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Summary Background Recruitment and retention of veterinarians are major problems. Objectives To investigate equine veterinary surgeons' perceptions about working in the UK equine veterinary industry. Study design Online questionnaire of veterinary surgeon members of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). Methods Online questionnaire. Results There were 480 usable responses (180 males and 297 females; median age 39 years). Eighty‐one per cent (389/480) worked full‐time, 86% (409/478) worked in equine practice (13% [64] in mixed practice) and 41% (188/455) thought there were insufficient staff numbers relative to the workload, with a significant association with age ( p < 0.001). The median average working week (excluding out of hours) was 52.5 h. Seventy per cent (331/471) reported ‘chasing their tail’ all the time/frequently. Frequent discrimination from clients was reported by 10% (50/474) and was statistically associated with age ( p < 0.001). Over 60% (302/475) reported they were worried about having complaints lodged by clients with the RCVS, statistically associated with age ( p = 0.007). Forty‐three per cent (202/468) felt they received adequate mental well‐being support from their employer. Fifty per cent (224/449) acquired their current job by personal recommendation, and 34.5% (163/472) said they were likely to be looking for a new job in the next 2 years. The most important reasons why respondents would consider leaving their current job included work–life balance (13%), family (12%), salary (10%) and working times (7%). The most important reasons for staying in their current job were location (12%), team (10%), family (8%), salary (6%), work–life balance (5%) and case load (5%). Conclusions Recruitment and retention are important problems facing the equine veterinary profession. Working times (including out of hours), work–life balance, general and mental well‐being support remain important factors affecting equine veterinarians' perceptions about their jobs, especially for younger veterinarians.