What should equine facilities do in response to social distancing and other COVID-19 recommendations. The NC Department of Agriculture has been contacted regarding this issue and we are awaiting their official comment. The NCHC is prepared to give the following information as advice only at this time. However, this could become a mandate as we move forward.

Advice to Equine Boarding facilities and Training and Breeding Facilities (and any other operation that caters to outside clients of any kind), to cease all unnecessary operations and activities, engage in horse care activities ONLY, and close your facilities to all but essential staff. If a facility has clients that engage in self-care for their horses these individuals should be allowed to come to the facility for horse care activities ONLY. Moving forward, the facility owner or manager should take control of developing a schedule in which clients are assigned a time to visit the facility to care for their horse(s). This will minimize the number of individuals at the facility at any given time. If a client has a horse on full or partial care (whose needs are being met by staff), those individuals are asked to refrain from visiting the facility. In addition, if it is possible to decrease the amount of staff at a facility in order to minimize the number of individuals coming and going, an employer is asked to do so.

(Adapted from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture)