Equine Guelph is a not-for profit centre at the University of Guelph funded by horse people to serve the horse and its industry.
It is currently operating an online survey about the horse industry and its operation. The survey is open to everyone (including children with parental consent), and it will take about 15 minutes to complete
Taking the survey will help Equine Guelph develop research and education programs that are specific to the needs and priorities of the industry.
The survey will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete and includes four sections: industry demographics; education research, and communication
At the end of the survey, all participants will have the option to enter a draw to win one of two gift certificates to an Equine Guelph online course of their choice.
The purpose of the survey is to identify specific needs and priorities of the horse industry. More specifically, it will be used to attempt to evaluate Equine Guelph’s current education and research programs and determine the effectiveness and weaknesses of disseminating the information back to the industry.
In addition, Equine Guelph will attempt to address specific needs and priorities of the industry as they relate to education and research.
Volunteer will complete the survey provided either by email (through the link provided) or downloaded from the Equine Guelph website.
The nature of the survey is such that questions should not cause any type of discomfort or distress. Anyone who encounters a question he would prefer not to answer, he can leave that question blank and move on.
Participants will benefit directly from the proposed research by furthering Equine Guelph’s knowledge of the horse industry, as well as long-term from the proposed research because the results of the current research will be applied to the development of programs specific to the needs and priorities of the horse industry.
That more comprehensive research project will help researchers to understand who is currently participating in the industry and what kind of education and research initiatives they are looking to see in the future. That will allow for the implementation of better suited education, research, and communication programs.
It is also hoped that the information will be useful to those government agencies responsible for funding initiatives, because the current depictions of the industry are slightly outdated and tend to focus on the economic impact rather than the specific characteristics of the horse industry.
The following are the five mandates of Equine Guelph:
– education and training (including providing online courses, workshops, seminars, and up to date information on horse health care and safety for horse people;
– healthcare (provide information from the Ontario Veterinary College on advances in healthcare);
– industry development (bring together partners on industry-based initiatives);
– performance (provide information from the Ontario Veterinary College on new diagnostics and treatments for the performance and reproductive horse); and
– research (direct studies based on industry priorities and communicate results back to the industry).
Questions in the survey will include ranking those objectives, personal involvement in the industry itself, secondary involvement in the industry, the number of years of involvement, and if that involvement provides income.
All participants will be given the option to provide their email address at the end of the survey to enter a draw to win one of two gift certificates for an Equine Guelph online course of their choice (valued at $549). The probability of winning would be one in 2,500.
The deadline is March 31.
To take the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/equineguelph_survey.
