The CVM Staff Council is pleased to highlight the Equine Park in the December 2019 edition of CVM eNews. The Equine Park, primarily located on Bluegrass Lane, is part of the CVM Professional Cirriculum. In addition to horses houses the staff supports a variety of CVM teaching and research animals.

Recently, the Equine Park staff took a few minutes out of their busy day to talk to the CVM Staff Council about who they are, and what work they do.

Staff Council: How many animals do you care for, where are they housed, and what are the animals used for?

EP: We routinely take care of over 100 horses and occasionally manage sheep, calves and pigs. The main horse facility on Bluegrass Lane is comprised of 165 acres of pasture, a 62-stall main barn and a broodmare barn. The McConville and Kleghburg barns house Dr. Doug Antczak’s horse herd. We also care for animals at the K, L, & M barns, the Equine Annex and a variety of other sheds and pastures. The animals are used for teaching, research and breeding.

Staff Council: Can you describe a typical day of work at the Equine Park?

EP: (Laughs from all.) There is no typical day of work when you are surrounded by horses. . . Every day we feed the horses, perform health checks and turn them out if they spent the night inside. We also clean barns and maintain pastures and equipment. In addition, we rehabilitate animals after surgery. A huge part of our job is catching and loading and trucking horses from one location to another for classes and research.

Staff Council: What background experiences prepared you for working at the Equine Park?

EP: Alexa and Ian were Animal Science majors at Cornell. Kendon was Pre-Vet at Penn State and trains horses. Jess studied Equine Management at Morrisville then worked on breeding farms in Kentucky, Australia and Pennsylvania, before being hired to manage Dr. Antczak’s herd at Cornell. Steve grew up with animals and worked at Cornell in Nutritional Science before joining the staff at the Equine Park. Joe was initially hired at Cornell to work at Oxley, and then moved to Equine Drug Testing before working at the Equine Park.  Together, we have over 120 years experience in horse management.

Staff Council: As a group, you have an impressive amount of experience and love for horses!

Staff Council: What is the most difficult part of your job?

EP: The hardest part of the job are the aches and pains associated with doing intense physical work, and challenges associated with bad weather. When it is cold, wet and muddy or frozen, everything we do is more difficult. In wet years, we also worry about the condition of the pastures and the quality of the hay we feed the horses.

Staff Council: What is the best part of your job?

EP: THE HORSES! All of the staff love being around horses and working with them every day. We also enjoy running equipment, fixing things, helping with research and teaching, and spending much of our time outside. The variety of work that we do makes our jobs interesting. We also feel good about the work we do: The horses are well-cared for and have good lives, and we provide valuable resources to students and researchers at the College. Finally, we are a good team and we like and respect each other.

Staff Council: What would you like people at the CVM to know about the Equine Park?

EP: The Bluegrass Lane pastures and barns are the “hidden gems” of CVM and make up a beautiful facility just a few miles from the CVM. We appreciate sharing this resource with walkers, hikers and joggers who want to get outside and enjoy a pretty place. Although we discourage people from climbing on the fences and entering the barns, we are happy to see people strolling by, looking at the horses. We’re also available to give tours of the facilities, just call us at 607-255-7753.

Staff Council: Thank you, Equine Park Staff, for answering questions for our CVM Staff Council’s December Spotlight! We enjoyed speaking with you and finding out what you do everyday. To learn more about the Equine Park, please go to their website: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospitals/cornell-equine-park

Look for our next spotlight on the Marketing & Communications team.

If you have ideas or suggestions for an upcoming Spotlight, email us at cvmstaffcouncil@cornell.edu!