Survey to look at New Jersey's 'horse power'

The New Jersey Equine Survey will take place this month.On or about July 17, New Jersey horse owners, horse farm owners and managers, along with others involved in riding, breeding, training or horse industry operations and services, will receive the New Jersey Equine Survey from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The service is a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a press release from the Rutgers Equine Science Center, located on the Cook College campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

The survey is part of a larger study designed to measure the impact of horses in New Jersey, according to the press release.

Rather than just being a horse census, the study will determine the economic benefits horses bring to the state. It will also determine how supplier businesses and others (such as hay, straw and grain farmers and other types of traditional agriculture) benefit from horses in the state, according to the press release.

The survey will also look at how many acres of open space are devoted to keeping horses in New Jersey and what factors could negatively affect the horse industry, as well as similar information that will provide a true picture of New Jersey's "horse power," according to the press release.

The results of the survey will be used to inform and educate the public and to provide an accurate picture of the scope and breadth of the horse industry. A report will be made available to groups and individuals looking to increase their voice with legislators, governing bodies, regulators and various audiences, according to the press release.

Individual responses to the survey questionnaire will be compiled with all other responses so that complete anonymity will be maintained, according to the press release.

Data will be analyzed by a reliable, respected, experienced third party, according to the press release, and will be kept in the strictest confidence.

Officers of all the major breed groups and disciplines, as well as many individuals throughout the horse industry, are supporting and endorsing this survey. They urge anyone who receives the questionnaire to answer it promptly and completely, according to the press release.

Sponsors of the survey include the Rutgers Equine Science Center; the New Jersey Department of Agriculture; the New Jersey Equine Advisory Board; the New Jersey Sire Stakes; the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey; the Thoroughbred Breeders Association of New Jersey; the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association; and the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority (NJSEA), according to the press release.

For more information, contact Diana Orban Brown at (732) 932-9419 or Orban@aesop.rutgers.edu.