EUNetHorse

EUropean Network for knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning between actors and stakeholders of the Horse sector to improve the resilience of equine farms by establishing. an active multi-stakeholder network in France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Finland, Romania.



Funded by: EU’s Horizon2020 programme
Project Duration : 1 March 2023 - 1 March 2027 (4 years)
Budget: 731.786 Euro

Project Objectives

GOAL:

The overall objective of EUNetHorse is to establish an active multi-stakeholder network in France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Romania, Poland, Finland, in order to increase the resilience and performance of their equine farms to face environmental, social, health, economic or political crises by widely disseminating practices, tools and solutions that improve:

 (1) their resilience and socio-economic performance,

 (2) animal welfare and health on farms, and

(3) the environmental sustainability of the sector.

 

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: 

  • To connect organisations across 8 (National Horse – Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System) NH-AKIS at regional, national and European levels in order to foster cross-fertilisation between the main branches (sport/leisure, racing, agriculture and food production) of the equine sector throughout the project lifetime.
  • To identify equine farmers’ needs and make the inventory of grassroots best practices and scientific solutions organised in at least 8 priorities across 3 thematic areas.
  • To evaluate the best practices and solutions collected on the basis of resilience/performance and cost-benefit analysis criteria, and at the same time ensure their acceptance in the field by means of a multi-actor assessment.
  • To transfer knowledge thanks to trainings and the organisation of field-oriented activities for equine farmers, trainers and advisors across 8 EU countries and Switzerland.
  • To Disseminate and communicate on EUNetHorse results at EU wide scale.
  • Raising awareness on the importance of proper litter disposal and the negative impact plastic and other discarded materials have on nature by creating “PETaBear”, a recycling bear, a “monument” created from waste;

 

EXPECTED RESULTS:

  • The project’s results will comprise of:
    1. Methodology for cross-visits developed and validated.
    2. 170 organisations connected to NH-AKIS.
    3. 8 cross-visits organised (one per EUNetHorse country).
    4. One Trainers and Advisors Network (TANet) established and operational throughout the EUNetHorse project and beyond the end of project, connecting trainers and advisors at EU level.
    5. Collection of needs, grassroots solutions and best-practices from at least 320 equine farmers representing the 4 main branches.
    6. Collection of other solutions and best practices from 12 Operational Groups (OGs), 7 Focus Groups, 14 European projects, 200 regional/national projects and thanks to the bibliographical work of our 3 European Thematic Area Leaders (TAL).
    7. Identification of gaps to be then used within the consortium to generate appropriate recommendations to improve the sectorand the different actors.
    8. At least 80 solutions and best practices well-assessed, adapted and ready to be disseminated on the field.
    9. At least 2 EU-tools as expansion of already existing tools.
    10. 800 equine farmers participating in peer-to-peer learning and training activities.
    11. Trainers and Advisors Network (TANet) involved in the design of training activities based on their trainers’ and advisors’ needs, and reaching 300 trainers and 120 advisors with EUNetHorse digital trainings.
    12. Participation to at least 6 European or international congresses or conferences during the project lifetime.
    13. EUNetHorse website regularly updated.
    14. 25,000 equine farmers reached via the website, the EUFarmBook social media and the bi-annual newsletter.
    15. Use of the most popular and trusted national communication and dissemination channels.

OUTCOMES:

  • The cross-cutting objective of modernising the sector by fostering and sharing of knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas, and encouraging their uptake, as well as European Green Deal and Farm to Fork objectives;
  • The collection and distribution of easily accessible practice-oriented knowledge on the thematic area chosen, in particular the existing best practices and research findings that are ready to be implemented, but not sufficiently known or used by practitioners.
  • Conserve practical knowledge for the long term - beyond the project period – in particular by using the main trusted dissemination channels that farmers/foresters consult most often.
  • Increase the flow of practical information between farmers/foresters in the EU in a geographically balanced way, creating spill-overs and taking account of the differences between territories. In order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted farmers/foresters, the networks may organise 'cross-fertilisation' through sub-networks covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system;
  • Achieve greater user acceptance of collected solutions and a more intensive dissemination of existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up innovation and promote the faster and wider co-creation and transposition of innovative solutions into practice.

Project Updates

  • 14 - 18 October 2024 – third Cross-visit to Poland at the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (PTOP) - Outdoor housing system, tracking the ascendancy (genetics) of foals and the use of horses for biodiversity conservation; Bronislaw Kazberuk's farm – horse breeding, open air housing, mixed grazing with beef, and diversification of activities for economic sustainability. Romania was represented by Eva Lazar, ABC (Association for Welfare of Horses), Cristian Molnar from Transylvania Arabians, Calin Popa and Emma Stoica from Carpathian Horse Trekking.
  • June-September 2024 – evaluation of solutions identified with the help of national experts.
  • 20-24 May 2024 - second Cross-visit to Gottingen, Germany, at Pferde Am Arkusberg- Paddock trails, grassland management model, that aims to optimize the health of grasslands and animals through a planned rotation and the creation of routes (trails) organized between different paddocks (fenced spaces) and Reistall Pavel-hosting systems innovative feeding techniques and working conditions. Romania was represented by Cristian Radu, from Transylvania on Horseback.
  • 13 May 2024 - NWS2 (the second national workshop), organised at Viscri 125, where the needs identified at national level were analysed and classified according to the 3 thematic areas of the project: Animal welfare and health on farms-measures to encourage biosecurity and disease prevention, animal welfare horses, biodiversity, grassland management; Environmental sustainability-resource management and adaptation of practices to climate change; Socio-economic performance and resilience – increase profitability, improve working conditions; Transversal - access to land, improving training and knowledge transfer that ended with the visit to Transylvania on Horseback.
  • 22 March 2024 - presentation of the project at the international symposium organized by the Equine Veterinary Association of Romania in collaboration with the Federation of European Veterinary Associations - FEEVA, in Cluj-Napoca.
  • December 2023 - February 2024 - finalisation of the Methodology for organising national demonstration days and farmer trainings, starting with 2025.
  • August 2023 - February 2024: Interviewing 40 farmers from the sector to identify national-level needs.
  • December 5-8, 2023, Lyon, France: The first European-level workshop with project partners to assess project progress and establish next steps, as well as identifying project priorities at the European level.
  • December 7, 2023:  The first cross-visit held at Haras Numenor and Le Havre de Galahia, attended by 12 invited farmers from the countries involved in the project. Romania was represented by Bartha Robert and Julia Lakatos from Bartha Ranch & Horse Driving Center. Here you can access the farms we have visited: https://www.haras-numenor.com and https://havredegalahia.com/accueil.
  • November 28, 2023: Organization of the first national-level workshop at Villa Abbatis, Apoş no. 27, Sibiu County. During the workshop, participants were familiarized with the project and its objectives, partial results of the questionnaires applied to farmers from the sector were presented, and national priorities were established based on their importance for sector improvement in the three thematic areas: socio-economic development, environmental sustainability, and equine health and welfare.
  • 9 March 2023 - the virtual Kick-off meeting took place, connecting all project partners and reviewing the projects’ methodology and key concepts, establishing roles and network structuration, as well as deadlines for WP tasks completions.
  • 10 - 12 June 2023 - the face-to-face Kick-off meeting was held in France, at Haras National du Pin, Argentan, where work-package leaders presented their programme for the upcoming months, and partners had a chance to review their roles, responsibilities and expected results.

Managing Body & Contact

Ben Mehedin

National Facilitator
Food & Farming Communities Manager - Fundatia ADEPT Transilvania

Tel: 0044 (0)752 264 580
ben@fundatia-adept.org

Laura Chirilă-Pașca

National Coordinator
Marketing & Enterprise Manager
Fundația ADEPT Transilvania

Tel: 004 (0) 744 650 582
laura@fundatia-adept.org

Project Partners

To learn more about our partners, click the logos below

Biodiversity conservation and community development in Transylvania
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