A non-profit group has launched an online survey to gauge participation trends in the US equine industry and gather information on the most important issues facing the industry.
The survey has been organised by American Horse Publications (AHP), an association that promotes better understanding and communications within the equine publishing industry. Its members members include equine-related publications, websites, professionals, students, organisations, and businesses.
Dr Jill Stowe, an assistant professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky, is providing consulting services for data collection and analysis to the association.
Those eligible to participate in the survey are men and women, 18 years of age and older, who currently own, manage, or lease at least one horse and live in the United States.
It closes on January 15, 2010.
The study is anonymous. Not even members of the research team will be able to associate information given back to individuals. When the survey results are tallied, only aggregated results will be presented.
"The AHP's member publications, websites and newsletters reach nearly three million people involved in the horse industry in the United States and around the world," said AHP president Kimberly Brown.
It was Brown who proposed the survey, which was backed unanimously by the AHP board.
"We have been through a rough year, and there are many stories out there of unwanted horses and the decline of the horse industry," noted Brown. "But I think the real story is the wanted horses and their owners who are still strong despite the economic downturn.
"We think this is a great opportunity for us to use our collective resources and reach into the horse industry to get answers about how we are doing today, how we think we'll be doing in the near future, and what we are concerned about in our industry."
The survey is sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and Pfizer Animal Health.