Riding stables closed, competitions cancelled amid COVID-19

COVID-19 has forced stables to close and riding lessons and competitions to be cancelled, leaving Nova Scotia's equestrian industry to wonder what's next.

Spring is typically when business picks up after a slow winter.

"This could not have happened at a worse time of the year for a lot of stables," said Nadine Bollig, owner and head coach at Reaching Strides Equestrian Centre in Port Hood, N.S.

After ending their March Break camp early to ensure the safety of the staff and riders, Reaching Strides was completely shut down to the public.

Bollig has been the only person working on the property. She looks after 32 horses by herself.

"It's been quite a challenge," she said. "The days are long."

Equestrian Canada competitions have been cancelled until June 1. The Nova Scotia Equestrian Federation has also put a hold on all competitions.

But not everyone who takes riding lessons is gearing up for competition. Many are beginners.

Roz Moskovits is a certified coach with Equestrian Canada. "It's affecting everybody," Moskovits said.

Moskovits regularly travels throughout Atlantic Canada to coach riders, but with physical distancing measures and tightened borders across the region, that's no longer possible, so she and other coaches are out of work.

There is more happening in the online equestrian community, Moskovits said. She teaches online courses like equine nutrition, sports psychology and equine behaviour.

"But the hands-on with the horses is what is missing right now for so many people," she said.

'This is their therapy'

Bollig said people who come to Reaching Strides for lessons are "very horse-deprived" right now. She gets phone calls and messages from kids every day wanting to see pictures and videos of the horses, so she's been posting on Facebook as much as possible.

For people who own their horses but pay for them to be boarded at stables, they have limited access.

According to Equestrian Canada's recommendations, boarders should not be allowed on the premises unless they're providing an essential service.

"This is their therapy, this is their time when they come after a hard day of work and they can relax for a few hours with their horse.... It's very difficult," Bollig said.

For those fortunate enough to house their horses on their own property, like Moskovits, it makes the situation a little easier.

"I'm hearing and seeing lots of really strong emotions with people that they're missing that, and it is such a big part of their lives," Moskovits said.

At Reaching Strides, the horses are putting on weight since they're not being ridden regularly, and Bollig has had to adjust their feeding.

They manage to get some exercise, frolicking outside, but at facilities where horses are stabled indoors, that's not an option.

Long periods of inactivity, Bollig said, are what she worries about most. Like people, it can be difficult to get horses back into a healthy, physical condition.

The horses seem "confused" as well, Bollig said, because they're wondering where all the children and adults have gone.

There's also the question of annual vaccinations, which usually happen at the end of May into June.

Veterinary care has been deemed an essential service in Nova Scotia, but only to provide urgent and emergency services.

As for the future, Bollig said the focus now is how to come up with the money to keep the horses going until she can reopen.

At some point, Bollig hopes there will be government assistance for equestrian facilities because they're "very essential" to a lot of people's mental and physical health.

"It'd be a shame to see a lot of them have to close their doors because of this," she said.