165 Environmental Concerns Identified Through an Anonymous Online Survey

Abstract

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.