The Rutgers Equine Science Center is gearing up for its annual free Fall Webinar Series. The webinar series is open to the public and registration is simple. This fall the theme is "Demystifying Forage Feeding."

Due to weather-related emergencies, the first webinar, originally scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1 has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. Krishona Martinson, PhD, assistant professor and equine extension specialist in the Animal Science Department at the University of Minnesota, will present "Optimizing Equine Forage Use." Pastures are an affordable way to feed horses, resulting in approximately one-third the cost of hay. Optimizing the use of pasture in the equine diet begins with careful selection of cool-season pasture grasses. On the other hand, hay is likely the most expensive dietary component for all classes of post-weaned horses, and few horse owners can escape the need to feed hay at some time during the year. Optimizing hay use starts with reducing harvest and feeding losses. This presentation will focus on ways horse owners can optimize both pasture and hay use when feeding horses. You can access this webinar at https://tinyurl.com/bkdddof.

Another webinar will be on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. Paul Siciliano, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science at North Carolina State University where he teaches courses in equine management and conducts research in equine nutrition. Siciliano will present "Predicting Pasture Intake and Its Practical Application in Managing Grazing Horses." It is difficult for horse owners to estimate exactly how much forage horses eat while out on pasture. It turns out that horses eat forage at different rates depending on how long they have access to pasture. Horses graze various parts of the pastures and grasses differently depending on their turnout time as well. This informative webinar will give you a better idea of how much your horse is eating when grazing on pasture and how you can utilize this information to help manage your horse’s weight, diet and other potential metabolic problems. You can access this webinar at https://tinyurl.com/8bbp4yt.

It is recommended to log on to the webinar 10 to 15 minutes before the start time in order to install the software and make sure the sound is working. For complete information regarding the webinars, please go to the Equine Science Center website. Interested parties can also contact contact Laura Gladney at 848/932-3229 or gladney@aesop.rutgers.edu, or Carey Williams, PhD, at 848/932-5529 or cwilliams@aesop.rutgers.edu