Minnesota Horse Council

EVACUATION INFORMATION

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:31:28 EDT

Temporary corralling for horses is available at the fairgrounds in western Park Rapids.

Horse owners using the fairgrounds are responsible for monitoring horses’... containment, health and wellness including water and feed.

Additional facilities near Park Rapids are available as well. Please contact Marian by going to the disaster page: http://www.mnhorsecouncil.org/disaster-relief.php

Become a MHC Member Right Now

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:57:27 EDT

Become a Member Today!

Use this link to become a member and (if interested) sign-on for volunteering to help the council meet its goal to promote a vibrant Minnesota equine community.

Minnesota Horse Expo Tickets

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:47:21 EDT

MN Horse Expo -- Sponsored by the MN Horse Council

Please visit the Minnesota Horse Expo website www.mnhorseexpo.org to purchase tickets in advance for the Minnesota Horse Expo, and the two shows within the Horse Expo requiring an additional ticket plus Horse Expo admission: the PRCA rodeos and Ma’ceo.

Tickets for the Horse Expo, the PRCA Rodeos and Ma’Ceo are also available for purchase at the Expo during the event. Visit www.mnhorseexpo.org for more detail. Please direct ticket questions to missrodeoqueen@aol.com or 952-356-2099

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:32:34 EDT

There are the only two places you can purchase tickets from the MN Horse Expo:

Tickets can be purchased in advance on the MHE website: www.mnhorseexpo.org
Tickets can also be purchased at the gate beginning at 8:00am each day. The Expo opens at 8:30am each day.

There are additional shows within the EXPO which have additonal admission charges and these can also be purchased on the website or at the EXPO:

The PRCA Rodeo
Ma'Ceo

For further clarification, the MN Horse Expo is not using a ticket company to sell tickets anywhere but the MHE website and the MN Horse Expo is not selling tickets on Craigslist. Please be wary of any "deals" you find - the MN Horse Council and the MN Horse Expo is not responsible for phony tickets and we do not want anyone to get into that situation.

Please direct questions to Glen@mnhorseexpo.org

EXPO Admission pricing is as follows:

Adults (13-61)	$9.00
Seniors (62+)	$6.00
Youth (6-12)	$6.00
Child (5 & under)	FREE

2013 Flash Flood Warning

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:39:05 EDT

Minnesota horse owners in flood prone zones --

Beware that the 2013 spring thaw will be rapid and in some places dangerous. Keeping horses on high ground could save equine lives.

Flash Flood Warning

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:35:17 EDT

Minnesota horse owners in flood prone zones --

Beware that the 2013 spring thaw will be rapid and in some places dangerous. Keeping horses on high ground could save equine lives.

An Open Letter From the AHC

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:28:56 EDT

Please read the below letter regarding a national plan for communicating disease outbreaks.

http://www.horsecouncil.org/press-release/open-letter-horse-industry

In a nut shell, the AHC and AAEP are asking the industry to become a part of a national communication system for equine disease outbreaks..

Technology, email and social media can either be a great communication system or a cesspool of misinformation. The MN Horse Council is in favor of a national communication system and will be attending the AHC annual meeting in June.

Some questions:

... Has a disease outbreak affected your association/business?

Even if it hasn't, do you know of anyone affected (affected doesn't mean affliction - affected means transportation issues, quarantine issues, etc). If so, what state were they in?

What do you think should be part of the AHC proposed plan? Not the veterinary action items, but what does the INDUSTRY need to do to protect itself?

What questions do you have about such a plan?

Questions can be sent to: mn.horsecouncil@comcast.net

State Fair seeks a new Superintendent for Horse Exhibit

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:18:28 EST

EquiMania! Superintendent:

Seeking an energetic equine enthusiast to be the superintendent for our new equine education area. Must be organized, able to work independently and multi-task and enjoy talking to people.

EquiMania! is a youth education program developed by Equine Guelph at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada). It is an interactive exhibit that engages youth in horse health and safety. EquiMania! operates on a zero-based budget and was developed with the support of the horse industry. EquiMania! allows youth, both urban and rural to learn about the care and welfare of horses and introduces them to the many career opportunities within the horse industry. It is important that young people are given a pathway in which to enter the industry. Generating enthusiasm for horses at this stage encourages our youth to stay with the business as a career.

EquiMania! also includes a series of display stations. These stations cover a variety of horse topics such as nutrition, anatomy, horse behavior, rider safety, horse welfare, horse careers and much, much more. The exhibit is designed for horse enthusiasts of all ages. With its interactive displays, children are involved in self-educating from learning to braid a horseâ€™s tail and digging for horse bones to understanding horse anatomy using life size horse models.

The superintendent would be responsible for obtaining volunteers, staffing, scheduling demonstrations, etc. beginning in the spring and managing/supervising the exhibit during the fair.

A brief description of essential superintendent functions include:

Pre-fair the superintendent is responsible for contacting various equine organizations, educators, exhibitors, owners, etc. early spring via email, mailings and phone to schedule volunteers and demonstrators for the 12 days of the fair. In addition, it will be necessary to put time on the fairgrounds mid/late August to prepare and set up the demonstration area (w/ help from the University of Guelph).

During the fair (Aug. 22 - Sept 2), the superintendent would need to be on-site from at least 7:30 a.m. until about 7 p.m. each day and some days may be longer, depending on the needs of the area.

1 Manage an organizational database for daily schedules of staff, volunteers and demonstrations

2 Provide instruction/procedures for volunteers as they come in for each shift/station

3 Set up/take down any needs for each demonstrator (table, chair, screen, etc.)

4 Distribute and collect feedback forms from the fairgoers and the demonstrators

5 Ensure the exhibit area is welcoming (no trash, sweep floor, etc.)

6 MS Office experience (word & excel)

Post fair would require time on the fairgrounds to "wrap up" (but that could be spread out a few hours each day if needed to be to accommodate other work/school schedule needs).

Please contact Michelle Butler, Agriculture Education Manager at the Minnesota State Fair at 651-288-4480 or via email at michelle.butler@mnstatefair.org.

2013 Grant Recipients

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:37:37 EST

Previous Grant Recipients

2013

1. Hope Rides Minnetonka $4,900

This therapeutic horseback riding program works out of leased sites at Mayer & Stacy.    This grant will purchase portable round pen panels to use for additional safe work space for riders.

2.      Lyon County 4-H         Cottonwood                                               $7,000
The show ring at their county fairgrounds in Marshall has an old announcers stand that needs repair, and is lacking concessions space and a storage space for show equipment. This grant will assist them in building a new building to provide an improved announcers stand and concessions area, and with storage space. The Lyon County 4-H horse project and Lyon County Fair will provide the rest of the funds.

3.      Madelia Saddle Club     Butterfield                                               $6,850
The outdoor arena at the Watonwan County fairgrounds in St. James is old & unsafe – the fence is less than 4’ tall, below horses eye level & easy to step over, and many posts are rotted and sunken. This grant will purchase materials for a new, ‘maintance-free’ metal panel arena fence. Materials only, volunteers from the saddle club & 4-H will remove the old fence and install the new one.

4.      Mankato Saddle Club       Mankato                                            $7,000
The show arena in the Lake Crystal city park has been used by this club & other horse groups for over 20 years. And the arena fence is original, and no longer repairable. This grant will assist them in replacing the fence with a metal fence panel one, and also adding a good sand/clay mix footing.

5.      Miracle Horse Riders       Parkers Prairie                                      $ 600
This grant will purchase bareback riding pads with gel inserts for therapeutic riding; equipment needed by this special needs riding program in Crow Wing county

6.      Olmsted County Fair     Oronoco                                            $5,500
The steel roof on the 1970’s horse barn at this county fairgrounds has developed rust spots where the bolts attach, allowing water to leak onto stalled horses & tack.   This grant will pay for adding a
protective coating to the roof, then priming & painting it, so it will last for many more years.

7.      Osakis Trailblazers Saddle Club Belgrade                           $4,000
This horse show arena has n old, decrepit announcers stand and lunch stand. This grant will purchase materials to build a new, 2-story announcers stand with lunch stand below. Materials only; the club members will do the demolition of the old buildings and construction of the new one.

8.      Pennington County Fair      Thief River Falls                       $6,000
The show arena fence at this county fairgrounds was built of wood about 22 years ago, and is in dire
need of replacement. This grant will purchase materials for a new 3-rail white vinyl fence for their arena.

9.      Stable Pathways                 White Bear Lake                       $1,250
This therapeutic riding program operates from Bunker Hikks Park in Anoka, and has provided therapeutic riding to many clients over the years. They would like to expand the program, to offer rides to pre-school age children.   This grant will help fund start-up costs for this expansion of their program. Matching grant; we will match whatever they raise up to this amount.

10.     Sus Lacuna/Birchbury Farm     Oak Grove                           $1,930
This grant will enable this club to buy added equipment to make their shows run better: an improved sound system, professional numbers to mark jumps, and radios to replace human ‘runners’.

11.     University of Minnesota         St. Paul                                   $6,600
This grant will provide funding far a research project studying the relationship between laminitis (founder) and specific weed species that are common in dry lots (dirt paddocks). High-carb diets are a known trigger for founder, and susceptible horses are often kept in dry lots to reduce carbs from grazing. This research will gather data to study the weeds in dry lots, and their effect on horse diet.

12.     Washington County Fair Afton                                             $7,000
This heavily-used county fairgrounds has the horse show area next to highway #5, with only parking
areas in between – no fence! Horses that get loose can easily run onto this busy highway, angerous both to the horses & highway traffic. This grant will fun installation of a sturdy 7-foot chain link fence
around the grounds, separating the horse area from the highway, and making it much safer for horses.

Total Grants                                                                               $ 58,630

2012 Scholarship Recipients

markward@windyridgeranch.com (Mark Ward) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:08:09 EST

2012 Scholarship Recipients

The Minnesota Horse Council proudly congratulates their scholarship winners at the January 19^th, 2013 annual meeting and dinner. Please join us in extending our congratulations and well wishes to the following students:

Lacey Carlson North Dakota State University
Mikaela Del Giudice University of St. Thomas
Mari Ertz University of Wisconsin/River Falls
Angie Esselman University of Wisconsin/River Falls
Danielle Gunder University of Minnesota
Alexandra Linn University of Minnesota
Kelly Sobczak University of Wisconsin/River Falls
Natasha Spiczka University of Minnesota
Kami Vickerman University of Minnesota/College of Veterinary Medicine
Elyse Voss University of Wisconsin/River Falls
Katherine Wedel University of Minnesota/College of Veterinary Medicine