Horse Entrepreneurs and Their Customers as Partners in Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic

Abstract

Customers can be important partners and a resource for entrepreneurs during a pandemic situation. In this study, the utilization of this resource was investigated from the perspective of horse entrepreneurs. Firstly, the communication activity of horse entrepreneurs in their social media platforms was inspected, and secondly, a risk assessment for each horse premise was performed. As a result, a variation of communication activity of horse entrepreneurs was found between the northern and southern parts of Finland, and different risk levels of horse premises can be shown. In Northern Finland, 25% and, in Southern Finland, 43% of horse entrepreneurs gave COVID instructions to their customers. Risk levels varied from moderate to unacceptable. Many factors affect the risk level of horse premises, and it is not always in the hands of a single horse entrepreneur to guarantee a healthy environment to customers. Rather, it needs an investigation of the hygiene behaviour of customers and partnership with customers.