EQUINE
APRIL 30, 2020 | THE WELLINGTON ADVERTISER | 17
Equine industry feeling fallout of pandemic By JAIME MYSLIK CENTRE WELLINGTON â Horses still need to be fed, stalls mucked and barns maintained. But with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to nonessential business closures, the equine industry throughout Canada is feeling ripple effects. And Wellington County has more equine farms than any other county in Ontario. âIt gets so lonely out there,â said Travis Hall Equestrian Centre owner and riding coach Cindy Johnson. âYouâre walking around and everythingâs different. Itâs just so surreal ⌠itâs really depressing.â She hasnât had boarders or lesson riders out to the Centre Wellington facility since nonessential businesses were shut down in March. Johnson said the farm lost 60 per cent of its income due to a cancellation of riding lessons, but still has some boarding revenue. Lesson barns However, she said some facilities donât have any income other than lessons. âThereâs instructors and schools out there, they donât own their own place,â she explained. âTheyâll rent a place and then theyâll bring in a tractor trailer once a month with hay and then at the end of the month they get another tractor trailer, the guy just rotates the trailers for them. âSo thatâs a monthly expense for them.â Farms and horses need help because theyâre slipping through the cracks with no income from regularly scheduled lessons.
âThe cost of feeding these things is a lot more than people think and their daily maintenance,â Johnson explained. When the province shut down all non-essential businesses, riding instructors still had to look after their horses. âEverything else that closed they can shut the door and go away,â Johnson said. âWe just have such added expense all the time.â On April 24 Ontario Equestrian launched a fundraiser called âHelping the Schoolies.â âOntarioâs riding lesson horses are at risk, as public riding stables have been classified as non-essential services due to the COVID19 pandemic,â the Ontario Equestrian website states. âLesson horses, or âschooliesâ as theyâre referred to, are used to teach people how to ride in a safe and progressive way. âThese incredible animals are the feeder system for our sport and the pillars to our industry. Without the revenue from lessons and camps, riding facilities are unable to provide the basic care for their beloved lesson horses.â Ontario Equestrian is asking for donations in the form of supplies, services and/or fostering a lesson horse. For more information or to register a riding facility to receive benefits visit ontarioequestrian.ca. Boarders The relationship between barn owner and boarder could also become strained as boarders are asked to stay home and stop visiting their horse. âA lot of the barns that board horses, initially they
âThese incredible animals are the feeder system for our sport and the pillars to our industry. Without the revenue from lessons and camps, riding facilities are unable to provide the basic care for their beloved lesson horsesâ CINDY JOHNSON
Cindy Johnson - submitted photo
werenât deemed essential,â said Wellington Federation of Agriculture president Janet Harrop. That meant horse owners couldnât go to the farm and help with the horses, putting a lot more work on the stable owners. âNow that has changed, but we still have a lot of owners that are not going onfarm,â said Harrop. âTheyâre self-isolating out of fear - and thatâs what theyâve been told and thatâs what they should do - but some of them have lost their income and now those (stable) owners are doing sometimes three, four, five times the amount of work because a lot of those (horse) owners
would help look after those animals. âSo the equine industry is getting hit particularly rough.â Johnson said her boarders have been understanding. She is caring for 50 horses, 20 of them she owns and uses for lessons. The remaining 30 are boarded and their owners canât come out to the barn. âWeâre taking care of the boarders,â Johnson said. âSo those horses are looking for their owners and they donât understand whatâs going on.â But she hasnât experienced any pushback from boarders who arenât able to see their horses. âEverybody knows. Everybody understands,â she
said. âWe get calls from them, âIs there anything we can do to help? Can I drop anything off?ââ âWeâve had porch drop offs and I send them pictures. You just keep sending them pictures and letting them know how their babies are and try to do the best you can.â She also ensures the horses get their dose of carrots and apples. Thatâs not the case everywhere. Equine Guelph director Gayle Ecker said boarders are struggling with not being able to see their horses. âThere are people who can afford to board,â Ecker said. âMay still have their job or may not be able to afford it as
easily as they could, but they can still pay it. âBut the problem is that now theyâre not allowed to go see their horse and some places thatâs absolutely fine, in other places not so good.â She said that if boarders have concerns about their horses they have to try to work with the facility owners to deal with it from afar. âSo legally, what can they do is something that they have to find out because if theyâre concerned about their horse can they go on the property?â Ecker asked. âI canât answer that; that has to be answered by somebody else.â Ecker and Harrop also SEE EXERCISE Âť 18
Dufferin Veterinary Services Professional Corporation for LARGE ANIMALS
¡ Annual Horse Vaccines ¡ Equine Reproduction & Dentistry ¡ Full Service for Horses, Cattle, Sheep, & Goats Rex G Crawford DVM
|
Ruedi Waelchli DVM
|
Mandy Mulder DVM
519.941.3111
393602 Cty. Rd. 12, Amaranth, ON
Budsonâs proudly serves the equine Budsonâs serves equine Budsonâsproudly proudly serves thethe equine community, carrying manythe of quality community, carrying many of the quality community, carrying many ofto the quality brand names youâve come value. brand brandnames namesyouâve youâvecome cometo tovalue. value. Due COVID-19, weErin, are doing contactless sales 93toMain Street, Ontario N0B 1T0 93 Main Ontario N0B 1T0 via by calling 93orderdesk@budsonfeed.com MainStreet, Street, Erin,2002 Ontarioor N0B 1T0 519Erin, 833 519 519-833-2002. 519833 8332002 2002
Budsonâs proudly serves the equine
Curbside pickup with pre-arranged pickup times. community, carrying many of the quality We prefer to have 24 hours notice if possible. brand names youâve come to value. No Cash!
93 Main Street, Erin, Ontario N0B 1T0 519 833 2002