Nash Speaks at Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association Seminar

David Nash, director of nutrition technology at Kentucky Equine Research, gave a presentation for the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association (HTBA) on 9-10 August at Hunter Valley Equine Research Centre, Scone, NSW.

Nash spoke about all aspects of mare, foal, weanling, and yearling nutrition as well as the importance of identifying and monitoring growth to reduce risk factors that contribute to growth and development issues.

Over 100 people participated in the seminar. All of the attendees were involved in stud management, including yearling and broodmare managers as well as overall stud managers. Nash noted, “Many of the managers have not experienced the training programs offered by Kentucky Equine Research through HTBA. This gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience of Thoroughbred management and to make managers aware of the global resources they have available to them.”

Kentucky Equine Research has been actively involved in the nutritional health and growth of young Thoroughbreds worldwide. In addition to research studies that focus on growth, Kentucky Equine Research developed Gro-Trac, the first equine growth-monitoring software that allows breeders to compare the growth rates of their stock with those of young horses of similar age, sex, and breed, is a valuable management and communication tool between breeding farms, consultants, and owners who cannot see their horses regularly but like to keep abreast of their development.

By using the world’s largest set of growth records collected by Kentucky Equine Research over more than two decades, breeders can quickly assess how their young horses stack up against their peers. Peer reference groups include the weights, heights, and average daily gains of tens of thousands of growing horses from around the globe.

Kentucky Equine Research is a long-time supporter of the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association. According to the organization’s website, “Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association is devoted to fostering, protecting, promoting and preserving the Thoroughbred breeding industry in the Hunter Valley area of New South Wales. The association represents stallion farms, broodmare farms, the largest equine hospital in the Southern Hemisphere and a sophisticated network of equine support industries all of whom are dependent on Australia’s premier breeding industry.”