Compliance with the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines on 50 horse farms in Prince Edward Island.

The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of horse farms on Prince Edward Island, Canada that comply with the requirements of the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines (Code). An investigator performed on-farm assessments while administering a questionnaire to owners of 50 horse farms. The percentage of farms in compliance with specific requirements in the Code ranged from 20% to 100% per requirement. The largest areas of non-compliance regarding facilities and housing were the lack of the ability to segregate sick or injured animals and the lack of an emergency action plan. It was determined that 72% of farms were in compliance with body condition scores and 54% reported to have taken corrective action when required. Farm owners who were aware of the Code were more likely to have good quality air in their barns as well as an emergency action plan in place.

L'objectif de la présente étude était de déterminer la proportion de fermes équines sur l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Canada qui se conforme aux exigences du Code de pratiques pour les soins et la manipulation des chevaux (Code). Un enquêteur effectua des évaluations à la ferme tout en procédant à un questionnaire auprès des propriétaires de 50 fermes équines. Le pourcentage de fermes en conformité avec des exigences spécifiques du Code variait de 20 % à 100 % selon l'exigence. Les secteurs les plus importants de nonconformité en regard des facilités et de logement étaient l'absence de la capacité à isoler les animaux malades ou blessés et l'absence d'un plan d'action d'urgence. Il fut déterminé que 72 % des fermes étaient en conformité pour les pointages d'état de chair et 54 % rapportèrent d'avoir pris les actions correctives lorsque requises. Les propriétaires de ferme qui étaient au courant du Code étaient plus susceptibles d'avoir un air de bonne qualité dans leurs fermes ainsi qu'un plan d'action d'urgence en place.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Demographic Factors Associated with Prince Edward Island Horse Farm Owner Awareness of the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines.

The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of owners of horse farms in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada that were aware of the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Equines (CODE) and determine demographic factors associated with awareness. A questionnaire was completed by owners at fifty horse farms. In total, 38% of the farm owners were unaware of the CODE, 48% were aware, but were not familiar with its content and only 14% used the CODE when making decisions on caring for their horses. Owners of private stables were more aware of the CODE than owners of boarding stables. The CODE awareness varied between the three PEI counties and was weakly associated with the number of horses owned by the farm owner. These results will be used to direct educational efforts and further research into CODE awareness and compliance for horses in PEI.