A hazai lovas állatorvosi praxisok menedzselésének jellemzői

Abstract

SUMMARY Background: The number of horses in Hungary is relatively low compared to the Western-European countries. Hence, in parallel with the improving eco nomic conditions there is a great opportunity for the Hungarian equine sector to largely develop in a short period of time, which would increase the demand for the equine veterinary services. Objectives: The aim of our study was to survey several management param eters of the Hungarian equine veterinary practices about their relationships with horse owners and other equine veterinarians, their income, profit and future development possibilities. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted between December 2015 and March 2016 with an Internet-based questionnaire having 41 questions and aiming at equine practitioners directly. Altogether 56 vets filled the question naire completely from every region of Hungary. Results: The findings show that the relationship with other vets is sometimes hostile because of the harsh competition. In the horse owner-veterinarian rela tionship the communication is very often not effective. The horse owners' pro pensity to pay is generally low, so is the vets' application of the obligation to issue invoices. The average mark-up of the equine services is 54.7% and the monthly income follows a seasonal pattern (the lowest income in December and January). The equine vets' expectations on the number of horses and character istics of horse owners are positive at large and they expect the number of group vet practices to grow. Discussion and Conclusions: The income and profitableness of the Hungarian equine practices is moderate on average which would largely be improved if the horse owners received the veterinary medicinal products by the vets only, the mark-up rate was enhanced and legal contracts with horse owners and riding halls became more common.