Good morning everyone, and welcome to Lameness/Injury Prevention and Care on The Horse Portal!

We’re excited to welcome all of you to this brand new short online course – developed exclusively for the racing industry! ​This is an introductory course that is held over two weeks. We hope you will find the information and resources helpful in your day to day experiences with horses. ​ During this challenging time of social distancing and the recent restrictions with Ontario’s racetracks, we also hope that you will enjoy this experience of learning online together with other members of the Ontario horseracing community.

In an introductory level course that is open to all, regardless of experience, we have tried to accommodate the differences in knowledge and experience in the learning community for this course. For some, it may be challenging with new knowledge presented, but do not worry as you have a great instructor and helpful ambassadors that are here to help and support you. So do not hesitate to reach out of ask questions. As one of our instructors from the racing sector once said, “The only dumb question is the one that was not asked!” so we encourage you join in on the questions. For those with more knowledge and experience, some of this may be a useful review but we know there will be new and interesting information in many of the videos, interviews and extra up-to-date articles. We encourage you to join in the discussions as well.

Getting Started

For those who are new to the Horse Portal, please take a look through the Horse Portal Guide as well as a Discussions Guide to assist as you navigate the course.The discussion area is a key component of our online courses – this is your opportunity to ask questions of your instructor and course guest expert, and to share your experiences with lameness or injury ssues with other students.

This course will begin on Monday, March 23rd and will run for two weeks. Once the course opens, you will be all set to begin with lesson 1.1. “Introduction to the Course”. Remember that this course is designed to be flexible around your schedule – there are no set times to be online, and you can catch up on lessons at your convenience, or move ahead if you wish.

Meet our Instructor/Guest Expert:

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Darryl Bonder as our Course Instructor. Dr. Bonder is a past President of the Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners (OAEP), and has a keen interest in Equine Sports Medicine. He is also a member of the Equine Guelph Research Committee. Please direct your questions about the course material to Dr. Bonder in our Discussion areas!

We are also excited to welcome Dr. Orlaith Cleary as our Guest Expert. Dr Cleary is from the Ontario Equine Hospital, and her special interests are in advanced imaging (MRI, CT, scintigraphy), as well as all aspects of soft tissue and orthopedic surgery. Dr. Cleary will be joining us in the Guest Expert discussion area on Week 2 of the course.

For more info about our Instructor and Guest Expert, check out their full bios on the main course page.

Update regarding COVID-19

Because of the ever-evolving situation with COVID-19, we have decided to extend access to the course for an additional two weeks, with access set to end on Sunday, May 10th. This means that although the main course period will end on Friday April 3rd, you will have an additional five weeks of access to the material – lots of time to look through the lessons and resources! Please also bear in mind that because of everyone’s changing schedules and working from home, our Instructor, Facilitator and Guest Expert might not be able to respond to your questions right away, though they will do their best to do so.

Tell a Friend!

Do you know of anyone else who might be interested in this short course? We’d love for them to join us! Equine Guelph has opened up registration beyond the cap of 100 to accommodate all AGCO licence holders during this challenging time of COVID-19.

Enjoy the course everyone  If you have any questions about the Portal or are experiencing any technical issues, please get in touch with me at [email protected].