Released April 10, 2008

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Equine Science Center has created a series of podcasts based on the popular print-version fact sheets produced by Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty and posted on the Equine Science Center website. Podcast subjects currently include:

• The Basics of Equine Nutrition (in two parts)
• Care for the Older Horse: Diet and Health
• The Basics of Equine Behavior
• Horse Trailer Maintenance and Trailering Safety (in two parts)

The running time for the podcasts ranges from five to seven minutes. They are available for listening or downloading on the Rutgers podcast site at http://iTunes.rutgers.edu and via a link on the home page of the Equine Science Center website, http://www.esc.rutgers.edu.

The source material for the podcasts - Rutgers Cooperative Extension fact sheets - consists of original research by Extension and Equine Science Center-affiliated faculty as well as summaries of research and publications produced by other prominent scholars and experts. More than 40 Fact Sheets address topics of interest to horse and horse farm owners and individuals involved in the horse industry. On the Equine Science Center website, these are linked to frequently asked questions and a dynamic search engine, which make finding answers a very simple task.

According to Dr. Karyn Malinowski, director of the Equine Science Center, the podcast series is just one more way of sharing the knowledge and research of the Center with the public.

"Our mantra is 'better horse care through research and education,'" she notes.

"The Equine Science Center offers a wide variety of ways to learn - from seminars and conferences to peer-reviewed Fact Sheets to newsletters to our highly interactive website. Audio recordings in the form of the latest podcast technology are just one more way to make learning as convenient and effective as possible," she says.

Additional podcasts are under development. Future topics will include a series on farm and barn safety, the care and feeding of the older horse, nutrition for foals and growing horses, descriptions of equine metabolic issues, causes and prevention of equine stress, manure management and pasture management.

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http://njaes.rutgers.edu/news/release.asp?n=606

Contact: Diana Orban Brown, orban@aesop.rutgers.edu