Research Projects and Publications

Coming soon:
The definitive guide to equine business management and planning.
Publication date to be confirmed. Watch this space!

The following pararaphs are brief summaries of recent research projects undertaken by our consultants as part of their MBA studies. The full texts will be available in the Royal Agricultural College library later this year.

Vets in Practice
by Sharon Eastwood
Looks at the feasibility of a Veterinary Practice expanding the equine facilities, to offer an improved service to its customer base.

Part I looks at the nature of the research process, setting out how the dissertation subject was chosen, the aims and objectives and an examination of the purpose of a literature review. The learning process examines how we learn by looking at David Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle and the Learning Styles put forward by Honey and Mumford. Discourse analysis is examined in order to understand how we know what we know, by reference to our experience and values.

Part II looks at the theory of research setting out the approaches and strategies available, specifically with reference to Business Management research. The research for this project is primarily positivist in nature, applied to a specific intrinsic case study, acknowledging the phenomenological aspects and the influence of individuals within the process. Data collection within the project was carried out using postal questionnaires and informal interviews together with practical work experience within the Veterinary Practice. This section looks at the alternative methods of data collection and the detailed process of designing a questionnaire. Results from the questionnaires are presented in summary form, with comparison to the BETA survey carried out in 1999, wherever possible.

Part III looks at Business Management Theory underpinning the practice of business management, by examining the literature available. This involves looking at Business Strategy, Marketing, Change Management and the preparation of a Business Plan. The two industries, which affect the business, and form part of the external environment within which it operates, are the Equine Industry and the Veterinary Industry. These are examined looking at the history and the issues being faced. Self Reflection looks at the limitations and process of the dissertation together with further developments, which could be followed, from a personal point of view.

Part IV is the actual Business Proposal for Woodlands Veterinary Clinic, which was prepared on the basis of a stand alone consultancy document and is not available for general perusal due to the confidential nature of its contents.

Only Fools With Horses
By Anna Jordon
An examination of business and marketing strategy within the equine livery industry.

There is a general air of optimism within the equine industry.
Industry data suggests that recreational horse ownership is increasing as is the amount spent on horses as a hobby. This situation is leading to a perceived boom in the livery industry but it is not a time for yards to rest on their laurels.

As in all industries that are experiencing good times there has been an influx of new businesses, particularly as the government uses grants and other incentives to encourage farmers to diversify. Even though many indications show that the potential client base is expanding there is an increasing level of competition within the livery industry. This state of affairs means that livery yards will have to fight harder to keep existing clients as well as competing to attract new ones.

Horse owners are becoming more informed and more demanding when it comes to both standards and facilities and this is also fuelling the competitive atmosphere within the industry. Riders of all standards now expect yards to provide a broader range of facilities than previously and advances in technologies and methods have brought arenas and horse-walkers into the price range of more establishments. This has led to these resources becoming much more common place in establishments and consequently are no longer considered to be luxuries for which a high premium can be charged.

The environment within which a livery yard functions is becoming more and more business like and in this day and age it is becoming more important for managers to recognise this fact and start to treat their activities as a business.

As the industry becomes more competitive yard managers will have to become more aware of the external factors that effect their businesses, these factors include the current political climate and pending legislation, the economic environment, any technological advances as well as social trends. These factors affect not only the business as an entity but also every one of its clients.

Before this can happen there has to be a greater depth of information about both the industry as a whole and the application of business principles made available to the people at the centre of the industry: the yard managers.

Through reflexion of personal experiences I have been able to craft a living theory of my embodied knowledge, while simultaneously holding the tension between equine practice defined by economics and equine practice defined as an aesthetic of passion. An economics versus passion tension that is not only present in the equine world but which I believe permeates our daily lives.

Through my practical experience I have gained an insight and an understanding of the way the Equine Industry works. The combination of my practical experience as an experienced equine practitioner and the theoretical aspects of my research has been a process that has developed into a tool I can use as a crucial step towards my future development. The research has enabled me to identify my knowledge product - which in turn has influenced the emergence of my business plan.

My research centres round a series of stories that account for my embodied knowledge, stories that tell of my qualifications and passions, skills and knowledge all of which form a platform of a business that in short will help the industry. I have come to realise that through this process of self discovery I have found that I have an embodied knowledge that I can pass on.
A knowledge that I sensed I had, because I have been making a living out of it for more than 20 years I just did not think it was a knowledge I could use as a product.

The knowledge product will be used to improve the welfare, terms and conditions of not only the equines, but also the people who look after them. I will be passing my knowledge product on in the form of consultancy, advisory services and education.