Equine Guelph has announced the official launch of thehorseportal.ca – a new easily-accessible online learning format for the equine industry.

From the Rockies to the eastern islands, the portal will bring together horsepeople like never before to stay current on best health and welfare practices. The new program, which has resulted from an innovative industry partnership, provides horsepeople with short, practical online training to stay up to date with the latest information on equine care.

For any person responsible for a horse, it is essential to learn the national standards. Each day, new scientific knowledge emerges on how to better care for horses and deal with emerging issues. It is everyone's responsibility to stay current on best health and welfare practices and industry standards.

The inaugural short courses are 'Equine Welfare - Canada's Code' and 'Equine Biosecurity - Canada's standard.' They will be offered March 6 - 24 and April 10 - 28, respectively.

"Through The Horse Portal, grooms and trainers can access common sense, practical training that can be used on a daily basis," says Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph. "Equine Guelph looks forward to partnering with the equine industry across the nation to bring Canadians together from racing and non-racing to learn about equine welfare and care as a community. Thank you to Standardbred Canada for supporting us on this important industry initiative."

From racing to performance to the backyard pony, this portal was developed to cater to and benefit all segments of the equine industry. Equine Guelph has partnered with 10 English-speaking provincial equestrian federations across Canada to offer their members equine training and education through The Horse Portal.

This project is funded in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Agricultural Adaptation Council assists in the delivery of GF2 in Ontario. Other partners include: Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, Equestrian Canada, Farm & Food Care Ontario, Greenhawk, Omega Alpha Equine, Ontario Equestrian Federation, Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Standardbred Canada. Participating Federations include: Alberta Equestrian Federation, Equine Association of Yukon, Horse Council British Columbia, Island Horse Council, Manitoba Horse Council, New Brunswick Equestrian Association, Newfoundland and Labrador Equestrian Association, Nova Scotia Equestrian Federation, Ontario Equestrian Federation and Saskatchewan Horse Federation. The national training partner is Equestrian Canada.

For more information on The Horse Portal, go to thehorseportal.ca.

(Equine Guelph)