Safety will be a big theme at this year’s EquiMania!. The “Play Safe. It’s HorseSense!” safety initiative will be expanded to include safety on the entire horse farm. The multi-faceted safety initiative includes a scavenger hunt on a mock horse farm where kids will be Danger Detectives investigating a dozen dangers: in the barn, around equipment (RTV), outside and around horses (including rider safety).

From 1990 to 2005, 63 percent of animal-related injuries among youth in Ontario occurred in incidents involving horses. The majority of the injuries were caused by falling from a horse or being struck by a horse. Machine run-overs were the predominant cause of fatal injuries – at 46 percent – for children under the age of 16.

“It is important to deliver a critical safety message in a fun, interactive way to kids,” says Gayle Ecker, senior manager of Equine Guelph. “Young danger detectives will be rewarded for their investigative work by receiving a detective badge and horse hat!”

In addition to horse farm safety, kids and parents will learn more about horses: how to braid a tail, the potential careers available in the horse industry, how to bandage a horse’s leg, identifying horse bones, equine nutrition, the different breeds and information on parasites.

Sponsors of the 2009 EquiMania! travelling education centre include: Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, Farm Safety Association, Grand River Agricultural Society, Kubota Canada, Ontario Equestrian Federation, Pfizer, Shur-Gain, System Fencing, and Standardbred Canada.