The American Horse Council is asking its member organizations, their members and the entire horse community to help in the drafting of the 2015 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Equine Study, which is in the preparation stages now. NAHMS is within the U. S. Department of Agriculture and is working with the National Agricultural Statistics Service to prepare for its Equine 2015 study.

The horse industry’s input is essential if this study is to address the priorities and questions the horse community has about itself. All organizations should pass this request on to their members so that as many horse owners, breeders and stakeholders can participate in the preparation of the 2015 study goals. This important study can go a long way in filling out information gaps in equine industry data. NAHMS is seeking input through the end of 2013, so please act now.

The AHC stresses that the horse community has the opportunity to help determine the objectives of the study by identifying what information it would like to know about itself. Please take a few minutes now to complete a 5-minute survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NAHMS_Equine2015_I. This will help ensure that this is the best study possible. The survey is intended to identify the specific information that members of the horse community deem valuable Surveys must be completed by Dec. 31, 2013. NAHMS will use the survey results to draft the parameters of its 2015.

This will be NAHMS’ third national study of the equine industry. It is scheduled to begin in summer 2015. The study is conducted every 10 years; the last one was in 2005. Results of previous NAHMS equine studies are available at: http://nahms.aphis.usda.gov.

Any comments or questions can be addressed to Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz at 970-494-7261 or Josie.Traub-Dargatz@ColoState.edu.