The American Quarter Horse Foundation is charged with supporting worthwhile educational and charitable projects without anticipation of endorsement and/or economic gain. In addition, it is AQHF’s responsibility to effectively steward donor funds with the chief expectation of improving the health, welfare, and utility of the American Quarter Horse, in accordance with its mission as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

AQHF is required to openly solicit research grant proposals with the objective to gainfully impact horse health, while following the mission, programmatic objectives and identified areas of research interest. Further, projects must be reviewed by an impartial committee with the scientific expertise appropriate to discern quality and positive impact of proposed studies. Recipients of equine research grants submit applications to the American Quarter Horse Foundation. Grant applications are reviewed by the AQHF Equine Research Committee, with funding recommendations made to and approved by the AQHF Board of Trustees.

Once research is approved, an equine research grant agreement outlining the terms and conditions of award will be forwarded to the non-profit institution's office of sponsored programs for execution. Additional information regarding required research compliance, grant distribution policy and research reporting are provided below.

RESEARCH COMPLIANCE

IACUC/IRB Approval: An official letter or memorandum is required from the institution’s approving board (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and/or Institutional Review Board) indicating the proposed research has been reviewed and approved by the issuing committee. The title of research referenced within the IACUC/IRB approval letter must match the project title submitted to AQHF for grant consideration. Receipt of this documentation is required prior to the awarded project’s October 1 start date and distribution of grant funding.

If the approved research project requires use of privately owned animals not under the institutions or investigator’s legal ownership or control, appropriate notification must be submitted to AQHF to recognize the release of all parties from legal ramification (i.e., ownership release form). Procurement of this release should be stated in the IACUC approval letter referenced above and must be submitted prior to the awarded project’s October 1 start date and distribution of grant funding.

Principal Investigator: On behalf of the non-profit institution (grantee), the principal investigator shall have the primary responsibility of overseeing and managing the approved research project. The non-profit institution shall immediately notify AQHF in writing if the principal investigator ceases to be the principal investigator of the approved project. An existing co-investigator may be entrusted by the institution to complete the research as outlined in the project proposal, or a new principal investigator may be assigned with consent from AQHF to ensure completion of the specified research.

Additionally, research grant proposals from principal investigators with a history of non-compliance will be subject to additional examination and deliberation during the grant evaluation process. Subject areas classified under non-compliance will include:

• Incomplete research.
• Lack of required reporting.
• Refusal to follow guidelines.
• Lack of professionalism.
• Unreasonable requests for exception(s).

It is the principal investigators responsibility to notify the non-profit institution and AQHF of anticipated changes to the awarded research project. Written notifications, updates and/or requests must be submitted to AQHF for review by the Equine Research Committee.

GRANT DISTRIBUTION POLICY

All grant disbursements shall be made in accordance with the Foundation’s Investment/Spending Policy and Procedures. An equine research grant agreement will be initiated with the non-profit institution to define AQHF’s conditions of the grant and outlines grant term and termination, grant installments, and budgetary limitations.

Grant funding shall be divided into three installments and paid directly to the non-profit institution over the 12-month grant period as follows:

• No more than 33% of the total grant paid on October 1 of the award year.
• No more than 33% of the total grant paid on April 1 of the award year, and upon receipt of a first-quarter progress report provided by the project’s principal investigator (due to AQHF by March 1 of the award year).
• The remaining amount of the total grant shall be paid upon receipt of three final reports provided by the principal investigator and/or non-profit institution. Reports are due to AQHF by December 31 of the award year, thus, final grant installments will be disbursed after December 31.

RESEARCH REPORTING

Progress Reports: The following progress reports will be requested from the non-profit institution or grantee. Reports should be prepared by the project's principal investigator and submitted to AQHF by the stated deadline date.

1. First Quarter Progress Report: A written report outlining and specifying the progress of research completed within the first quarter of the grant period (October 1-February 1) will be required from the grantee. Progress reports should be submitted to AQHF by March 1. As stipulated within the executed equine research grant agreement, the second grant installment for the approved project will be released on April 1, pending receipt of this progress report.

• A first quarter progress report on the research completed to date.
• Anticipated issues or changes impacting completion of the project.
• Current and/or revised goals for completion of the project.
• How suggested changes or revisions to the research plan will impact timeline for completion.
• Will changes affect expected publications, presentations, or final reporting required by AQHF.

2. Progress Report for Continuation of Research: If submitting a research proposal for the continuation of a previously awarded research, the principal investigator must include a progress report within the newly created funding proposal (submission deadline for pre-proposals is November 1). This should include an update on the existing awarded project and the timeline for its completion. Please remember, if a project was awarded funding in the previous year, it will be evaluated on individual merit and is not guaranteed continued funding. 

Final Reporting: At the completion of the awarded research, the non-profit institution or grantee will be required to submit three reports as identified in the executed equine research grant agreement. Any report providing information on research findings should be prepared by the project's principal investigator, with additional input from participating investigators, graduate students, etc. Financial reports providing an accounting of grant monies expensed toward completion of the project should be prepared by the appropriate institutional office (i.e., sponsored research, etc.) with input from the project's principal investigator.

The following reports should be submitted within 30 days of the agreed completion date of the funded project (i.e., no later than December 31):

1. Scientific Report (10+ pages): Written report detailing the scientific research findings of the funded project. Reports should include a title page, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references sections. Within these sections, the principal investigator should describe the research performed and the status of the research, including objectives, outcome(s), scientific findings, and the actual timeline of project completion. Timelines may be submitted in narrative or graphical formats.

2. Laymen's Report(5+ pages): Written report prepared in laymen's terms providing an overview, and subsequent sections for objectives, findings, conclusions and anticipated next steps (i.e., applied research, etc.). Ideally, report information should contain key insights from the research performed and how these takeaways will impact future research, practical application and/or prescribed treatments. the laymen's report should include:

A. Principal investigator's explanation on how this research accomplished the following programmatic objectives of AQHF:

• Enhanced the well-being of the American Quarter Horse.
• Advanced impactful research for practical application.
• Produced research innovation through basic and applied sciences.
• Promoted findings to peers, clinicians, and industry stakeholders.
• Fostered education and training of future researchers.
• Increased collaboration within the research industry.

B. Supporting promotional materials:

• 3-5 high resolution digital images (300 dpi or better, preferred) to highlight project work, along with a brief description or caption, so that it may be featured by AQHF for newsletters, social media, etc. Ideally, these should be images suitable for general publication that reflect desired research impact and resonate with horse owners and program donors.
• Direct quote from the principal investigator regarding their satisfaction with the completed work and what this research means for the well-being of the American Quarter Horse.
• 2-3 minute video providing a practical overview of the project's findings and how these results contribute to next steps. The goal being to communicate resulting positive outcomes from the research and how it accomplished AQHF's desired impact (i.e., programmatic objectives above).

3. Financial Report: Financial accounting of project expenses related to the completion of the awarded research. Statements should include summarized expenditures for the period of the grant (i.e., October 1-September 30).

Subsequent Publication/Presentation: Upon completion of the research, the principal investigator should submit a copy of the resulting article(s) and/or publication(s). This may also include abstracts, manuscripts and other peer-reviewed papers ready for publication. Additionally, the principal investigator should indicate at which scientific conferences these findings will be presented. Grantees are asked to include American Quarter Horse Foundation (AQHF) as a grantor in all resulting publications and presentations.

NOTE: With programmatic objectives to promote research findings and foster education, graduate student travel stipends are awarded with the expectation that upon completion of the research, students have an abstract accepted and present their findings at scientific conference (i.e., AAEP Laminitis Symposium, Equine Science Society Symposium, Havemeyer Horse Genome Workshop, etc.) with appropriate acknowledgement of AQHF's support.