A longitudinal study describing horse demographics and movements during a competition season in Ontario, Canada.

The objective of this study was to describe the demographics and movement patterns of a sample of horses in Ontario, Canada. A convenience sample of 222 owners completed an initial questionnaire to provide demographic information for 570 horses. These horses were enrolled in a longitudinal study to document their movements from May to November 2015 using a monthly questionnaire. The median age of the participating horses was 11 years (IQR: 8 to 16 years). The primary discipline of participating horses included competitive disciplines (63.3%), leisure (33.3%), and racing (3.2%). During the 7-month period, there were 3001 unidirectional movements of horses between facilities. Reasons for travel on/off a facility included attending a competition (38.7%), leisure activities (18.8%), and training (7.5%). The demographic and movement data presented in this study provide insight into the characteristics of a subset of horses in Ontario, and may contribute to outbreak preparedness in the population.