Expanding the Horse Farm Improvement Program in New York State

The Horse Farm Improvement Program (HFIP) is a statewide equine extension effort to enhance equine welfare and equine operation sustainability that has been developed in large part by students participating in Cornell's CALS-CCE summer internship program. Past interns have developed the program through literature searches, knowledge-gathering interviews, and conducting pilot farm assessments. 

We are now focused on operationalizing the HFIP throughout New York State and would like to enroll interested barn owners and managers and work with them to improve their farms. The summer intern would play a vital role in engaging the equine community, enrolling farms, assessing equine operations, and training extension staff on the use of the HFIP.

Roles and responsibilities 

The student intern would be responsible for outreach and education to enroll horse farms in the area in the Horse Farm Improvement Program (HFIP). They would work through the program with enrolled farms by helping them with the pre-visit questionnaire, conducting an on-farm assessment, and by providing tailored feedback based on program recommendations. The intern would also be involved in helping in the continual improvement of the program by conducting literature searches and asking for feedback from enrolled farms. The intern would also have the opportunity to be involved in the educational activities run by the Orange County CCE, particularly the county fair and other events where outreach could be conducted to educate and enroll farms in the program, as well as other equine-oriented county programming.

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to non-graduating students in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

• A familiarity with the equine industry is helpful but not required
• Relevant coursework includes ANSC 2650, Equine Biology and Management, but is also not required to apply
• Driving will be required

Learning outcomes 

By the end of the internship, the student should be able to:

• Describe the makeup of the New York State equine industry
• Conduct a thorough scientific literature search and integrate their findings into a comprehensive literature review
• Comfortably engage with equine industry members including barn owners and managers, horse owners, trainers, industry professionals, and extension personnel
• Perform an equine farm assessment
• Recommend appropriate resource- or animal-based measures for on-farm welfare assessments
• Integrate evaluation findings and scientific literature into actionable recommendations for horse barn owners and managers
• Convey their findings in written and oral formats