Framing Future of Work Considerations through Climate and Built Environment Assessment of Volunteer Work Practices in the United States Equine Assisted Services

The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and organizational practices through a national survey of equine assisted programs. We found that more fully enclosed indoor arena spaces were in cold/very cold and mixed-humid climates (p = 0.0114). Annually more volunteers (p = 0.0073) work in these two climate groups averaging 100 volunteers per location. A total of 34% of all facilities, regardless of climate, do not use mechanical ventilation systems (e.g., fans). As volunteer worker time in the arena increased, time in the barn microenvironment tended to decrease (p = 0.0538). We identified facility designs, ventilation usage, and worker arrangements to refine the scalability of future air contaminant monitoring and to provide frameworks for education, workplace design, and prevention of exposure to dust

Combined Driving: Task-Specific Position Impacts Grip Strength of Equestrian Athletes

BACKGROUND: Loss of hand strength is a predictor of mortality in aging populations. Despite reliance on the hands to participate in equestrian driving activity, no existing studies focus on associations of hand strength to athletic performance. Therefore, this study 1) established baseline handgrip of equestrian combined drivers in standing and task-specific positions, 2) determined endurance of task-specific handgrip, 3) compared handgrip strength to normative data, and 4) evaluated associations of handgrip and equestrian-specific variables. METHODS: There were 51 combined drivers (9 males, 42 females) ages 21-78 who completed a survey, standing handgrip, and grip strength and endurance in a task-specific position. Sixty-three percent of participants were 50 years or older. The dynamometer grip bar was normalized by hand size for standing tests; to duplicate sport-specific tasks, the bar was set to the closest setting. Significances were determined at p \u3c 0.05. RESULTS: Drivers with more than 30 years of experience demonstrated highest summed standing (73.1 ± 5.2 kg) and summed sitting (59.9 ± 6.3 kg) grip strength. Females 60-years and older had greater handgrip endurance (Χ2 = 8.323, df = 2, p = .0156) in non-dominant (left) hands. Males (60%) reported more cold weather fatigue than females. Glove wearing was associated with bilateral endurance balance; a higher proportion of endurance balance between dominant and non-dominant (49% high-high and 29% low-low; Χ2 = 11.047, df = 1, p = .0009) was realized. There were no associations of handgrip and prior injury. CONCLUSIONS: Our results have implications in understanding task-specific and normative grip strengths in aging equestrian populations. Bilateral balance in handgrip strength and endurance is important particularly in maintaining strength in non-dominant hands over time. Equestrian driving sport promotes greater endurance in older females. Strength can be improved by participating in combined driving, and engagement in this sport over several years\u27 benefits hand strength over time. This cohort of equestrian participants provides evidence that participating in hand-specific activities promotes greater strength, which has been previously shown to improve aging outcomes

Characterization of Indoor Arenas through an Anonymous Survey

Equine farms are building both stables for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses (Kidd et al., 1997). For many of these farms, an outdoor arena that has an all-weather footing is the first working facility built. During inclement weather the ability to train in the outdoor arenas is inhibited, which in turn means the trainers, riders, and farms lose income as money is only made when horses are working, training, and competing. Indoor arenas allow for horses to continue to be worked no matter the weather conditions. The equine industry contributes a total of $122 billion dollars a year to the United States\u27 economy. The expenditures to build and maintain these arenas the horses utilize for training and work are a portion of the equine economic contribution (American Horse Council Foundation, 2018). During the summer of 2018, an anonymous online survey was conducted to begin to characterize indoor arenas. Owners, managers, and riders were questioned on a variety of topics including arena construction and design, arena usage, footing type, maintenance practices, environmental concerns, and potential health issues experienced within the facilities. Respondents in the study defined indoor arenas differently depending on geographic region, however most definitions included a roof, some enclosure, and footing in order to work the horses. In addition, of the 335 respondents of the survey, 71% or 239 respondents reported having concerns about the environment within the indoor arena. The three main concerns are dust, moisture, and lack of air movement. Overall, the survey begins to build our understanding regarding these facilities and provides the framework to continue research in the future

Appalachian Environmental Health Literacy: Building Knowledge and Skills to Protect Health

Environmental health literacy (EHL) is an emerging, multidisciplinary field that promotes understanding of how environmental exposures can affect human health. After discussing the regional relevance of environmental health knowledge and skills, this article describes three ongoing Appalachian projects that are focused on measuring and building EHL

Kentucky Equestrians: Defining Socioeconomic Contexts for Extension Programming

Understanding relationships between demographic and economic factors and equestrian participation could improve horse program design. We implemented an online survey that characterized associations of participation in equine activities, socioeconomic factors, and economic factors with age. Seventy-five percent of respondents ride, and 34% are recreational, non-competitive participants. Respondents were mostly female, and many participate in the sport throughout life. Many respondents indicated they overspent on equestrian activities. Horse programs should incorporate information and activities that address issues unique to females, should develop skills required by amateur or recreational riders, and should incorporate information on financial wellness