Office – My Virtual Equine Farm

Helmet Awareness

Action Point: Ensure that there is helmet awareness around the farm, and that everyone is using it.

Rationale: It is important that not only our horses are safe on the property, but also our riders. Demonstrating proper helmet wear, safety and necessity will decrease the chances of riders getting hurt on our property. There are a number of reasons for why riders should be wearing helmets, and Ill make sure that there is a sign put up where we keep the helmets so that everyone can see why.

https://www.troxelhelmets.com/blogs/troxel/76914947-top-10-reasons-to-wear-a-helmet

Emergency Contact Information

Action Point: Have an updated Emergency contact that everyone knows about.

Rationalle: Having an updated Emergency contact list will make sure that no matter the situation, boarders and riders will have someone to contact who knows that is going on, or how to help. The list will include up to date farriers, vets, emergency vets, and those who live on the property, the emergency contact sheet will be posted in multiple places so you have access no matter what. We will want to make sure that horse halters have the horses names on them incase of an emergency.

references: https://horse-canada.com/magazine_articles/essential-guide-to-emergency-preparedness/

Biosecurity Action Point – Hand Sanitizers

Action Point: Add hand sanitizers to barn aisles every five horses alternating on different sides of the aisle and at all entrances with explanatory short sign.

Rationale: Hand hygiene is considered essential to infectious disease control in human medicine, and in veterinary medicine (Scheftel et al. 2010). Since going to the washroom between horses is inefficient, I think that having hand sanitizers easily accessible with clear explanations as to how they are a simple way that can reduce biosecurity risk, will encourage people to use them more.

Source: Scheftel, J.M., Elchos, B.L., Cherry, B., et al. (2010). Compendium of veterinary standard precautions for zoonotic disease prevention in veterinary personnel: National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians Veterinary Infection Control Committee 2010. J Am Vet Med Assoc., 237:1403–1422 Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21155680

This is the sign that we would be using for our Hand Sanitizer stations in the barn

Equine Nutritionist

Action Point: Bring in an Equine Nutritionist to take a look at all the horses in the spring, every year to ensure health, disease prevention, and high quality lives for the horses.

Rationalle: I would like to be able to get a professionals opinion on my horses every spring to ensure that they are being fed the proper nutrition to keep them healthy.
Sometimes the winter months leave the horses thinner then we would like, and we want to provide them with the proper feed to get them on the right track for the summer.

Resources: https://horse-canada.com/magazine_articles/finding-a-good-equine-nutritionist/

Feeding Schedule and Communication

Action Point: Create a plan with boarders for feeding. Ensure that each horses supplement, medications and grain are written clearly on a board for everyone to see, and the name of the horses that are being grained are visible.

Rationale: Having a board with all the feed, and exact amount of food required is the perfect way to ensure that no-one gets fed the wrong thing. Some horses don’t require grain, or could have some sensitivity to something, and therefore should not be fed. The board will ensure that only those horses get exactly what they need.
If a horse is fed grain in too big of a quantity or the wrong type, they could be at risk of colic. This is a condition that we want to prevent at all possible costs. The board will be out in the open, and very clearly written. Anyone who comes into the barn, or is feeding their own horse or taking over chores will need to be clear who they fed and how much.

Resources: https://thehorse.com/111874/horse-feeding-basics/

First Aid Kit

Action Point: Create a Human and Equine First Aid kit Inventory sheet. Separate bins and place the first aid sheet in a plastic sleeve, and provide monthly checks.

Rationale: Often items are removed from First Aid Kits, or items expire. Having an inventory check list which is checked and updated monthly will ensure that all items are available and up to date in case of emergency. A human first aid kit will be kept in multiple places such as the feed room, main office and the house. The horse first aid kit will be kept in the feed room so there is access to everyone.

Additional Information:
https://thehorse.com/14323/your-barns-first-aid-kit-2/

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