 |
 |
- PODCAST SERIES AS DYNAMIC WAY TO LEARN
- Unique Documentary Film “The First Saturday in May,”
- AQHA PREMIERES APPROVED CLASSES AT OPEN SHOWS
- AHC and USDA Collaborate on Unwanted Horse Issue Forum
RUTGERS EQUINE SCIENCE CENTER OFFERS http://www.esc.rutgers.eduPODCAST SERIES AS DYNAMIC WAY TO LEARN
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (April 10, 2008) –The Equine Science Center has created a
series of podcasts based on the popular print-version Fact Sheets produced by
Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and posted on the Equine Science Center
website. Podcast subjects currently include:• The Basics of Equine Nutrition (in two parts)
• Care for the Older Horse: Diet and Health
• The Basics of Equine Behavior
• Horse Trailer Maintenance and Trailering Safety (in two parts)The running time for the podcasts ranges from five to seven minutes. They are
available for listening or downloading on the Rutgers podcast site at
http://iTunes.rutgers.edu and via a link on the home page of the Equine Science
Center website, www.esc.rutgers.edu.The source material for the podcasts – Rutgers Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets
– consists of original research by Extension and Equine Science
Center-affiliated faculty as well as summaries of research and publications
produced by other prominent scholars and experts. More than 40 Fact Sheets
address topics of interest to horse and horse farm owners and individuals
involved in the horse industry. On the Equine Science Center website, these are
linked to frequently asked questions and a dynamic search engine, which make
finding answers a very simple task.According to Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center, the
podcast series is just one more way of sharing the knowledge and research of the
Center with the public.“Our mantra is ‘better horse care through research and education,’” she notes.
“The Equine Science Center offers a wide variety of ways to learn – from
seminars and conferences to peer-reviewed Fact Sheets to newsletters to our
highly interactive website. Audio recordings in the form of the latest podcast
technology are just one more way to make learning as convenient and effective as
possible,” she says.Additional podcasts are under development. Future topics will include a series
on farm and barn safety, the care and feeding of the older horse, nutrition for
foals and growing horses, descriptions of equine metabolic issues, causes and
prevention of equine stress, manure management and pasture management.###
April 7, 2008
Dear Horse Enthusiast:
With the Triple Crown races fast approaching, we wanted to make sure you know about a unique documentary film that will be shown in more than 20 theaters over the next few weeks.
The award-winning film is called “The First Saturday in May,” and it features a captivating, behind-the-scenes glimpse of six trainers and their horses as they take aim on the 2006 Kentucky Derby. Barbaro is one of those horses.
The film, produced by John and Brad Hennegan, has won numerous awards and rave reviews at film festivals throughout the country. It will open in 20 theaters Friday, April 18.
In a generous gesture to “give something back to the industry,” the Hennegan Brothers have decided to donate 25 percent of box office revenues to Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, the worldwide leader in equine research.
To see a short preview of the film or to get additional information, including an up-to-date list of theaters and starting dates, visit www.thefirstsaturdayinmay.com or http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/tfsim.asp.
We hope you get the chance to see the film and that you will tell your family, friends and other racing fans about it.
Signed,
Jay Hickey
President
American Horse CouncilAQHA PREMIERES APPROVED CLASSES AT OPEN SHOWS
The American Quarter Horse Journal, April 18, 2008 – A new American Quarter Horse Association type of show will enter the world in 2008, dramatically increasing the accessibility and broadening the range of AQHA shows in a way the Association has never done before. These new shows aim to create a friendly and inexpensive show environment for all levels of exhibitors while providing the opportunity for many more American Quarter Horse owners to participate in the AQHA show experience.
“AQHA shows have always been about providing American Quarter Horse owners with opportunities to enjoy competition while celebrating the diversity and talent of the horses they love,” said Bill Brewer, AQHA Executive Vice President. “Our new approach to approving shows will allow AQHA to expand this historical show experience to new exhibitors and horses by making AQHA shows available to more people and in more areas than ever before.”
AQHA is introducing AQHA-approved classes to run during any open or 4-H horse show, in fact, these AQHA classes themselves can be held within other classes at the show. For example, AQHA members exhibiting in the open show’s western pleasure class can also receive points based off their placings against other AQHA members in that class. The shows are novice driven, but show management can choose to offer open, amateur and youth classes as well. Though classes will incorporate some relaxed rules to accommodate their new format, they will continue to uphold the core AQHA show standards and rules. Exhibitors will be able to earn AQHA points and Incentive Fund money as is the case for all other AQHA shows, and all classes will be judged by AQHA judges.
To make this as successful as possible, AQHA will be relaxing some of its current show rules. Show approval fees will be lowered and judges’ rules and show management rules will be relaxed. One of the most significant and anticipated rule adjustments will be the relaxing of mileage approval rules. This new lenience will allow AQHA-approved classes to be held at open shows, 4-H shows and county fairs within a short distance to approved AQHA shows, creating the increased show accessibility that promises to change the AQHA show world.
With these new shows premiering in 2008, American Quarter Horse owners should start pulling out dusty tack from the corners of their tack rooms and shining their old boots because this promises to be an exciting show season that no one will want to miss. AQHA is making history, and we want everyone to be a part of it!
For more information about getting AQHA-approved classes at a show near you, contact Terrie Lovelady or Lisa Pond in AQHA’s Show Department by calling (806) 376-4811.
To find a new AQHA-approved class at an open show near you, visit www.aqha.com/showing/guidetoshowing/eventapproval.html or check out the calendar in The American Quarter Horse Journal. The first show to feature the new classes will be held at the NOQHA Open Extravaganza/AQHA Introductory Show in Canfield, Ohio, on June 1.
AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.AHC and USDA Collaborate on Unwanted Horse Issue Forum#ECE5AC
MEMORANDUM
To: AHC Member Organizations
From: American Horse Council
Date: April 21, 2008
Re: AHC and USDA Collaborate on Unwanted Horse Issue Forum
The American Horse Council and the United States Department of Agriculture are co-sponsoring a forum on The Unwanted Horse Issue: What Now? The all-day forum will be held on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at the Department’s Jefferson Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
The forum will piggy-back onto the AHC’s 2008 National Issues Forum, which will be from June 16 through the 18th in Washington. The Unwanted Horse Forum is open to all. By holding it immediately after the AHC meeting, those who attend the AHC meeting will have the opportunity to also attend the Unwanted Horse Forum.
There is little data about the size of the problem, the numbers of unwanted horses, the ability of the current system to care for them, whether there is an increase in neglect and similar issues. This forum will be an opportunity to focus on the many factors that surround the problem of the unwanted horse and bring some clarity to the extent of the problem.
Various newspapers and other media have recently reported that state agencies and horse rescue groups are seeing a growing number of horses that can no longer be cared for by owners. Some of the reports suggest that rescue groups are being overwhelmed and may have to start turning horses away. The media reports suggest numerous factors for the increase, including overbreeding; the downturn in the economy; sharply rising costs of hay; the drought that has affected many parts of the U.S.; the costs of euthanasia and carcass disposal; and the closing of the nation’s three slaughter facilities.
Whatever the causes, and they probably include all of these factors, this is not an optimistic forecast and reinforces the need for the horse industry and others to proactively address the unwanted horse issue.
The one-day educational forum is free and open to all. It will focus on the current situation and the next steps that might be taken. Invited speakers will discuss the knowns and unknowns of the unwanted horse issue at this time, as well as possible solutions and options to deal with the problem and decrease the number of unwanted horses in the country. The forum will cover a variety of topics including historical, ethical and general perspectives on the unwanted horse issue, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, transportation issues, and potential solutions and options.
For more information on this Unwanted Horse Issues Forum, please visit the AHC website, www.horsecouncil.org. To register, send your name, affiliation and email address to Marsha Stephens Hurd, 800 9th St. SW, Room 3150 Waterfront Centre, Washington, DC 20250-2220; telephone: 202.401.5352; fax: 202.401.6156; or email either mhurd@csrees.usda.gov or rreynnells@csrees.usda.gov.
