Hello everyone and welcome to Day Two

Discussions
Wonderful to read all the discussions and introductions.  Just a couple of comments about course discussions and postings.  Although we try to keep this course informal and encourage a great deal of interaction we prefer that short-terms and slang are not used and prefer complete sentences.  We know that we are also guilty of sometimes using point form and will try to limit that.

Some students have limited time to participate or have the dreaded dial-up internet connection so please try to stay topic specific and use the correct discussion areas.

One last point, we all come from various horse backgrounds and geographical regions but through this course we can interact and learn each other’s view points.  Please, when posting a response to someone that may not share your view point, do so with respect and treat the discussion area as if it were a face to face classroom.  Also – please do not include actual farm names if being critical of their biosecurity plan (or lack of one).

Time Management
It is ideal if you can spend some time on the course site each day but I understand if that isn’t possible.  If you are going to miss a day or two please read ahead or plan to spend some extra time catching up when you return.

So – Now onto today – Day 2 – Unit 2 – “Farm and Facility Specific Biosecurity Plan” and “Principles of Infection and Control Programs”

In addition to this unit’s lessons – please take a look at our online tool – the Vaccination Equi-Planner:

https://thehorseportal.ca/healthcare-tools/vaccination-equi-planner-healthcare-tool/

Also please read: hand hygiene article (the horse.com):

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/35443/proper-hand-hygiene-prevents-equine-disease

Although this article focuses on cleaning hands prior to surgery the key message is important for our industry – highlights include; alcohol-based hand rubs (AHR) are considered superior to harsh medicated cleaners and hard scrub brushes for a variety of reasons. Everyone is encouraged to read this.

Thanks,

Susan