Oh How They Grow! An Update on the University of Maryland Equine Breeding Program


by Dr. Amy Burk, Associate Professor, Equine Sci- ence, Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland


Ask any horse breeder and they will likely


agree that it’s amazing how fast a foal grows. One minute you’re helping to hold up a new- born suckling foal and the next minute you’re watching it cross the fi nish line at Laurel Park race track. It feels like just yesterday that the University of Maryland brought back its breed- ing program in 2013 after a 30 year hiatus. We had two main goals: to expand our real-


world training opportunities for equine stu- dents and to enhance our relationship with the horse industry. To date, over 50 students have witnessed the birth of 11 foals on-campus. We’ve sold seven off spring at the renowned Fasig-Tipton T oroughbred auction, gross- ing $30,000, with all proceeds going back into the program. T ere are two UMD-bred horses currently racing: the now four-year-old stakes- placed Maryland’s Best (Rock Slide x T e Best Sister) and three-year-old Fear the Fire (Friesan Fire x Daylight Lassie). Maryland’s Best, who has earned nearly $40,000 to date, put our program on the map when he placed third in Maryland Million Nursery Stakes on Maryland Million Day. You would have thought he won the Preakness the way students, staff , and faculty celebrat- ed! Fear the Fire is a relative newcomer with earnings just under $7,000 af- ter only two races. T ere are two more UMD-bred horses slated to race later this year and we wish their new own- ers and trainers the best of luck. Last year saw an expansion of the breeding program with the addition of sport- horse breeding. Our fi rst sporthorse foal, Cor- nerstone UMD (Contucci x Runaway Pearl), was shown in hand by students and was success- fully accepted into the International Sporthorse/ N.A. Oldenburg Registry last August. He made his show debut this June when he competed at the U.S. Eventing Association’s Future Event Horse Yearling Class at Waredaca in Laytons- ville. He received such impressive scores that he earned a chance to compete at the Future Event Horse Championships this fall. Cornerstone UMD’s pasture mate, Fearless


Terp, turned quite a few heads at the January Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale and brought


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Proud UMD students and faculty with their yearling, Fearless Terp, at the Thoroughbred bloodstock auction.


a respectable $5,200. We also said good-bye to our broodmare Runaway Pearl, who was pur- chased out of the sale. We wish the new owners all the best with Pearl’s 2017 foal by Bandbox. T e true highlight of the sale was when Hall


of Fame show jumper turned successful race- horse trainer, Rodney Jenkins, told the students that they should be proud of themselves be- cause they had one of the best turned out year- lings at the sale. T at compliment defi nitely fu- eled the students whose resolve had been a bit tampered by the 40 degree temperatures. T is spring, our fi rst colt out of Daylight


Cornerstone UMD showing off at the ISR/Olden- burg inspection


Lassie by the stallion Street Magician was born on March 28 after many restless nights of foal watch. T e foaling was every bit of normal, but we soon realized the foal was going to need some help getting up. He was unable to stand and nurse on his own due to some fl ex- ural issues with his legs. Under the ad- visement of the vet and supervision of


equine faculty, students provided round the clock care including bottle feeding, assisted nursings, leg wrapping, and medications. By day six, things looked to be shaping up. Un- fortunately, the following morning he looked lethargic and we quickly assessed that he had a fever. Despite additional veterinary interven- tion and valiant round the clock care, we said goodbye to Daylight Lassie’s foal the following morning in what was a truly crushing experi- ence for us all. T at experience was a deafening reminder of just how frail foals can be. A few days earlier, our newest broodmare ad- dition, Old Grey Square (aka Adara), foaled a


gorgeous black fi lly by the hand- some Dutch Warmblood stal- lion Vallado. Adara was the most amazing helicopter mother we’ve ever seen. She wouldn’t eat or drink because she was too busy hovering over her foal. We didn’t want to risk a colic so we per- sonally off ered her water out of a bucket while standing next to the foal and we hung up alfalfa in nets all around her stall so that she could steal a bite when the foal was positioned next to them. T e last mare, Liberty Bay, was due to foal on April 6, but all indicators told us prob-


ably not that night. Yeah right. T e barn lights were turned off at 8 p.m. and foal watch wasn’t scheduled to begin until 9 p.m. At 8:50 p.m., a student who had checked the foaling cam called me and said, Liberty had her foal. I was stunned, so I quickly logged into the system to see it for myself. T ere she was, a big bay fi lly! T e alert went out and all of the students head- ed to the barn to do exactly as they had been trained. T ank goodness the mare and foal read the foaling textbooks and both met all of their post-foaling benchmarks with ease. With the support of Northview Stallion Sta- tion and Country Life Farm, our mares were rebred to three top class Mid-Atlantic stal- lions. Daylight Lassie was confi rmed in foal to the number one stallion in the northeast, Jump Start. Liberty Bay was confi rmed in foal to one of the most popular Maryland stallions, Golden Lad. And last but not least, Old Grey Square was confi rmed in foal to the new hot- shot stallion in town, Mosler. An exciting twist to the summer came when


three UMD students were selected to participate in the newly created Maryland T oroughbred Career Program sponsored by the Maryland Horse Industry Foundation. T e students had an amazing experience learning about careers in the industry and meeting with top-notch profession- als who gave them sound advice for the future. Currently, we’re handling our foals daily,


marketing the Sporthorses for sale, and mak- ing hay for next year. Weaning will come upon us quickly in early September and then we’re off to the Future Event Horse Championships with our Contucci yearling. Soon after, we’ll be back to sales prepping the Buff um fi lly. Stay tuned to our Facebook page to fi nd out


more about our students and Terrapin race and show horses. Also, if you have children or friends thinking about college, bring them by the University of Maryland for a visit! T ey may enjoy the small college feel at a big Uni- versity more than you think.


AUGUST 2017 | THE EQUIERY | 89


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