The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has partnered with the University of Guelph to create the Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN).

The purpose is to detect disease and other health issues early so that action can be taken as soon as possible. The equine network includes four private veterinarians (two from racing – one Standardbred, one Thoroughbred) who help direct the network comprised of individuals from the U of G and OMAFRA.

Each quarter they send out a survey to practicing equine vets to fill out regarding diseases/disorders/welfare issues that they have seen in their practice so that they can identify any trends developing and investigate issues if need be. The members on the network discuss the results by teleconference and a veterinary report is created from this survey and from lab results provided to them.

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