Management Areas, 9 land trusts, 15 town and open spaces, and 8 private properties. Members also donated the use of their equipment, including chainsaws and tractors. The Independent Sector valued volunteer time at $19.50 per hour, for a total of $740,610 in volunteer service contributed by VHP members in the 14-year period from 2003 to 2016. The VHP serves the community by providing data to the state Department of Energy and Envi- ronmental Protection, and helping other user groups with general information, directions, and first aid. Over the last 14 years, 50e100 members have patrolled and 30e40% of these members submitted reports on patrols and trail maintenance. VHP mem- bers gave directions 380 times, and provided general information 6,598 times. Collected data show a large number of equestrians utilize state, town, and private lands, and work to patrol and maintain trails. Over the 14-year period, there were 33,357 horses out on the trail during the patrols. Patrol members counted other horses on the trail besides themselves, averaging an additional 1.75 other horses per patrol. The highest number of walkers and dogs were reported in 2009 e the year with the highest number of patrols. There is a slight increasing trend of several types of trail users in the VHP data. The average length of patrol hours varied over the years, for example 1.5 h per patrol in 2010, versus 2 h in 2011. Therewere fewer patrols in 2011, although members spent more time on the trail during each patrol.This data shows that equestrians are represented on multi-use trails. It also shows that a volunteer horse patrol can help provide valuable services to public lands. Working together, we can help keep trails open for all users. Key Words: equestrians, trails, economics 172 A survey of parasite management practices in Georgia K. Turner * , A. Britt, Jr., N. Fuhrman University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Anthelmintic resistance has become a leading concern in internal parasite management. Limiting the use of anthelmintics by using a targeted deworming program that incorporates fecal egg counts (FEC) has been suggested as a solution to slow down resistance. However, it appears that owners/managers in Georgia are still deworming with traditional methods. A 64-question survey on parasite management procedures, barriers preventing obtaining FECs, and where new information regarding equine management practices is received from was prepared using Qualtrics and delivered either in-person using an electronic device, or was sent online through the county extension agent and horse advisory committees’ listservs. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS (v. 24). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, crosstabs, independent t-tests, and correlation and regression models. Sta- tistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Survey data were collected from 102 respondents. Some form of manure management prac- tice such as stock piling, composting, spreading across the pasture, or hauling away to another location, was reported by 67.4% of re- spondents. Deworming was reported by almost all respondents (97%), and 65.3% were aware of anthelmintic resistance within the equine industry. Although 67.3% of respondents were aware of targeted deworming, only 27.8% run FECs on their horses. In the crosstabulation, 60% of respondents that do not run FECs on their horses were aware of anthelmintic resistance in the equine in- dustry. Fecal egg counts were obtained more on commercially owned establishments than privately owned establishments (P ¼ 0.008). The top barriers to obtaining FECs were that it is simply easier to just deworm horses as a preventative measure, owners/ managers do not know how to perform FECs, and the expense involved. Respondents agreed that they get their information from their veterinarian, and disagreed that their information comes from extension specialists or agents. Fifty percent of the re- spondents were not familiar with the county extension program, but 85.4% would attend a clinic and 83.2% would watch an online seminar about equine parasite management through the exten- sion program if presented the opportunity. Concerns about not knowing how to perform fecal egg counts, and the high costs, may be minimized through the extension program. Presenting at local equine events and recording an online seminar on how to perform fecal egg counts could potentially reduce the costs, increase the horse owner’s knowledge, and encourage the use of targeted deworming protocols. Key Words: parasite, anthelmintic resistance, survey 173 Equine-assisted counseling as an intervention for undergraduate female college students experiencing anxiety C.J. Hammer * , A.R. Bach-Gorman, E.L. Berg North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA Managing the mental health needs of students while they attend college is a major challenge for institutions of higher education. College counseling centers have been experiencing an increase in the utilization of counseling services for the past decade, and nearly half of students seeking counseling present with the pre- dominant concern of anxiety. This rising trend is concerning because students with mental illness are less engaged in college, report poorer relationships, and have lower graduation rates. It is theorized that an important component of psychological health is self-compassion. Higher levels of self-compassion create resil- iency against self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification e factors highly correlated with generalized anxiety disorder. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if 7 weeks of equine-assisted counseling (EAC) for 90 min per week utilizing the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association’s (EAGALA) model would increase self-compassion and reduce anxiety in fe- male undergraduate students. Students between 18 and 24 years of age were recruited by the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Counseling Center. Participants (n ¼ 6) attended one 90-min group EAC session per week for 7 weeks on the NDSU campus, co-facil- itated by an EAGALA certified mental health professional and equine specialist. A licensed mental health counselor adminis- tered the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) before (wk 0) and after the intervention (wk 7). Significant changes were observed in 2 of the 6 subscales of the SCS. An increase (P ¼ 0.02) in the mean value of the common humanity subscale and decrease (P ¼ 0.04) in the mean value of the isolation subscale were seen. No significant changes were seen in the DASS. Anecdotally, attrition levels of group attendance were markedly lower compared with more traditional therapy groups facilitated by the NDSU Counseling Center. This study suggests that further exploration of the impacts of EAGALA model counseling interventions on self-compassion and its correlation with psy- chological well-being is warranted. The significant reduction observed in the isolation subscale of the SCS may affect partici- pants’ overall experiences of anxiety by reducing a sense of lone- liness. Conversely, the significant increase seen in the common humanity subscale of the SCS demonstrates potential increases in participant resilience and possibly a greater sense of belonging in their community or college experience. These factors are strongly correlated with academic success in higher education. Key Words: equine-assisted counseling, anxiety, EAGALA Abstracts / Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 76 (2017) 36e129 118