Nielsen said he's a horse enthusiast, so it is a special treat to get out of the office and get to hang out with 'his' horses. | Photo: Katie Lampert
Maddie Regis, a marketing senior and the communications and alumni relations student intern with the University of Kentucky (UK) Ag Equine Programs, spent a morning with the parasite research horse herds and the scientists that study them. Here, she shares her experience.

Early Wednesday morning, every week, Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM, Dipl. EVPC, professor in the parasitology laboratory at the UK Gluck Center, and his group of graduate students venture to the university’s Maine Chance Farm to collect samples from their research horse herd. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go with them.

The group met at the Gluck Center promptly at 7 a.m. and then headed out to Maine Chance Farm. Their job was not the most glamourous in the world—they go to the farm to collect fecal samples from a herd of full-size horses and a herd of Miniature Horses. However, the fecal samples and the research they’re involved in are very important for horses around the world.

Nielsen said these herds are very unique: The full-size horse herd has not been dewormed since 1979, and the Miniature Horse herd has existed since 1974. Both herds were established by Gene Lyons, PhD, professor in the Gluck Center, along with his research companion and former chair of the Veterinary Science department, Hal Drudge, PhD

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