Year: 2024

Equine 101: Keeping Up With Equine Knowledge

December 11, 2024

New Jersey is certainly getting lots of rain today! Thankfully, Dr. M made sure that my home is warm and dry, so I don’t have to worry about a thing. The weather can sometimes have a big impact on how we take care of our horses. If your horse lives on your property, or you work at a barn, you’ve probably seen the effects of rain firsthand. Ensuring that your farm is set up to handle weather like this is important to keeping your horse, and yourself, safe and comfortable. That’s why I’m happy to introduce some updated fact sheets!

Student Spotlight: Amelia Puglia

November 27, 2024

I’ve got something pretty special for you today: a Student Spotlight! Today, we’ll be chatting with one of our very own ESC team members, Ms. Amelia Puglia. She has been working with us for the past few years and has been a vital part of our events and research. When she was a senior undergraduate student this past year, she worked on her George H. Cook Honors Thesis project with Dr. McKeever, Dr. Malinowski, and Dr. Herbst. We’re super excited because this work recently got published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science!

Read More
Posted By Lord Nelson at 12:51 pm

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

November 20, 2024

I’m really starting to appreciate the cooler November weather! My winter coat is already coming in so I’ll be toasty warm soon enough. The leaves are changing color, and the Rutgers Farm looks beautiful. It looks like Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Lots of things come to mind when I think about the holiday: good food, spending time with those you care about, and being thankful. I know I’m thankful for everyone at the Equine Science Center. What are y’all thankful for this year?

RU Coming to the 2024 Evening of Science & Celebration?

October 30, 2024

October really flew by! That means two things: Halloween is almost here (check out my Halloween blog!) and November is right around the corner. It’s time for the annual Rutgers Equine Science Center Evening of Science and Celebration. Everyone is invited to join us at my favorite event of the year. Make some room in your calendar on Thursday, November 14th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. You can register for the event by going to https://go.rutgers.edu/Evening2024.

Not So Scary Skeletons

October 17, 2024

It looks like Halloween is sneaking up on us this year! Lots of things come to mind when I think about the holiday, like treats, costumes, yummy treats, spooky monsters….did I mention treats? Check out my blog from last year to see how you can get your horse involved in some Halloween fun. As much as I would love to continue talking about snacks, I’ve got something else to talk about today: skeletons! They might sound spooky, but I guarantee you, there’s a lot more to them than just being a Halloween decoration.

Read More
Posted By Lord Nelson at 12:01 pm

What Will You Do When You Grow Up?

October 9, 2024

The fall weather is just around the corner, and I could not be more excited! The leaves will be changing soon and Cook campus is going to look prettier than it already is. We can chat about the weather later though. We’ve got a career to learn about! This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of our friends over at the county offices: Eric Martin. He is a member of the Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management and Preparedness, and part of his job is to help keep animals safe during disasters. Even though his background involves a lot of human search and rescue training, he is incredibly dedicated to his current work involving animal rescue. As you will certainly see, he has quite the passion for raising awareness!

Racing for Research: Treadmill Demonstrations

September 18, 2024

The fall semester is in full swing here at Rutgers! For everyone at the ESC, that means we’re going to have a lot of student help for our studies. Doing research on the farm takes a lot of extra hands (and hooves). It’s also really great for when we run our equine treadmill to show the general public the kind of work that we do. I’m sure you guys have heard about that in a lot of my previous blogs, but I wanted to take the time today to describe what it “looks” like!

Nelson Investigates: Contagious Respiratory Disease

September 4, 2024

The fall semester has officially begun here at Rutgers! It’s nice to see all the students back on campus; the farm gets so quiet during the summertime. I hope y’all have had a smooth start to your school year too. I’m sure many of the Rutgers students would agree with me when I say that the “first day of school” feeling never goes away, even when you’re in college!

Back to School: Contagious Respiratory Diseases

August 21, 2024

It looks like we’re nearing the end of the summer! I can’t believe that it’s already time for my yearly “back to school” blog. I’m sure many of you have spent lots of time outside this summer enjoying the warm weather, hopefully with both your horse and human friends. Even though it’s great to see all your classmates and teachers again this school year, being inside means that it’s a bit easier for everyone to get sick. The same is certainly true for horses! That’s why today I’ll be sharing a bit about contagious respiratory diseases.

Read More
Posted By Lord Nelson at 10:11 am

The 2024 Hambletonian Continuing Education Seminar

August 7, 2024

I can’t believe that it’s already August! This summer is really flying by fast. That reminds me, isn’t there a big horse race around this time? If you guessed the Hambletonian Stakes, you’d be right! That’s the Standardbred race held on the first Saturday in August at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. While that’s certainly a fun weekend activity, I want to update y’all on Friday’s event: the 2024 Hambletonian Continuing Education Seminar.

Read More
Posted By Lord Nelson at 11:55 am