by CL Cimino

In 2020, seemingly without warning, the world changed. The COVID-19 virus seemed to attack everywhere, simultaneously. Businesses and lives were disrupted. Now we focus on getting back to work safely. We must figure out the next steps—how to open our business and how to stay in business if there is a second wave of COVID-19. And, how do we prepare for the future beyond COVID-19.

We are concerned first-and-foremost with the welfare and health of employees, participants, fans and customers - what are the initial steps a business should follow? Businesses are required to provide reasonable protections for their workers. Thermal Scanning is a critical component of demonstrating to your customers, local, state and government agencies that your business is taking reasonable protection measures.

March 17, 2020 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an update to its guidance that now expressly acknowledges that employers may implement temperature screening measures in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The EEOC noted that “because the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and state and local health authorities have acknowledged community spread of COVID-19, and issued attendant precautions, employers may measure employees’ body temperature.”

Challenges for the Equine Business

No business is immune to the ravages of the virus: we must figure out what to do—how to stay in business—and how to protect ourselves and others while we wait for the long-awaited vaccination that hopefully will save millions of lives.

So, what can the equine industry do, to safeguard against the spread of the virus and assure our participants, fans and customers that horse business administrators are concerned first-and-foremost with their welfare and health?

Racetracks, polo grounds, veterinary clinics, horse shows, rodeos, boarding farms, horse sales pavilions—all have different roles within multi-billion-dollar international equine industry. The reality is that, diverse as may be their missions—they all have two things in common, the very foundations of their endeavors: horses, and the humans who love them. Those humans may be owners, trainers, farriers, grooms, hotwalkers, or fans. Whichever the role, the humans in horse businesses need to be protected from the virus.

Read more: Need Help Reopening Your Equine Business Amidst Covid-19? Barton Rodgers TempDefend™ Sensor...

By Vivian Gabor

Neither starting a young horse over the course of three months nor preparing for a clinic or show is out of the ordinary for me as a trainer. The special thing about the challenge I write about here, however, was that the young horse I was training was an American Mustang, born in the wild and completely unused to humans, unlike our domestic horses.

I became involved in the “Mustang Makeover” in Germany, which is organized by “American Mustang Germany” (www.american-mustang.de), a group that is working to bring attention to the plight of the Mustang in the wild, as well as those in holding facilities. For the Makeover in Germany, between 15 and 20 Mustangs are imported from a holding facility and made available to trainers who have been vetted and selected to work with them.

For 90 days, the trainers have the challenge of helping their wild horses become accustomed to the new environment, to people, and to the process of saddle training. At the end of this three-month training period, there is a large competition with almost 6,000 people in the audience to experience the event live, and at the end, maybe bid for a Mustang in a special auction.

The Makeover in Germany is also watched by approximately 40,000 fans on social media, so not only are a number of Mustangs given new homes, but many new people are introduced to the problems Mustangs face and how different organizations are trying to solve them. Those interested can follow along with all the participating trainers and experience the exciting progress made with each Mustang over the 90 days. So the Makeover is an event that shows a variety of training methods and encourages thought and discussion regarding the kinds of techniques you would like to use with your own horse.

When I first heard about the Mustang Makeover, I was interested to work with a wild horse, not only as a horse trainer, but also as a behavioral biologist and equine scientist. I like to teach others about horse-appropriate training methodology, but I also like to educate myself and face new, intriguing tasks and challenges. I consider myself fortunate to have been given a chance to be involved in this special adventure.

Read more: Why I Did the Mustang Makeover—and Why I’d Do It Again