For the past six years, the Young Horse Research and Teaching Program has held a yearling sale of horses purchased from pregnant mare urine (PMU) farms through the auspices of the North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC). On April 30 at Cook College, part of Rutgers University in New Jersey, the seventh benefit auction will be held with a roster of 12 yearlings. Proceeds fund the 2006-2007 Teaching Program, student research, and Equine Science programs.

World-renowned nutritionist Sarah Ralston, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVN, has been in charge of this program since 1999. Students in the program travel to ranches in North Dakota and Canada to select 12 foals, and they are taught how to gentle the foals prior to the youngsters’ arrival. The students learn to train the horses, and research projects are designed around the nutritional needs of the growing horses with special emphasis on optimizing nutritional management to prevent developmental orthopedic disease. George H. Cook Honors Students design and execute individual studies, usually involving nutrition or behavior.

The students “show off” their charges at the Ag Field Day on April 29, then sell the yearlings on April 30. Interested persons can make appointments to view yearlings prior to the sale and can register to bid without being present by contacting Ralston at 732/932-9404, via e-mail at Ralston@aesop.rutgers.edu, or via the Internet at https://homepage.mac.com/ru_horses.

The minimum bid is between $750-$1,000. Complete health and vaccination records are provided with each horse, and Nutrena provides a free bag of feed to each new owner so the horse can have feed he/she is accustomed to eating