Quand le cheval participe au dynamisme des territoires à travers des missions de service public : analyse de projets locaux innovants

In a growing number of regions, elected officials, associations and passionate people use the horse to fill public service missions. However, these local initiatives are still very sparse and unknown. This study, conducted jointly by the IFCE and the INRA, aimed at understanding the diversity of these territorial actions before analyzing some of them in depth. It is based on an exploratory approach and underlines the creation of these projects, their developments and their effects. These initiatives appear to be an appropriate answer to respond to specific needs. They are often motivated by a key player who coordinates associations, public and private actors. Our field investigations highlighted the frequency of experiments and of trials and errors, both organizational and technical, which show that these initiatives are innovative and not yet stabilized. The results of the study underline the social and ecological potential impacts of these projects and their benefits in terms of image for the horse industry and in terms of new opportunities for draught horses. This work is expected to encourage further work to understand and disseminate the use of horses as agents of public services.