 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Press Release |
| About the DCBOA |
| Fun Stuff |
Welcome to the
Draft Cross
Breeders & Owners
Association
Draft Cross
Breeders & Owners
Association
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. —The 10th class of Rutgers University Young Horse
Teaching and Research Program horses made it through their fall semester with
flying colors. The “class of 2009” yearlings represent a spectrum of colors and
builds. This year’s group of 14 draft crosses includes everything from solid black to
splashy paints, over half of which are half or full sibling to previous “graduates”.
In the spring semester the undergraduate Rutgers students involved in the
program will continue to prepare their young equine charges for futures as
competitors or pleasure horses in a wide variety of disciplines, including dressage,
hunter/jumpers, competitive trail and driving. In addition they will also be collecting
growth data on the young animals, testing experimental feeds at the Ryders Lane
barn on Cook Campus in New Brunswick in the research component of the program.
The Young Horse Teaching and Research Program at Rutgers University
was started 10 years ago by Dr. Sarah Ralston, combining her interest in
transportation stress and growing horse nutrition with her teaching program. The
reputation of the program has grown and for the past 5 years it has been fully
funded by generous donors, auction proceeds and sponsors of horses and
students. The horses are chosen from herds at Hiatt Ranch in North Dakota and two
North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) Sport Horse
breeders in Canada, Ravine Ranch and Early Dawn Sport Horses in July. A group of
Rutgers students and recent graduates, led by Dr. Sarah Ralston, select foals based
on temperament and conformation and breeding, since part of the research program
focus is to determine the nutritional requirements of warmblood and draft cross
horses, about which very little is currently known. Arriving in New Brunswick in
September, the young horses step off the trailer as wide-eyed four-month-old
weanlings, ready to be taught the basics of ground manners by the students
involved in program at the George H. Cook Campus in New Brunswick.
More than 30 students work with the horses throughout the year. They are
responsible for the horses’ daily care and training, as well as aiding in research trials
and educating the public about the program. By the time the yearlings are shown by
their students in the annual Ag Field day Horse Show on Saturday, April 25, they will
be accustomed to being groomed, having their feet trimmed and being dewormed
regularly. They will also have a solid education in basic ground manners, which
includes standing still, walking, trotting, backing up and turning on command and
standing tied while being groomed. The students also spend a lot of time
“despooking” the young horses by getting them accustomed potentially scary things
like walking over feed bags, rake handles and blankets on the ground and
approaching open umbrellas, jumping dogs, and even an animated, talking stuffed
toy!
The yearlings will be sold at the Annual Rutgers NAERIC Yearling Auction on
Sunday, April 26 in the Round House on College Farm Road, Cook Campus.
Proceeds go towards funding the program for the following year.
Each horse has a unique history and personality, to get to know them, visit the
Young Horse Teaching and Research Program student-run Web site at http://www.
rci.rutgers.edu/~ruhorse, where the students write regular “blurbs” about “their”
horse’s progress. Contact Dr. Ralston (732-932-9404 or e-mail: Ralston@aesop.
rutgers.edu) for more information or to make an appointment to visit the horses.
Teaching and Research Program horses made it through their fall semester with
flying colors. The “class of 2009” yearlings represent a spectrum of colors and
builds. This year’s group of 14 draft crosses includes everything from solid black to
splashy paints, over half of which are half or full sibling to previous “graduates”.
In the spring semester the undergraduate Rutgers students involved in the
program will continue to prepare their young equine charges for futures as
competitors or pleasure horses in a wide variety of disciplines, including dressage,
hunter/jumpers, competitive trail and driving. In addition they will also be collecting
growth data on the young animals, testing experimental feeds at the Ryders Lane
barn on Cook Campus in New Brunswick in the research component of the program.
The Young Horse Teaching and Research Program at Rutgers University
was started 10 years ago by Dr. Sarah Ralston, combining her interest in
transportation stress and growing horse nutrition with her teaching program. The
reputation of the program has grown and for the past 5 years it has been fully
funded by generous donors, auction proceeds and sponsors of horses and
students. The horses are chosen from herds at Hiatt Ranch in North Dakota and two
North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) Sport Horse
breeders in Canada, Ravine Ranch and Early Dawn Sport Horses in July. A group of
Rutgers students and recent graduates, led by Dr. Sarah Ralston, select foals based
on temperament and conformation and breeding, since part of the research program
focus is to determine the nutritional requirements of warmblood and draft cross
horses, about which very little is currently known. Arriving in New Brunswick in
September, the young horses step off the trailer as wide-eyed four-month-old
weanlings, ready to be taught the basics of ground manners by the students
involved in program at the George H. Cook Campus in New Brunswick.
More than 30 students work with the horses throughout the year. They are
responsible for the horses’ daily care and training, as well as aiding in research trials
and educating the public about the program. By the time the yearlings are shown by
their students in the annual Ag Field day Horse Show on Saturday, April 25, they will
be accustomed to being groomed, having their feet trimmed and being dewormed
regularly. They will also have a solid education in basic ground manners, which
includes standing still, walking, trotting, backing up and turning on command and
standing tied while being groomed. The students also spend a lot of time
“despooking” the young horses by getting them accustomed potentially scary things
like walking over feed bags, rake handles and blankets on the ground and
approaching open umbrellas, jumping dogs, and even an animated, talking stuffed
toy!
The yearlings will be sold at the Annual Rutgers NAERIC Yearling Auction on
Sunday, April 26 in the Round House on College Farm Road, Cook Campus.
Proceeds go towards funding the program for the following year.
Each horse has a unique history and personality, to get to know them, visit the
Young Horse Teaching and Research Program student-run Web site at http://www.
rci.rutgers.edu/~ruhorse, where the students write regular “blurbs” about “their”
horse’s progress. Contact Dr. Ralston (732-932-9404 or e-mail: Ralston@aesop.
rutgers.edu) for more information or to make an appointment to visit the horses.