On March 3, 2016, the University of Guelph’s Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management (BBRM) Equine Major students, in partnership with Equine Guelph, hosted the first annual Equine Research Night.

This inaugural event featured presentations about some of the equine industry’s hot topics to a sold out lecture hall at the University of Guelph. Dr. Jeff Thomason discussed footing and its effect on how horses move as well as how footing can impact the type of injuries horses develop. Dr. Katrina Merkies presented her research on whip use in Quarter Horse racing, highlighting strong evidence of the success of whip-free racing in other countries and her own research’s evidence against the effectiveness of whip use. Dr. Wendy Pearson spoke about equine nutrition.

Equine Guelph’s director, Gayle Ecker, made a special presentation on barn fire safety, promoting awareness and arming attendees with practical tools to help prevent fires at their facilities. A video of this presentation is archived on the new Fire Prevention and Safety web page at EquineGuelph.ca.

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