Members of the Ontario horse racing industry have the opportunity to participate in a new survey being conducted by Equine Guelph.
“Over the past four or fiveyears, the racing industry has undergone major changes and is now in a transition phase,” said Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph.
“As a result of these changes, Equine Guelph wants to ensure that we are working towards development of programs that are helpful to the racing industry during the transition and into the future to help support sustainability of the racing industry.”
The goal of the survey is to learn more about the current challenges facing the Ontario horse racing industry in all three sectors including quarter horse, standardbred, and thoroughbred, says Jackie Bellamy-Zions of Equine Guelph.
Questions are extensive, asking the participant to describe their involvement in the racing industry and their thoughts on relevant horse health and welfare issues, educational opportunities, fire safety preparedness and communications preferences.
With the support of equine industry groups and funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs, the results of the survey will be used by Equine Guelph to provide direction for new program development.
The information will identify issues and trends, develop tailored educational and outreach programs, and guide new research, utilizing preferred communication channels.
The survey is expected to take 30 to 50 minutes to complete but can be done over a few sessions.
All information will be collected anonymously and results will be published.
The survey is open until Dec. 15 to anyone active in the Thoroughbred, Standardbred or Quarter Horse racing industry in the province and can be found on line at http://www.equineguelph.ca/racingsurvey.php.
Submitted by Karen Dallimore
