Equine farms are building both stables for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses . For many of these farms, an outdoor arena that has an all-weather footing is the first working facility built. During inclement weather the ability to train in the outdoor arenas is inhibited, which in turn means the trainers, riders, and farms lose income as money is only made when horses are working, training, and competing. Indoor arenas allow for horses to continue to be worked no matter the weather conditions. The equine industry contributes a total of $122 billion dollars a year to the United States’ economy. The expenditures to build and maintain these arenas the horses utilize for training and work are a portion of the equine economic contribution . During the summer of 2018, an anonymous online survey was conducted to begin to characterize indoor arenas. Owners, managers, and riders were questioned on a variety of topics including arena construction and design, arena usage, footing type, maintenance practices, environmental concerns, and potential health issues experienced within the facilities. Respondents in the study defined indoor arenas differently depending on geographic region, however most definitions included a roof, some enclosure, and footing in order to work the horses. In addition, of the 335 respondents of the survey, 71% or 239 respondents reported having concerns about the environment within the indoor arena. The three main concerns are dust, moisture, and lack of air movement. Overall, the survey begins to build our understanding regarding these facilities and provides the framework to continue research in the future.
Equine farms, typically, build either stables or barns for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses (Kidd, Winchell, & Burwash, 1997). Often these training facilities also include indoor riding arenas to ensure continuums in training programs. As the equine industry contributes a total of $122 billion dollars a year to the United States’ economy, it is important to research the farms and facilities that are built and used (American Horse Council Foundation, 2018). 71% of the 335 respondents of an anonymous online survey conducted in the summer of 2018 reported having environmental concerns in the indoor arenas they rode and trained in. The main environmental concerns were dust, moisture, and air movement, though light and temperature were also noted concerns. Analysis was conducted to examine the association of the environmental concerns with different aspect of the indoor arenas such as footing types, attachment to barn, presence of windows and wall openings, and temperature control mechanisms in the facility. A notable trend towards significance is the concern with air movement decreased with the presence of fans and temperature control mechanisms (p< 0.10), while significant associations between lighting concerns were impacted by the presence or absence of translucent panels (p< 0.05) and the number of lights in the indoor arena also impacted whether lighting was a concern (p< 0.05). Overall, dust was always a concern no matter the circumstances. As environmental concerns were expressed by the majority of respondents, it’s important to identify potential reasons for the issues and then work to mitigate the concerns. This involves more targeted research in the future, assessment of mitigation tactics, and resources to design and build indoor arenas and facilities in ways that minimize environmental issues.
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