Background for the 501c3

Friesian Horse Association of North America’s (FHANA)

Equine Healthcare Initiatives

Education, Research, and Consultations

As part of FHANA’s 2020 Strategic Plan, one of the association’s priorities was to become a leader in genetic research and equine wellness by collaborating with research organizations and supporting their research projects. The goal of this research initiative is to support equine veterinarians and equine researchers in the United States of America, Canada, or European Union Countries who are in programs that will advance their research skills with a goal of continuing an academic or research career path that will ultimately improve the health and welfare of Friesian horses. To that end, FHANA and its Health Committee is responsible for:

Creating educational content relating to equine diseases and treatment interventions. These articles can be found in the FHANA magazine or on the website on – https://fhana.com/the-friesian-horse/articles/; 
Maintaining a current participate in research library that horse owners can enroll in or seek guidance from. Active research projects can be found at  https://fhana.com/participate-in-research/;
Responding to horse owner’s struggling with health concerns by providing disease-specific education, referrals, and emotional support;
Coordinating and executing the FHANA Research Grant Program – https://fhana.com/research/.
And fund raising to support FHANA Grant Program Awards.

Educational Content: The FHANA Health Committee provides a plethora of health-related educational material for horse owners via educational webinars, social media posts, and articles in the Friesian magazine. Webinars are a wonderful way to educate not only FHANA members, but the general public as well. Anyone can join our live webinars or access them in the FHANA library. Some of the webinars sponsored by the Health Committee were Stallion Breeding Soundness, Breeding Practices Management in Mares, Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD), Equine Nutrition, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Barn Fire and Trailer Accident Prevention, Laminitis, Distichiasis, Managing Gastric Ulcer Syndrome, Chronic Progressive Lymphedema (CPL), and the Utilization of Bravecto for Prevention of Equid Ectoparasites leading to CPL, to name just a few.

FHANA Research Grant Program: The Health Committee serves as steward for the FHANA Research Grant Program. The first ever grant recipient, the University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center, awarded in 2022 completed their research in 2023 and provided a complete summary of their research results. The second FHANA Research Grant was awarded in 2023 to the University of California-Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine for their study on the pharmacokinetics of fluralaner. Fluralaner, an oral ectoparasiticide marketed under the brand name Bravecto®, is currently prescribed for the treatment of external parasites for dogs and cats. UC-Davis is using fluralaner to see if it can help horses with ticks, mites, and lice that can contribute to chronic progressive lymphedema(CPL), chronic proliferative pastern dermatitis (CPPD), and insect bite hypersensitivity not only in feathered and draft breeds but all breeds. UC-Davis has provided FHANA with an update of their research and their research was published in an internal medicine veterinarian publication.

The Health Committee is currently working on a 2026 FHANA $10,000 Research Grant Award. Areas of emphasis for study are the following:

Aortic Rupture
Megaesophagus
Delayed Gastric Emptying, Gastroparesis, and Gastric Rupture
Chronic Progressive Lymphedema (CPL)
Chronic Proliferative Pastern Dermatitis (CPPD)
Colic
Connective Tissue Disorders
Insect Bite-Hypersensitivity
Eligibility for the FHANA Research Grant funding include the following:

Post-DVM (or equivalent) trainees in a graduate program (master’s or doctoral), residency training program, or research fellowship program.
DVM/Ph.D. combined program candidates at accredited veterinary colleges.
Ph.D. equine researcher or Ph.D. research candidate mentored by an equine veterinary researcher on the faculty at a university or in practice.
Applications for the grant can be found at: https://fhana.com/app/uploads/2022/11/FHANA-Research-Grant-Program_2023.pdf.

Grant Funding: The Health Committee’s efforts in fundraising to support the Research Grant Program included a QR code created for use in print, social media and on the FHANA website

making donating easy with a smart phone.  FHANA had the QR and verbiage added to inspection programs as well as providing printed fliers for each inspection site-host to post at their inspections with our QR code and information regarding the research grant program. Silent auctions and fundraising campaigns such as the Ride and Drive Program have been undertaken.

Participate in Research, Make a Difference:

The FHANA Health Committee maintains a repository of active equine health research projects in North America. To that end, the FHANA Health Committee has compiled a list of research studies across North America currently seeking candidate horses. Interested FHANA members are encouraged to contact research organizations directly for more information and enrollment details. Horse owners are also strongly encouraged to donate tissue from their horses for study by interested equine research institutions. The above photo is our tissue donation campaign photograph.  The photo below illustrates a punch biopsy donated to the University of Georgia for their research on megaesophagus.