The Horse Farm Improvement Program (HFIP) aims to improve animal health and well-being, and to bolster economic success in the equine industry. The program is designed to help individual horse farms improve in targeted areas of their choosing through evaluation, discussion and resource provision.
Currently, New York State (NYS) does not have a program for equine farm certification, evaluation or improvement. The goal of this project is to enhance equine welfare and equine operation sustainability by building an improvement program for equine farms. More specifically, we are training a statewide network of extension personnel who feel comfortable in advising horse farm operations on best management practices by using the evaluation and resources we are compiling. These extension personnel can then help interested farms to improve. The Horse Farm Improvement Program focuses on equine health and management, operations and environmental sustainability. The HFIP is a voluntary program for interested equine operations. Farms that reach out to enroll will fill out a pre-visit questionnaire, schedule a farm visit, and work with extension personnel on a comprehensive equine operation evaluation. Based on that evaluation, extension personnel can then offer the equine operation tailored recommendations for improvement.
The areas covered in the HFIP evaluation include horse health and biosecurity; nutrient, pasture and manure management; human safety; business management; facilities; and environmental sustainability. Our priorities are equine health and well-being, the stability of the state industry’s many sectors, and equitable access to evidence-based resources for NYS equine operations.
Learn more here: https://cals.cornell.edu/animal-science/outreach-extension/extension/equine-program/horse-farm-improvement-program
