The primary purpose of this study was to identify the Horse Theft Awareness and
Prevention Initiative (HTAPI) participants and the theft prevention practices used in
Texas. The secondary purpose was to evaluate the educational effectiveness of the
HTAPI on the first three of KirkpatrickÂs levels, namely learner satisfaction, knowledge
acquired, and change in behavior. The third purpose was to examine relationships
between the rate of adoption of HTAPI recommended practices and the following
demographic variables: gender, age, equine discipline, number of horses owned, and size
of investment in the equine business.
Survey instruments were used to gather data. Due to sampling constraints, the
Solomon four step research design method was modified by removing one group
following SegerÂs (1998). The sample groups consisted of a pre/only test group, pre/post
test group, post/only test group minus the control pre/post test group. The pre/only
sample group data was collected in Denton and Montgomery Counties and yielded 56
usable instruments. Using DillmanÂs (2000) procedures, data from participants of the HTAPI programs were collected using two mailed survey instruments. One hundred
ninety two participants of the 2004 Mare Foal, Basic Horse Management 101, and the
Performance Horse workshops were mailed a post/only instrument; 96 were returned for
a 49% response rate. Thirty two pre-test instruments were administered in Hopkins and
Polk County and thirty days later these participants were mailed a post/only instrument.
A response rate of 66% and 63% in the respective sample groups.
The sample population can be described as mainly women (68.3%) 43 years of age
who owned 7.3 horses each. The average investment in horses totaled $31,658. The
most frequently owned breed was the Quarter Horse (f=133), and the most frequently
listed discipline was for breeding purposes (f=121).
There were no relationships detected between gender or age and theft prevention
practices or innovativeness. Positive relationships were found between the breeds of
horses owned and the type of permanent identification of horses and the theft prevention
practices used. Additionally, positive relationships were detected between breeding and
riding discipline of horses, the types of permanent identification, the theft prevention
practices used, and owner innovativeness.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/3279 |
| Date | 12 April 2006 |
| Creators | Swaim, Pattrick Lee, Jr. |
| Contributors | Fraze, Steve, Murphy, Tim H. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Record of Study, text |
| Format | 361535 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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