USDA to Study Equine Industry in 2005

Veterinary Services

December 20, 2004

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin collecting data for its Equine 2005 Study in early 2005.

Conducted by USDA’S National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), Equine 2005 will consist of two separate components: 1) equine events and 2) on–farm health management factors relating to the control of equine infectious diseases. Twenty–eight states will participate in the study.*

The Equine 2005 Study will be NAHMS’ second national study of the equine industry. The first, Equine ‘98, included valuable information on the health and health management practices of the U.S. equine population, testing practices for equine
infectious anemia, equine identification, infectious upper respiratory disease, colic, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, causes of equine death, vaccination practices and biosecurity on equine
operations. NAHMS equine reports are available at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nahms.

Objectives of the Events Component of the Equine 2005 Study include:

Ascertaining the scope (number and type) of equine events in the 6 of the 28 participating states: California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, New York and Texas; these states were selected because they are border states, equine import states or for
geographical representation.
Gathering data on the use of equid health documents at events as well as a description of age, origin and vaccination history for equids attending an event and
Determining the traceability of equids once they leave the selected events.

Objectives of the On–Farm Component of the Equine 2005 Study include:

Focusing on health practices that could impact the occurrence of equine infectious diseases.
Determining health management factors related to control of equine infectious
diseases and
Comparing relevant data collected in 2005 to data collected during the Equine ‘98 Study. These comparisons will help determine trends in equine health management related to the control of infectious diseases and the economic consequences of selected equine diseases.

Data collection for the events component is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2005. Data
collection for the on–farm component is scheduled for the summer of 2005. Participation in the Equine 2005 Study is strictly voluntary. As always, links between NAHMS data and operations where the data were collected are confidential.

*Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Note to Stakeholders: Stakeholder announcements and other APHIS information are available on the Internet. Go to the APHIS home page at http://www.apahis.usda.gov and click on the “News” button. For additional information on this topic, contact Suzan Holl (301) 734–6464 or suzan.holl@aphis.usda.gov.

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