A farm in North East Saskatchewan has been placed under quarantine (jointly by the owner and the CFIA)  for the prescense of EIA (Equine Infectious Anemia aka Swamp Fever).

Breeding the Fastest Horse
A forum to advance racehorse breeding and business practices
Bridgewater Country Club, Fort Erie
Friday, October 7, 2011
Commencing 12:30 p.m.
Don’t miss this industry seminar if you are interested in producing a racehorse with solid
conformation, a competitive spirit and the genes for speed. Intended to benefit all
interested horse breeders, particularly those with an interest in Quarter Horses, the
seminar will focus on:
 Planned breeding, herd improvement and crosses that work for racing
 Factors affecting fertility and early conception in the broodmare
 Herd management practices to improve the chance of full-term pregnancy
 Marketing stallions
 How to get started breeding racehorses for the Ontario Quarter Horse Program
This seminar will be followed by a reception and dinner.
Cost: $69 (includes seminar and meal).
Cost for the seminar only - $39 per person Cost for dinner only - $30 per person
A Horsemen’s Rate is offered at the Clarion Hotel, 1485 Garrison Road, Fort Erie
Tel: 905-871-8333
Pre-registration for this seminar is required through the
Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program (416) 213-0520.
Opening day for the October Quarter Horse meet at Fort Erie is the next day -- Saturday,
October 8th-- featuring the $150,000 added Ontario Jackpot Futurity and the $150,000
added Ontario Jackpot Derby.
SEMINAR AGENDA
12:30 P.M. - Welcome guests.
1:00 - Bloodlines and crosses that work in Quarter Horse Racing. Dan Lucas, AQHA
Champion Breeder in 2004 and breeder of multiple stakes winners including top
producing stallions Ocean Runaway and Wave Carver (World Champion), will talk about
planned breeding, herd improvement and crosses that work for racing; including
commercial bloodlines for market and lesser known crosses that produce fast horses.
2:00 – Influences on the early stages of conception. Dr. Keith Betteridge of Biomedical
Sciences at the University of Guelph will impart an understanding of the interactions
between the early embryo and the dam, and provide the base of knowledge essential to
understanding the maintenance of pregnancy in the mare. This presentation includes
current research from the University of Guelph, and insight into factors that may affect
fertility.
3:00 - Break
3:30 - Preparing your mare for the breeding season. Dan Lucas will talk about his
experience with herd management practices that improve conception and increase the
chance of full-term pregnancy.
4:30 - Marketing stallions. Anna Meyers of Emerald Ridge Farm will talk about creating
effective print advertising, use of other forms of media including video, building and
working a contact list to market your stallion; and the use of frozen semen for added
revenue streams.
5:30 –How to get started breeding for the Ontario Quarter Horse Program. A
representative of the Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program will answer
the questions - Why breed for racing? Why now?
6:15 – Cash Bar
7:00 – Dinner
WHO IS…..
DAN LUCAS
Dan Lucas and wife Michelle are the owners and operators of Lucas Racing, Inc. in New
Market, Maryland. Dan Lucas, a retired emergency physician, started his racing and
breeding operation in 1975 and began running American Quarter Horses at Pompano
Park (Florida) in 1978. Dan is a current member of the AQHA Racing Committee and the
AQHA Racing Council and is an AQHA representative to the American Association of
Equine Practitioners subcommittee on racetrack veterinary costs. He currently serves on
both the Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association board of directors and the Pacific
Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association board of directors. Dan has bred champions
Ocean Runaway, Wave Carver, and Cash For Kas, along with 2005 Broodmare of the
Year and Dam of Distinction, Runaway Wave. Dan was champion breeder in 2004.
Lucas Racing Inc. produces 20-25 foals annually using shipped semen and embryo
transfer.
KEITH BETTERIDGE
Born in Lyndhurst (‘capital’ of the New Forest in Hampshire, where the ponies come
from), Dr. Betteridge received his early education in England. He earned two degrees in
veterinary medicine – a BVSc from the University of Bristol in 1959 and a MVSc from
the University of Toronto (Ontario Veterinary College) in 1961. Dr. Betteridge met his
future wife while studying in Guelph. The Betteridges traveled back to the UK where Dr.
Betteridge practiced in a veterinary clinic specializing in large animals. Next, he returned
to research, completing his PhD at the University of Reading while studying pig
reproduction. After postdoctoral studies at the Medical School in Birmingham, Dr.
Betteridge returned to his wife’s native Canada. From 1967-1980, Dr. Betteridge was
employed by Agriculture Canada (Animal Diseases Research Institute). He then moved
to Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec to become the Director of the Centre of Research in Animal
Reproduction at the Université de Montréal for six years. In 1986, Dr. Betteridge
assumed a Research Chair at the University of Guelph and continued his studies on
embryo transfer in farm animals. In 1996, Dr. Betteridge became a University Professor
Emeritus and is currently enjoying his ‘retirement’ by continuing his studies of equine
reproduction with 17 research mares at the Ontario Veterinary College. He continues to
work with these mares to advance our knowledge in the area of reproductive biology.
ANNA MEYERS
Anna and her husband Patrick own and operate Emerald Ridge Farm on 134 acres in
Rockwood, Ontario. Emerald Ridge is a full service reproductive facility offering a
separate stallion barn with accommodations for resident stallions complete with a
laboratory and breeding shed. In any given year, 300 to 700 mares are serviced between
resident stallions and frozen semen. The main barn consists of 32 stalls housing
temporary and full time resident mares. Loafing sheds provide additional room. During
the breeding season, an additional farm is used to accommodate overflow. Emerald
Ridge Farm is an affiliate lab of Select Breeders Service (SBS). There are SBS affiliate
labs throughout the world, each using the latest technology and advances as it relates to
freezing horse semen. Anna has her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and
worked for many years in marketing and sales of veterinary pharmaceuticals. Patrick is a
DVM and Board Certified Theriogenologist specializing in equine reproduction. Emerald
Ridge Farm stands three Standardbred stallions on site, and has facilities and where
stallions can be collected and semen can be frozen for storage and for shipment globally.

NEWS RELEASE

Quarter Horse Industry Breeding Seminar

September 2, 2011, Toronto, ON – A special seminar on horse breeding practices is being held this fall in Fort Erie.  The seminar will be of benefit to all interested horse breeders, particularly those with an interest in Quarter Horses.  The session will be held:

Friday, October 7, 2011

1:00 p.m.

Bridgewater Country Club

700 Gilmore Road

Fort Erie, ON L2A 5M4

Topics will include:

·         Planned breeding, herd improvement and crosses that work for racing;

·         Herd management practices to improve conception and increase the chances of full-term pregnancy;

·         Factors affecting fertility and early conception in the broodmare;

·         Marketing stallions; and,

·         Breeding racehorses for the Ontario racing programs.

Keynote speakers:

·         Dan Lucas of Lucas Racing Inc. in Newmarket, Maryland, USA

·         Dr. Keith Betteridge, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph

The seminar will be followed by a social and dinner. Tickets for the event are $69.00 and include the seminar and dinner. Pre-registration is required through the Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program at 416-213-0520.

The following day, Saturday, October 8^th, is opening day for the October Quarter Horse meet at Fort Erie Race Track and will feature the $150,000 added Ontario Jackpot Futurity and the $150,000 added Ontario Jackpot Derby.

The Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program is administered by the Ontario Racing Commission.  For information on other initiatives supported by the Program, please visit the Quarter Horse section of the Ontario Racing Commission website at www.ontarioracingcommission.ca or by contacting:

Sandy Anthony

Program Coordinator

416-213-0520
qhprogram@ontarioracingcommission.ca

News Release

September 20, 2011

 With winter and flu season approaching, you’re ready to do everything in your power to reduce your chances of catching a cold, but how do you rate in keeping your horses safe from infectious disease?  See how you score.  Calculate your horse farm’s risks with Equine Guelph’s new and improved Equine Biosecurity Risk Calculator, a tool designed for horse owners to generate a report that grades them on their biosecurity management practices on their farms.  

Live and online now at www.EquineGuelph.ca (click Biosecurity Risk Calculator), the interactive tool is an educational resource of Equine Guelph (University of Guelph) developed in collaboration with Colorado State University and sponsored by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation and Vétoquinol Canada Inc.  

“Every horse owner should think about a biosecurity management plan,” says Karan Ann Paradis, Equine Product Manager of Vétoquinol. “Having a solid understanding of equine health, infectious disease and disease control is paramount in reducing biosecurity risk in a high-risk industry. Vétoquinol is delighted to support the development of this important educational tool for caretakers.”

The online resource helps horse owners calculate the biosecurity risk on their farms and also provides educational feedback on ways to decrease the risk of infectious disease.  It takes about 10 minutes to answer 42 questions in 10 categories about their farms and rates their individual biosecurity risks in each category.  Possible scores include: green for go (keep doing what you’re doing), yellow for caution (consider improvements) and red for stop (reassess to reduce serious risk). 

“The online resource will give horse owners a great starting point by revealing the potential risks currently present on their own farm and the most practical ways to decrease those risks,” says Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, AAEP Foundation Chairman.  “AAEP Foundation is pleased to collaborate with our partners in Canada and the U.S. to provide this valuable tool for horse owners in North America.”

Photo (horse in trailer) Caption:  Biosecurity is a major concern in the equine industry especially given the high rate of horse movement.

Photo Credit:  Photo by Jacquie Labatt

 - by Henrietta Coole

-30-

Media Contact:

Jackie Bellamy, Communications

Equine Guelph

Guelph, ON   N1G 2W1

519.824.4120 ext. 54230 

jbellamy@uoguelph.ca

 
Notes to Editor:

Equine Guelph is the horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the University of Guelph.  It is a unique partnership dedicated to the health and well-being of horses, supported and overseen by equine industry groups.  Equine Guelph is the epicentre for academia, industry and government – for the good of the equine industry as a whole.  For further information, visit www.equineguelph.ca.

Thanks to Chris from Visions, Saskatoon Faithful Ave. Branch for helping make possible the gifting of a 32" television to a Calgary Charity (yet to be determined).  This television will be used in our booth #106 at Spruce Meadows "The Masters" from September 7-11, 2011.  HorseOwnerToday will gift a lucky Calgary charitable organization with the television at the conclusion the "The Masters".  Come visit!

Congratulations to Chad Gruno of Saskatoon, Sk., Canadian Senior Karting Champion!  Chad will represent Canada at the World Karting Championship, in Italy this October.  This is Chad's 3rd Canadian Championship and his 3rd World Championship competition.