OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010 THE RIDER /21 Take A Journey Through Your Horse’s Joints By Henrietta Coole
Guelph, Ontario – Equine Guelph has announced Pfizer Animal Health will be spon- soring Journey through the Joints, an online tool designed to take horse people on an inter- active journey from a healthy joint to an inflamed, arthritic joint.
It has been discovered that a staggering 60% of lameness problems in horses are caused by osteoarthritis.
understanding of causes and care of lame- ness.”
One of the biggest health challenges fac- ing both horses and humans is arthritis. We all know it hurts but we often fail to really understand what is happening in the joints. Currently, there is no effective long-term treatment to repair a cartilage injury in the joint. This is one of the leading causes of early retirement in horses. The tissue from cartilage heals extremely slowly. Damaged (or missing) tissue is often irreplaceable, usu- ally leading to osteoarthritis.
The goal of this Journey through the Joints tool is to educate caretakers about the different stages of joint degeneration, explain the definition of arthritis and pro- vide information pertaining to prevention and care. The interactive tool also chal- lenges participants’ knowledge with user- friendly activities on the anatomy of a joint. It is possible to view a 360 degree tour of an actual horse joint!
“We think it’s really important to teach horse people about the basics on joints,” says Dr. Cathy Rae, manager of equine technical services for Pfizer Animal Health. “It is critical to have a basic knowledge of joints before grasping an
To check out this new tool, go to
www.EquineGuelph.ca and click on Jour- ney through the Joints.
Photo Caption: Equine Guelph offers a new online resource to take horse people on a journey inside a healthy joint to an arthritic joint. Photo Credit:
MJProsser.com
REACH Huron offers newest full time University
aspiring horse people
Clinton, located near the shores of Lake Huron is the newest University town! REACH Huron became the newest Univer- sity of Guelph satellite campus in Septem- ber, when Ridgetown Campus welcomed 27 students to the brand new Performance Horse Handler Certificate program. REACH Huron is located on 30 acres right beside the Clinton Racetrack. “REACH is an acronym for Regional Equine and Agricultural Centre of Huron,” explains Richard Harding, the CEO and Executive Director.
program for
“What we’ve done is build facilities for education and support of the agricultur- al and horse industry,” he says. “We pro- vide a state of the art place for training with classrooms, computer lab, amphitheatre, teaching barn, teaching lab and indoor are- nas.”
The students have the priceless oppor- tunity of working with performance horses, including retired race horses with the kind of gentle behaviour perfect for aspiring horsepeople.
“We have ten of our own horses in the REACH herd,” says Harding. “They’ve been donated to REACH Huron. They’re all a certain temperament and age that are relatively easy to work with.
The program provides a balance of theory and hands-on learning. After being given a solid introduction to working with the horses through the class time, labs and barn, the students work with performance horses in the two work placements and the new horses brought in for the second semester. The work placements are in the industry in December and May. Anyone with performance horses who would like to offer a placement is invited to contact REACH Huron at
director@reachhuron.ca or 519 606 1480 for more information. While there is no riding associated with the program, there are opportunities to exercise the REACH horses and have rid- ing lessons while attending the program. Students come from across the province and further. One student emigrat- ed from England to attend the program. The students have found accommodations in Clinton and neighboring towns. Many live within walking distance of REACH Huron as the residents of Clinton have opened their homes, and some have reno- vated properties for the purpose. Ridgetown Campus has brought in well respected industry people to instruct the program. Lindsay Grice is a well known clinician and judge throughout North America and Doug Nash comes from a lifetime of working in the Standardbred industry. He was the General Manager of Glengate Farms – the largest breeding facil- ity in Canada before the owners closed the business due to personal reasons. Rounding out the instructor pool are Sharon McMas- ter of McMaster Equine Massage and Melanie Prosser, who worked with the Uni- versity of Guelph’s online equine program prior to joining REACH.
Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph is already promoting the course for September. The first Red Carpet Open House is scheduled for November 19th, from 10:30 am to 2 pm at REACH Huron. To register for this event, Call Katie Sav- age, the Recruitment Co-ordinator at 519- 674-1500, x 1522, email
ksavage@ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca.or regis- ter online at
www.ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca
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