Southern Region Equine Knowledge Base

The program to be developed is an Equine Knowledge Base. The Southern Regional Equine Specialists from all 13 southern regional states will contribute to the development of an Equine Knowledge Base. The Equine Knowledge Base will address the program areas of Animal Sciences, Environmental and Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine. The development of an Equine Knowledge Base using Web technology and infrastructure will require only a browser and an internet connection for user access. By leveraging their knowledge and sharing information, the Southern Region Equine Extension Specialists can empower their clientele and extension professionals with the ability to find information in a "just in time# manner. Specialist's estimate that 70% of the questions they receive are repeat questions requesting the same or similar information. The Equine Knowledge Base would allow for effective and efficient answering of these questions while providing Specialists with improved professional time management. Target audiences of this project are the over 2 million horse owners, those that don't own a horse but are active participates in the industry, millions of international owners and interested parties. Target audience also includes the general public, county extension agents, young people, college students in equine program (which are 90% female), Veterinarians, professors, farriers, farm workers (which are predominantly Hispanic in most southern states), and equine professionals. Women will be a targeted audience as their presence in the horse industry has escalated.o