Equine Canada has announced two new national annual awards recognizing excellence in individual and organizational horse stewardship.

The Boehringer Ingelheim-Equine Canada Horse Health and Welfare Award recognizes an individual or organization that has for an extended period of time, contributed directly to the improvement of horse health and welfare.

The Equine Canada Horse Health and Welfare Stewardship Award recognizes an individual who has on a single occasion or multiple occasions demonstrated exep3tional compassion for a horse at a grass-roots level.

As an organization dedicated to the horse and horse industry, Equine Canada considers the health and welfare of the horse one of its highest priorities. Its mission is to be the dedicated national voice for the horse, serving, promoting and protecting their best interests. One of its core values is recognizing this responsibility as an overarching goal and the recognition of horse welfare as paramount.

“Boehringer Ingelheim is excited to expand our partnership with Equine Canada with the Horse Health and Welfare Award,” states Jennifer Verhulst-Loch, equine product manager. “We are pleased to support organizations or individuals that contribute directly to the improvement of horse health and welfare in Canada.”

The awards are an integral part of Equine Canada’s new Equine Lifecycle Management Policy and Program.

“The Policy and the Program aim to develop a balanced, dynamic horse population with maximum potential for excellence in horse stewardship,” states Dr. John McNie, DVM and co-chair of EC’s Horse Health and Welfare Committee. “These awards serve to advance the Policy by recognizing excellence in individual and organizational stewardship.”

The call for nominations is now open and complete details on the awards criteria can be found at www.equinecanada.ca under Downloads or on the Horse Health and Welfare section under Awards.

The deadline for nominations is December 5, 2013. For more information you can also write inquiries@equinecanada.ca