EQUINE
APRIL 30, 2020 | THE WELLINGTON ADVERTISER | 17
Equine industry feeling fallout of pandemic By JAIME MYSLIK CENTRE WELLINGTON – 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. “It gets so lonely out there,” said Travis Hall Equestrian Centre owner and riding coach Cindy Johnson. “You’re walking around and everything’s different. It’s just so surreal … it’s really depressing.” She hasn’t 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 don’t have any income other than lessons. “There’s instructors and schools out there, they don’t own their own place,” she explained. “They’ll rent a place and then they’ll 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. “So that’s a monthly expense for them.” Farms and horses need help because they’re slipping through the cracks with no income from regularly scheduled lessons.
“The cost of feeding these things is a lot more than people think and their daily maintenance,” Johnson explained. When the province shut down all non-essential businesses, riding instructors still had to look after their horses. “Everything else that closed they can shut the door and go away,” Johnson said. “We just have such added expense all the time.” On April 24 Ontario Equestrian launched a fundraiser called “Helping the Schoolies.” “Ontario’s riding lesson horses are at risk, as public riding stables have been classified as non-essential services due to the COVID19 pandemic,” the Ontario Equestrian website states. “Lesson horses, or ‘schoolies’ as they’re referred to, are used to teach people how to ride in a safe and progressive way. “These 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.” 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. “A lot of the barns that board horses, initially they
“These 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” CINDY JOHNSON
Cindy Johnson - submitted photo
weren’t deemed essential,” said Wellington Federation of Agriculture president Janet Harrop. That meant horse owners couldn’t go to the farm and help with the horses, putting a lot more work on the stable owners. “Now that has changed, but we still have a lot of owners that are not going onfarm,” said Harrop. “They’re self-isolating out of fear - and that’s what they’ve been told and that’s 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. “So the equine industry is getting hit particularly rough.” 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 can’t come out to the barn. “We’re taking care of the boarders,” Johnson said. “So those horses are looking for their owners and they don’t understand what’s going on.” But she hasn’t experienced any pushback from boarders who aren’t able to see their horses. “Everybody knows. Everybody understands,” she
said. “We get calls from them, ‘Is there anything we can do to help? Can I drop anything off?’” “We’ve 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.” She also ensures the horses get their dose of carrots and apples. That’s not the case everywhere. Equine Guelph director Gayle Ecker said boarders are struggling with not being able to see their horses. “There are people who can afford to board,” Ecker said. “May still have their job or may not be able to afford it as
easily as they could, but they can still pay it. “But the problem is that now they’re not allowed to go see their horse and some places that’s absolutely fine, in other places not so good.” 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. “So legally, what can they do is something that they have to find out because if they’re concerned about their horse can they go on the property?” Ecker asked. “I can’t answer that; that has to be answered by somebody else.” Ecker and Harrop also SEE EXERCISE » 18
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