A Scandinavian study has shown that equine enthusiasts aren't satisfied with the quality and availability of online equine-related content. Though educated equestrians feel they can critically assess online information, they are unsure whether less-educated equine enthusiasts are able to do so.
To better understand how equine enthusiasts assess, value and trust online content, Dr. Lovisa Broms and a research team from Malmö University in Sweden and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway, developed a 44-question survey that received 1,459 responses. The survey was followed with 28 focus group interviews to investigate how riders determine what sources of online knowledge they feel are trustworthy.
The survey showed that search engines were used most often to obtain information about horses, with social networking sites used for information gathering second and commercial websites third.
In total, 97.7 percent of respondents said they used social networking sites in general; 47.2 percent of respondents said they used them to find information about horses while 37.6 percent of respondents said they did not utilize social networking sites for information on horses. The rest of the respondents did not answer the question.
Fifteen survey responses indicated they preferred to use “live sources,” like their trainer or trusted barn friend, to obtain information. Riders with less experience turned to social media for equine information more often than riders with more experience.
Focus group members stressed that equine enthusiasts must have enough horse experience to be able to critically assess information found online. Overall, equestrians feel that finding quality information online is important, but difficult to do. Equine enthusiasts who openly discuss that they go online to gather information about horses may be stigmatized, especially if they are not experienced. This is exacerbated by less-educated equestrians relying on social media groups to gather information, on which platforms they may be denounced.
The study showed that accessibility, experience, and trust are key when determining from which platforms equestrians obtain information. The research team says this highlights the difference between equestrian culture and contemporary media users.
The scientists say that it might behoove equine institutions to populate the online sphere instead of asking enthusiasts to not use these sources; this might reduce the reliance on horse friends in boarding barns being used as qualified resources.
The team concluded that online platforms have a role in the exchange of equine knowledge and that further studies are needed to determine how social relationships and power play out in an online sphere.
Read the study here.
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