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Equine Canada Invites the Ontario Racing Industry to Participate in the Ontario Traceability Pilot Project

March 24, 2010

Equine Canada has invited members of the Ontario racing and breeding industry to participate in an Ontario Traceability Pilot Project. The Pilot Project will help to determine industry readiness for a national equine traceability program. Participants will be required to report on movement and health treatments related to individual horses through various reporting methods. The Pilot Project is designed to allow analysis of

• labour costs related to record-keeping, and

• use and effectiveness of different record-keeping methods.

The Ontario racing industry has been identified as a key sector in which to road-test the requirements for equine traceability. The data collected will be used to create an Action Plan for a national equine traceability program to address bio-security for the Canadian herd, horse health and welfare, and food chain safety for Canada.

To participate in the Ontario Traceability Pilot Project applicants must

• hold a current and valid ORC (Ontario Racing Commission) licence (either Standardbred, Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse);

• have care, custody and control of 10 or more horses, including one or more horses active in racing in Ontario; and

• commit to reporting change of location and horse health treatments for all of their horses over a 90-day period —May, June, and July 2010.

Participants will be required to attend an orientation session in April and be available for regular debriefing sessions throughout the reporting period. Budget has been allocated to offset the costs for people participating in the project.

To launch the Ontario Traceability Pilot Project, Equine Canada has partnered with the Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) and OnTrace Agri-Food Traceability (OnTrace). Strategic Equine Inc. has been contracted by Equine Canada to manage the Pilot Project on behalf of Equine Canada and their partners. Each partner expects to benefit from the project in the following ways:

Equine Canada — Data analysis to support the development of an Action Plan for implementing a national equine traceability program.

Ontario Racing Commission — Data analysis that will contribute to a feasibility plan for a Horse Health Passport system for active racehorses.

OnTrace — Data analysis to help identify how to incorporate horse properties into a provincial agricultural/livestock premises registry program.

All data collected through the Pilot Project will be part of a confidential pool of data. Only statistical analysis and final summary reports will be available to the Project Partners.

ORC licensees who are interested in participating in the Pilot Project are asked to submit their contact information and a brief summary of how they participate in the Ontario racing industry, including the number of horses for which they have care, custody and control to:

Strategic Equine Inc.

93 Concession Street

Newmarket, ON

L3Y 3W4

Tel: 905-953-8964

Fax: 905-953-8809

Email: info@strategicequine.ca

A list of frequently asked questions regarding the Pilot Project is found below.

About Equine Canada

Equine Canada is Canada’s national governing body for equestrianism. A member-driven, charitable institution, it is the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recreational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry. Equine Canada is recognised by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national organisation representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.

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