Assignment 4A Forming an Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe there is an unmet need in the area of local, legal, respectful disposal of deceased large animals, horses in particular. The state of Florida is home to 387,078 horses, Marion County Florida, dubbed Horse Capital of The World, houses 80,260. As regulations for burial tighten, horse owners are left with few options to responsibly care for the remains of their large animals after death. I believe I could offer the service of large animal cremation in combination with animal retrieval and return of memorial remains. This need for removal and disposal is not new to the horse industry, however, due to increased environmental regulation and animal welfare oversight, the need for documented, legally compliant disposal options have narrowed. Add that to the fact that currently there are only two large animal crematorium units in the entire state, and you are left with an unmet necessity for competent legal disposal. The thoroughbred industry is under severe scrutiny for its history of unethical treatment and disposal of its equine athletes. The casual horse owner will no longer be able to bury their huge pet on private property regardless of the acreage. With the arrival of The World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, more high dollar sport horses will be living out their final days in our area. Service provided by experienced local horse people, and more importantly, horse lovers would fill the need for legal, respectful removal and disposal. I am 80% sure an opportunity exists here.

#1: Thoroughbred trainer and owner: manages care of 20 horses, personally owns 5.

• Have you ever had to call for large animal removal for a horse in your care or ownership?

• Yes, not often, but it happens. Maybe an average of once a year over the last 5 years.

• Where you satisfied with the method by which the horses were removed and disposed of?

• Yes, it was reasonably priced and no trouble at all.

• Do you know what happened to the remains of the animal after removal? Was that a factor in choosing the method?

• No, to be honest I don’t, maybe the landfill. But I hear they aren’t allowed to do that anymore, or there’re limits now. I wasn’t worried about it at the time, honestly. I might be more concerned now that people are paying more attention to what happens to horses when they’re done racing.

• Are you likely to change the way that you dispose of horses to be legally compliant, even if it means paying more?

• I don’t think we’ll have much choice soon.

• Is it important to you how the carcass is treated upon removal?

• It’s not a pretty picture no matter how you do it, they are dead already, I don’t need a big fuss, but don’t be ignorant about it. I guess racehorse people are a bit hardened to it, but we take the best care we can all the way through.

• Would you use cremation service for your personally owned horses or recommend that to your clients?

• I would use it if I had to, I’m not gonna keep the ashes or anything if it was reasonably priced. I would recommend it to certain clients that are more sentimental.

• Would you feel better knowing that there was a record of legal, ethical disposal of the animals that were in your care?

• Definitely, we’re at the point that you hate to be the last known owner of a horse. If something dodgy happens 4 years down the road, it’ll come back to you.

REFLECTION: Prototypical customers could include thoroughbred trainers although the volume would be low due to the fact that they deal primarily with young healthy competitive horses. They direct the decisions of wealthier owners who are willing to pay more for end of life measures. If trainers have a cheaper legal option, they will take it.

#2: Small farm owner, 11-15 horses. Breeds dressage horses for pleasure.

• Have you ever had to call for large animal removal for a horse in your care or ownership?

• Yes, we keep our horses until the end. We have 3 that will probably all go around the same time in the next couple of years, but you never really know. Sometimes a foal is born dead, that’s awful too. Maybe once every other year.

• Where you satisfied with the method by which the horses were removed and disposed of?

• Yes, and no. We buried one on the farm, that’s nice but we can’t do that with all of them, we’d run out of room. I don’t even know if that’s legal still. Now that we are in the middle of the WEC community, we probably can’t do that.

• Do you know what happened to the remains of the animal after removal? Was that a factor in choosing the method?

• I didn’t ask where the body was going, I know that’s awful, but I didn’t want to know at the time. It still bugs me.  

• Are you likely to change the way that you dispose of horses to be legally compliant, even if it means paying more?

• Oh absolutely, listen, every aspect of ownership is expensive, you just know that’s part of the deal.

• Is it important to you how the carcass is treated upon removal?

• That is so important. I was there when some of these horses were born and I’ve spent every day with them. They are family. Would you want your family member treated roughly, even after death? I’m the type that hangs around and watches.

• Would you use cremation service for your personally owned horses or recommend that to your friends?

• My dog’s ashes are all in pretty boxes in my living room, I would love to have my horses there as well. I would totally use that service if it was available. They couldn’t be dismembered first though. If I had a good experience, I would absolutely tell my friends, we all talk, we all have big mouths.

REFLECTION: This is my kind of customer. She demonstrates the willingness to spend more for a service that is consistent with her role as a dedicated horse owner. Again, the volume is low but due to the community she moves in, there would be many referrals.

#3: Ambulatory Equine Vet. Practice serving large and small breeding and training operations in Ocala Area. Also, a horse owner, rider and boards event horses for clients.

• Have you ever had to call for large animal removal for a horse in your care or ownership? Do you know how removal works from the surgery?

• I’ve had horses die over the years, I never had to personally handle removal until recently. I had my mare buried at the farm where she was euthanized. Yes, I know that’s not allowed anymore, I am not the one to ask about how the practice handles removal, I wouldn’t want to be wrong. As far as I know, they are hauled to a specified landfill.

• Where you satisfied with the method by which the horses were removed and disposed of?

• It wasn’t my farm so that’s sad. I would totally have cremated her if it was financially feasible. To have the ashes would’ve meant a lot.

• How much is the manner of disposal and price a factor in choosing the method?

• Oh I wouldn’t want her just hauled off and dumped. It wasn’t cheap to have her buried either. I would pay more if I had a better legal option.

• Are you likely to change the way that you dispose of horses to be legally compliant, even if it means paying more?

• Yes, I have to be compliant, obviously.

• Is it important to you how the carcass is treated upon removal?

• It would be nice to have a service that understands the relationship that people have with their horses.

• Would you use cremation service for your personally owned horses or recommend that to your clients?

• Yes, I would do both. Clients and friends ask me, and I deflect those questions. It would be good to have somewhere to refer them.

• Would you feel better knowing that there was a record of legal, ethical disposal of the animals that were in your care?

• It will come to that eventually. Anything to be proactive in dealing with end of life logistics.

REFLECTION: I may have cherry-picked my initial interviewees, but I feel like any of these three would make use of the service. Maybe not the individual that owns their own mid-size farm or larger, I think they are likely to continue to bury personally owned horses on their property. It’s hard to police that activity. The upper-income sport horse owners that keep them in retirement seem to be a sure thing. Price would be a factor for everyone else.

SUMMARY:

I think the opportunity exists at the moment. There is nothing particularly innovative about this idea, but currently, there is nothing offered in this area. I think impending regulation will demand this disposal option. I am concerned about the consistency of the demand for the service, and about the volume that could be processed by the unit. Would we need to combine small animal cremation as well to supplement the large animal service? When interviewing people, I realized that this is not a constant daily requirement, however, the number of horses in this county necessitates something like this. I’m even more convinced of the opportunity prospects, speaking with potential customers made me consider who to market to more specifically, and also consider capacity limitations.