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Recommendations
Based on the data presented and the conclusions drawn relating to the economic contribution of the equine industry in Northeast Ontario, a number of initiatives can be suggested for further consideration. We have divided such initiatives into three categories:
SEE BELOW
Initiatives for horse owners and the equine industryThe equine industry in Northeast Ontario is important and it is growing. The industry has a number of establishments that are extremely professional. However, in general, and in order for the industry to grow further, it will need to take a more organized approach to development. At present the level of education of individual owners and even some breeders and riding establishments is varied and not everyone is aware of standards that exist or that should be applied. To set a more solid foundation to growth of the industry we recommend the following: 1. Develop an Equine Industry Association for Northeast Ontario in which all industry players can participate and decide which initiatives could best move the industry forward. The Association would also be responsible for implementing standards to further advance the various segments of the industry and serve as a central point for discussion with levels of government. 2. Develop closer links between the equine industry in Northeast Ontario and equine industry associations or groups in Canada and other countries. This would best be achieved through existing associations and clubs in the Northeast and through the new association suggested in Recommendation 1. 3. Organize an initial Northeast Ontario Equine Conference and Show to demonstrate the importance of the industry, provide a central meeting point for industry participants and provide the impetus for forming an association as suggested in Recommendation 1. Initiatives for Community Futures Development Corporations Community Futures Development Corporations – particularly the three that have provided funding for the current study - can contribute significantly to the development of the equine industry by supporting the creation of a Northeast Ontario Equine Industry Association, by continuing to build a base of information that will assist the industry, and by continuing other initiatives that will help the industry to further develop. Recommended initiatives include: 4. Publicize the information relating to the importance of the equine industry in Northeast Ontario, including publicity at the Ontario Royal Winter Fair and other related events. 5. Act as a sponsor for the preparation of the Northeast Ontario Equine Conference and Show proposed in Recommendation 3. This would include the creation of a Steering Committee from the industry to advise on the Conference and Show. 6. Continue to maintain and expand the “Horsenorth.ca” website both as a central source for industry information as well as a source for best practices with respect to industry, owner and rider development. 7. Encourage all CFDC’s in Northeast Ontario as well as the Sudbury Federal Development Corporation to participate in the further development of the website for their particular regions. 8. Develop local outreach programs to horse industry participants or potential entrepreneurs to inform them of how CFDC’s can help in small business development. 9. Promote and undertake an Equine Industry Opportunities Study as a complement to this first study on the economic contribution of the industry. 10. Initiate and fund a needs assessment, market study and business plan for the establishment of a Specialized Equine Veterinary Hospital in Northeast Ontario. (See Appendix A “Veterinary Services Recommendations” for more details). 11. Facilitate consideration (Government of Ontario) by the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) of a Northern Rotation program for students in the fourth year of its DVM program. (See Appendix A “Veterinary Services Recommendations” for more details). 12. Consider rehabilitation and re-development of the New Liskeard indoor riding facility as a common community equine show facility . The facility, originally part of the now closed New Liskeard Agricultural College, is owned by the Ontario Realty Corp. But it is scheduled to be transferred to the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) in 2006 – perhaps offering an opportunity for the community to acquire it. At the time the New Liskeard Agricultural College was operating, the Equine Technology Program was the most popular, drawing applicants from around the Province. Closure of the College represented an annual $10 million loss to the community. Initiatives for the provincial and federal governments Both the government of Ontario and the Government of Canada need to recognize in a more formal way the existence of the equine industry as a source of potential further economic development and not treat it simply as an appendage of the farm sector or simply as a recreational pursuit. The industry has definite potential for further development, as is recognized by Australia, United States and most countries in Europe. Initiatives to be considered include the following: 13. Formally recognize the equine industry in existing government funding programs relating to agriculture, resource-based industries and, more generally, economic development. 14. In conjunction with national level equine associations (Equine Canada), sponsor and undertake a new study on the Economic Importance of the Equine Industry in Canada, using a similar methodology to the study that was carried out in 2005 for United States by the American Horse Council Foundation (AHCF). 15. Consider incentives for breeding, coaching and training, and riding stable development in accordance with provincial and national standards and certifications. 16. Provide assistance to facilitate the creation of a Northeast Ontario Equine Association and to organize the Conference and Show as set out in Recommendations 1 and 3. 17. Provide assistance and funding for Recommendations 9, 10, 11 and 12. Veterinary RecommendationsIssue 1 – Central Veterinary FacilityBackground While the veterinarians established in the Northeast provide excellent services a general level of concern exists with respect to specialize help. In an emergency specialized help is three or four hours away (Guelph, Kempville, etc). A four hour trailer ride is difficult for a healthy horse, let alone a horse suffering from colic, a broken bone, an infectious disease, distocia, etc. The window of time where veterinary medicine will be effective in an emergency situation is very short due to the delicate nature of equine physiology and unless immediate action is taken there is little hope of recovery without permanent damage and many treatable cases result in non-survival due to time delays. This applies both to regular cases where our over worked veterinarians cannot get to a farm in time or specialty cases where horses cannot endure the distance to expert help. Northeast Ontario is not completely without equine veterinary technology, there are a handful of veterinarians who attempt to keep up with current techniques and technologies. The major issue is that this technology and continued education is extremely expensive and not an option in the majority of practices. Ontario Veterinary College, at the University of Guelph, recently installed an MRI machine, the cost of which was in the millions. While the equine community in Northeast Ontario does not expect this kind of expense, money is required for X-ray machines and equipment specifically for emergency medicine and lameness diagnostics. Recommended solution The solution to improving veterinary medicine in Northeast Ontario lies in improving the infrastructure. Designing and building a facility that could employ several full time veterinarians, especially those with specialties, is clearly the way to increase the standard of veterinary medicine in our region. The facility would also serve the function of attracting more veterinarians to the area. The trend in veterinary medicine is moving towards large practices where vets can work together, acting as resources and back-up for each other, a “two heads are better than one” philosophy. Large practices can also afford more equipment and attract specialists. Since emergencies rarely happen at convenient times this is an immense relief for horse owners and makes practicing in the north more attractive to veterinarians. The key to maximizing the effectiveness of such a facility is to construct it in a central location. In order to decrease the distance customers are required to travel in emergencies the hospital needs to be central and accessible. Issue 2 - Rotation for Four Year Students of OVC Background The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program at Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) is a four year course. Students in first year learn anatomy, physiology, clinical medicine, health management, genetics, etc to grasp normal animal functions. Second year consists mainly of courses which teach students about disease and illness. Third year centers on treatment, surgery and clinical skills. In fourth year, students are taught in the wards with real cases, gaining hands on experience. Students spend their time on “rotations” which are two or three week blocks in one area of medicine including small animal surgery, intensive care unit (ICU), large animal medicine, exotics, etc. Students must take a combination of rotations to ensure that they are well trained in all areas of medicine but are also given electives to choose areas where they would like to specialize. One option students may take is the equine stream which means a lot of the year is spent in the equine wing of OVC and student veterinarians practice clinical skills specifically on horses. While the fourth year rotation is an excellent opportunity to gain clinical experience, students are limited by the case load at the college. If very few cases come in the week you are on a specific rotation you will not get to see or do much. Students are also exposed to a very unusual type of case load at the university. Being a specialty facility, OVC does not get regular cases that are seen in every day practice such as vaccinations, coggins tests, minor injuries, common diseases, etc. People bring horses to OVC which are severely injured or have a rare illness and need surgery or technology that is not available from their regular veterinarian. Once out in practice, these veterinarians do not have experience with common cases and struggle in the first few years to maintain an excellent standard of medicine. Recommended solution Fourth Year Rotation in the North In order to expose veterinary students to common practice and regular case loads outside of OVC, rotations outside of the veterinary college are allowed, providing the student can justify the learning experience as one that cannot be attained at OVC. There is a program set up to connect students with alumni, especially those who have a unique specialty, so that experience may be gained in areas uncommon to OVC. Northeast Ontario would be smart to tap into this program and set up a fourth year rotation in the north on the basis that students will gain experience with ambulatory (driving from farm to farm) medicine in the North. Veterinarians in our region frequently perform tasks which are common all over Ontario and students would be exposed to a normal case load and regular cases which they would not usually see until their first year in practice. Using the veterinary facility suggested above as a base would be an excellent idea. Residence with room for five or ten students at a time would be the only required additional infrastructure, making the project cost efficient. Benefits Current veterinary students are of the opinion that equine practice in Northeast Ontario consists of traveling on icy roads from farm to farm, walking through fields in the middle of winter, and dealing with unruly horses with only the help of the ignorant horse owner. While there may be some of this, there is much more to veterinary medicine in the North, including a much closer relationship with clients than large practices in the south provide. Getting to know clients and developing relationships is very important to many student veterinarians and a rotation in Northeast Ontario would demonstrate this to future vets. The north is also relatively traffic free, when compared to Southern Ontario and is an excellent place to raise a family. The scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and the cost of living is reduced. The northern horse industry is beginning to expand at a rapid rate and new veterinarians would have lots of business, avoiding the competitive nature of veterinary medicine down south. By bringing students to Northeast Ontario and showing them how veterinary medicine is practiced in our region we may let the benefits of living in the north speak for themselves, in the hopes that more veterinarians will settle up here. People are habitual by nature and veterinary students are no exception. We are afraid of the unknown and very unlikely to move to a place we have never seen, especially when that place is stereo-typified in an unpleasant light. Issues The amount of organization and planning which goes into the creation of fourth year rotations is substantial and requires co-operation from many institutions and individuals. The north would require agreements from Ontario Veterinary College and veterinarians in the north who would be willing to mentor and teach students on rotation. Scheduling must be done way in advance to ensure students are prepared to move up north for a few weeks at a time and clients must be willing to accept students accompanying their regular veterinarian.
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