Racehorse Gut Health & Colic Prevention – Winter ’22
Colic is the #1 killer of horses other than old age!
You can prevent colic by:
- Calculating your Risk
- Assessing your Management Plan
- Developing Preventative Strategies
Reduce your Risk with Equine Guelph’s Colic Prevention Program Designed for individuals that want to reduce the risk of colic in their own horse or horses they care for by increasing their knowledge of risk factors and preventative management strategies.
FREE COURSE for Standardbred Canada Members! This winter, learn from the industry experts by taking Racehorse Gut Health and Colic Prevention! This online can be of benefit for all racehorse trainers and grooms in order reduce the risk of colic and other digestive issues – and improve your horse’s performance on the track!
- Visit the Course Page for Racehorse Gut Health and Colic Prevention, Winter 2022. On the Registration page, fill out the required fields, then under “Have a coupon?”, enter the code GutHealthSC and click “Apply”
- The cost of the course will now be free of charge. Agree to the Terms and Conditions and click “Submit.”
- You are now registered for the course!
- Ontario Racing and COSA – 15% Discount for AGCO license holders (non SC members)
- Horse Racing Alberta – 15% Discount for HRA license holders
- Standardbred Canada – FREE for SC members (150 free registrations available)
- PEIHRIA – Free for SC/PEIHRIA members
You will learn to:
- Identify risks factors associated with colic
- Understand different types of colic
- Detect early signs and symptoms of colic
- Assess your management plan
- Develop preventative strategies
- Implement practical ways to reduce your colic risk
This course may be of interest for:
- Anyone who owns a horse, as all domestic horses may be at risk of colic
- Boarding/leasing or breeding facility
- New horse owners who are interested in dramatically reducing colic risk for your horse
- Owners of competitive horses, as the stress and lifestyle can predispose the equine athlete to higher colic risk
- All youth leaders to encourage best practices for reducing colic through improved management
Assignment (not graded, but recommended for personal achievement and required for certificate of completion)
Time Commitment:
- Occurs over a 2-week period
- 5-10 hour/week time commitment is required during this period
- No set times to be online each week
- Recommended you visit the course site at least 5 times a week, preferably once or more each day
- Course is entirely online, so travel to the University of Guelph is NOT required
Materials
- All materials are provided online within course site
Prerequisites
- 16 years of age or older
For more information, please contact Susan Raymond Phone: 519 824-4120, ext. 54230 Email: [email protected]
Certificate of Completion
Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Equine Guelph – the horse owner’s Centre at the University of Guelph.
Continuing Education Credits/Professional Development:
- Equestrian Canada recognizes Equine Guelph short-training online courses as qualifying for points on the NCCP Coach/Instructor Professional Development Activities Updating hours (3 points)
- The Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians recognizes this short online course as qualifying for five credits within Category 3.
One Moon – Krista Cole, Owner
“This course was very informative and truly interesting. There was a lot of information covered on the subject and it was broken down in sections each day. Was very enjoyable to take.”
Krista Cole, Thoroughbred Trainer (Krista Cole Racing Stables, Brampton, ON) Student – Gut Health & Colic Prevention
“This course provides valuable insight for anyone that has an interest in improving the management of horse health. The take away is that good management saves horse lives and reduces expensive vet calls.”
Jackie (Calgary, AB), Student – Gut Health & Colic Prevention
“The Gut Health & Colic Prevention course was packed full of relevant and useful information along with practical applications that I can immediately implement with my horses. The Horse Health Tracker App is a very useful take away that I will be using often.”
Donna Elkow-Nash, Owner Student, Gut Health & Colic Prevention
“Thank you for providing this course! My husband is a 3rd generation full-time Standardbred trainer and was pretty much born and raised at the race track. We thought he knew everything there was to know based on the generations of knowledge he had in his head. By the end of the first day of the course, we were already discussing possible new strategies and techniques. By the end of the 3rd week, we realized how little we actually knew and are now implementing many new methods to lessen the chances of colic happening at the track and at the farm. All trainers should be asked to take this course before they can be certified.”
Nancy Tamblyn and Kevin Sampson – Standardbred Owners, Breeders and Grooms Sampson Standardbreds (Castor, AB) Students, Gut Health & Colic Prevention
Course Instructor
Nicole Weidner is a PhD candidate at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Nicole’s MSc and PhD work have focused on animal nutrition, with a focus on links between nutrition and disease. She has been fortunate enough to be mentored by board certified veterinary and PhD animal nutritionists during her time at the University. Nicole is also interested in education. She has experience as a teaching assistant and guest lecturer with courses offered by the University, and has taken several certificate programs centered around developing an understanding of various educational strategies and approaches.
Guest Expert
Kathleen Crandell has been Superintendent of the Virginia Tech Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Middleburg, Virginia, where she ran the equine research center and the breeding program, which was home to over 100 Thoroughbred horses. For the past 25 years, she has been an equine nutrition consultant for Kentucky Equine Research (KER), responsible for support of the national and international feed mills associated with KER with feed formulation, advising on issues of manufacturing and packaging of equine feeds and customer equine feeding recommendations. She also provides recommendations for nutritional programs of individual horses or farms and equine publications, and has consulted for some of the top equine competitors in the US. Dr. Crandell has presented nutritional seminars for education of the general equine public and scientific community around the world. She writes or is interviewed for articles on specific topics in equine nutrition for KER publications, KER.com Equinews website and popular magazines. Dr. Crandell and her husband had a small breeding farm where they bred Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and Warmblood crosses.
Ruleen Lilley
I started working with Standardbred horses 40 years ago at Mac Lilley Farms. In the 1980’s it was not considered lady-like to be present in the barn when horse breeding was taking place. Boy, have we women come a long way! Now we have women handling the stallions, training, driving, and owning these marvelous animals. I’m married to a fulltime, lifelong Standardbred horseman, Jeff. We have two sons, Alex and Gerald. You would think after dragging them to every racetrack as children, they might have turned off the sport, but both are fulltime horsemen too. I guess we have all caught the horse bug. My favorite time of the year is Springtime, witnessing the miracle of birth.
In 2022 we celebrate Mac Lilley Farm’s 50th year of breeding Standardbreds. In those years we have stood over 50 stallions, and bred more than 12,000 mares. We have raced at tracks from PEI to Edmonton and many tracks across the USA. This life has shown us: struggles, and thrills, and I wouldn’t have chosen any different path. I look forward to being your Standardbred Ambassador and learning even more about the horses we are privileged to work with each day.
Renée Kierans
My involvement in the horse racing industry has spanned close to 40 years, and covers many facets of the industry. My involvement with horses in general has been life long.
Jobs throughout the years have been those of an exercise rider, pony rider, outrider, starting gate crew, trainer and owner. I worked for 12 years doing on air broadcasting and handicapping for Woodbine and Mohawk, covering both thoroughbred and standardbred racing. I have also been an instructor for the Woodbine presented groom school on several occasion.
Aside form working with race horses, I love the time I get to spend working with show hunters and, when my schedule allows, competing in a few horse shows throughout the season. My partner is a Hall of Fame standardbred trainer, so racing, and horses in general, are really my life not just my job, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Eligible Partner Discounts:
15% course discounts are available to non-Standardbred Canada members through the following education partners:
Course Instructor
