The Linda Mars Aged Horse Care and Education Facility, located on the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's C. Oran Little Research Farm, recently marked its official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony — unlocking future training and research innovations in care for revered, older horses.
The new center will help lead breakthroughs in care for older horses, a demographic making up approximately one-third of the worldwide horse population. Additionally, the space will help train the next generation of scientists and serve as an important resource for the university's equine undergraduate students.
Support from Linda Mars, philanthropist and avid horsewoman, made the facility possible.
“By supporting the enhancement of our scientific knowledge, I hope more horses around the world will be able to grow old gracefully, remain healthy, active and enjoy a high quality of life in their older years,” Mars said.
Gluck Equine Research Center associate professor Amanda Adams, established the University of Kentucky's Aged Horse Research Program. Adams, who specializes in caring for senior horses, is also an adjunct faculty member at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine. She established and supports a herd of aged horses with conditions ranging from pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (more commonly known as Cushing's disease), to obesity, equine metabolic syndrome and insulin dysregulation.
“We are thrilled that the facility is now open and that we can put it to good use. We need this space to support our efforts and in training the next generation of scientists,” Adams said. “The best part of the ceremony was Linda Mars leading the first senior horse into the new facility. I am incredibly thankful for her dedication and love of senior horses.”
The new facility features state-of-the-art laboratory space to support Adams' onsite research program, allowing previously unfeasible studies. The facility will also house teaching and workshop space for 40 graduate and undergraduate students and serve as home to the MARS EQUESTRIAN
Scholar program. The space will host small public workshops focusing initially on topics such as the care of aging horses, nutrition, management and endocrine diseases.
“For the past 20 years Mars Horsecare, via the WALTHAM Equine Studies Group, has been proudly helping to lead the way with numerous global research collaborations to support the wellbeing, performance and longevity of senior horses and ponies,” said Pat Harris, head of the WALTHAM Equine Studies Group, “The new the Linda Mars Aged Horse Care and Education Facility is an extremely exciting addition to our resources, to help us expand and share knowledge to support our mission to make the world a better place for horses.”
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