormer is not cheap, however many owners report increased feed efficiency, that is, the horse maintains its weight on less food. The outstanding economical benefit of this program is however, the surgical colic protection which makes it a very good value.

As far as surgical colics being rare, that is definitely not the case. I don’t’ have exact figures regarding the number of surgical colics operated on by the vet school at Oregon State University, but it ranges near 100 annually. Surgeons there and at any referral hospital will tell you that colic surgery is the number one cause of sleep deprivation to their staff. Colic in horses is, sad to say a common occurrence and is without doubt, the most common life–threatening ailment we see in horses, much more so than any disease you have heard of including the latest “hot topic” EPM. What is a true shame is that because of the high costs involved, many horses never make it to the operating room. At the conclusion of this article more facts on colic are included.
So if colic is so prevalent how can the company afford to fund this program? Well, despite the common nature of colic, the company must have the odds in their favor. When you consider the total population of horses, the great majority will not be operated on for colic. The company also knows that with regular veterinary exams combined with their daily de–wormer and the other program stipulations they can even further lower their risk of having to pay for surgical colic. Also medical colics are much more common than surgical ones and the program does not cover them.

In answer to the question of the title: HMO great healthcare or marketing ploy? The answer has to be yes on both counts. There is no way to escape the fact that this highly publicized, extensively advertised program is a neat piece of marketing. However many equine practitioners believe its attraction lies not on the marketing of this product, but on the advantages of its use and the other benefits of the program. This program truly is a novel bit of “Madison Avenue advertising”, however the company is definitely “putting its money where its mouth is.” This benefit is unheard of from any company selling horse products and is unmatched in the equine health care field.

If you currently have your veterinarian administering vaccinations and floating teeth, and are using or are thinking of using Strongid C (r), you should carefully consider this program. When inquiring about the program make sure dental examination and care are part of the package, they are a necessary requirement of the program, also call several veterinarians as not all practices provide the same benefits. On the other hand, If you don’t vaccinate, de–worm only occasionally, and don’t believe in equine dentistry, this is not the program for you.

In conclusion, I think the most exceptional value of this program is the surgical colic reimbursement. The other health benefits are annual examinations and vaccination, excellent parasite protection, regular dental care and veterinary observation of your horse. Regarding the expense of the program, I think it is all in the way you look at it. If you consider this program as an “insurance” of sorts, because all the expense involved (you could consider it an insurance payment) goes directly to improving your horse’s health, not an insurance company, the program is an exceptional value. This program may not be for everyone but we urge all of you to carefully consider it through your local equine practitioner and if you have any questions feel free to contact us.

Following are some facts of colic surgery Colic Facts: In research studies conducted in the past few years, the following are some of the conclusions presented at the 1993 Annual meeting of the American Association of equine practitioners:

1. Breeding horses had nearly twice the risk of colic as opposed to pleasure horses.
2. Arabians were twice as likely to colic as compared to other breeds.
3. Horses cared for by a trainer or farm/stable manager had a significantly higher colic risk as compared to horses cared for by their owners.
4. Horses having adequate pasture access had a lower incidence of colic as compared to those with no pasture access.
5. Foals, weanlings and yearlings had a lower risk for colic than horses of other ages.
6. Horses from 2–10 years of age had a greater risk for colic than horses over the age of 10.
7. Horses used for events and in race training had a significantly higher risk for colic than horses of other uses.
8. Horses stalled for more than 12 hours per day had a significantly higher risk for colic as opposed to those used for lessons and those on pasture 24 hours per day.
9. Horses that consumed diets composed of non–roughage, concentrated feeds such as whole grain corn increased their risk for colic by 70%

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