Kendra Coulter, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Labour Studies at Brock University, wrote a piece recently published in Horse Canada about steps that can be taken to protect horses from the impacts of climate change.

She writes:

“This summer is the coldest of the rest of your life.

 This jarring sentence is being circulated a lot these days as an alarming wakeup call.

The country is already sweltering under record-breaking heat. But the troubling reality is that even more extreme weather is in our future due to climate change and most equestrians are not prepared. It will get hotter. It will get drier. Storms will become more intense and erratic. There will be more forest fires and floods.

Horses can suffer severe acute and long-term effects of extreme heat in particular. The health, safety and happiness of horses will be deeply affected by our action or inaction.

Equestrian Canada has compiled valuable resources for competition organizers. This is a good start, and it offers insights of broader applicability.

But as an equestrian community we need to do more, both right now and in the coming years.”

Continue reading the full article here.