In Australia, there are about 1.2 million horses used for racing, equestrian sports, recreation and for meat products. The thoroughbred and harness racing sector are of major financial importance, with large turnovers on the TABs. The Equestrian Federation has 500 registered clubs, 13,800 members and 28,500 registered horses. Sixty thousand young Australians are members of pony clubs. More than one million horses are kept on Australian farms and those in metropolitan areas provide a major demand for livestock feed. These brief statistics indicate the significance of industry and community involvement.

There are a number of equine research and development (R&D) programs throughout the world and these programs are funded in a variety of ways. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that unless there is a clear horse industry focus in translating these R&D programs to the industry needs, long term support for research will not be forthcoming and the results of the research largely ignored by the horse industry. This paper describes the formation and evolution of an equine R&D program in Australia that has had a strong industry focus and involvement.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) is a semi-government R&D corporation which manages R&D projects supported by industry funds for a range of groups and these industry funds are matched dollar for dollar by the Australian government. The areas of R&D managed by RIRDC include: rice, chicken meat, egs, wildflowers, honey bees, asian foods, deer, pasture seeds, organic produce, rare and natural fibres and agroforestry. In 1995, an Equine R&D program commenced under the auspices of RIRDC, with the appointment of a committee which included scientists with expertise in research and those with knowledge and expertise in various sectors of the horse industry. The program commenced with about 85% of its financial support from a registration fee on racehorses, which generated about $300,000 per annum with another $65,000 per annum from a variety of horse industry groups including: the Australian Harness Racing Council, the Equestrian Federation of Australia, the Australian Stock Horse Society, the Australian Quarter Horse Association, the Australian Equine Veterinary Association and Thoroughbred Breeders Australia. With the dollar for dollar matching by the government, this has enabled a total annual program of $730,000. The Committee has worked closely with the Australian Horse Industry Council in promoting the Equine R&D Program and in defining the R&D needs of the horse industry.

It became clear in the early phase of the program that communication with the horse industry would be a key to further horse industry support and this communication program has involved a number of major projects:

1. A survey of the research needs of the horse industry, involving more 3500 questionnaires distributed to all the major horse groups throughout Australia, following initial interviews with focus groups.

2. A major workshop involving researchers and horse industry personnel to identify the R&D priorities for the horse industry.

3. Preparation of a 5 year strategic plan for the horse industry, which was circulated to all national horse associations for comment and also to the major international research funding bodies.

4. Development of a quarterly newsletter and an internet web site (http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/rirdc) to communicate the results of the R&D program to the horse industry.

5. Annual review of the program strategies with the major horse industry groups.

From initial consultations with industry, an interim set of strategies was developed to provide guidance to applicants for funds through the R&D Program:

• Reduce wastage and major causes of economic loss in the horse industry, including loss due to infectious diseases.
• Improve the nutrition and management of young horses and breeding mares to allow their genetic potential to be attained and congenital disorders to be reduced.
• Develop improved pasture mixes and pasture and management regimens for horses on Australian farms and also to develop sustainable land use practices for horses depastured around urban areas.
• Develop strategies to decrease the incidence of problems affecting performance horses.
• Investigate methods for reducing the high incidence of early embryonic loss in brood mares.
• Develop strategies to reduce the risk of infectious diseases or other conditions that may affect the import and export potential of the Australian horse industry.
• Develop strategies to assist the expanding horse export industry.

These strategies were general in their nature and the object of the extensive industry consultations, which have included face to face meetings and an extensive independent survey, is to establish a clear view of the types and fields of research that will benefit the industry. From extensive consultation with the industry and feedback on the five year plan, specific program strategies have been identified.

Manage horse industry and government investment in research and development to:

• Ensure the health and welfare of the horse
• Assist the industry to be more profitable and reduce the current level of wastage
• Encourage the export potential of the industry
• Promote the sustainable use of land and water resources
• Enhance the skills, knowledge and capability of people in the industry

The R&D Committee agreed to do this by:

• Consulting with industry and research agencies to ensure a more unified approach to R&D
• Fostering research into problems of significance to the horse industry
• Promoting excellence and collaboration in research
• Advancing education, training and extension of research findings

The RIRDC Equine R&D program is now in its 5^th year and has widespread support from the horse industry. Details of the statistical analysis of the research priorities for each of 52 questions allowed an overall score to be developed for the priorities for research. This is presented in a table format below (Table 1), with rankings into quartiles, identifying the highest priorities, high priorities, medium priorities and low priorities. The material in the table also includes industry assessments of areas where provision of additional information was considered important. The numerical score indicates where the particular research priority ranked within the 52 priorities that we identified from focus group interviews with a wide industry base.

The R&D program has a close relationship to the horse industry and has a major focus on ensuring that the R&D is relevant to industry needs and that the outcomes of the research are promoted to the horse industry through publications, the newsletter and the internet site. The Australian Harness Racing Council have provided strong financial support for the program.

TABLE 1

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIAN HORSE INDUSTRY SURVEY TO ESTABLISH PRIORITIES FOR EQUINE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT