Yearling Sale at M.A.R.E. center in Middleburg

[smilton]

Yes they have away game but since they schedule the sale for the same weekend every year I don't think the football gods are going to schedule around the hokie harvest sale. This sale is also put on by a class so they can't move it up as the class will not have time to get ready and moving it back start to interfer with holidays and midterms. Part of the class involves the marketing of the sale. If you have an issue with the advertizing of the sale I would email the program.

[YankeeLawyer]

Part of the class involves the marketing of the sale. If you have an issue with the advertizing of the sale I would email the program.

If part of the class involves marketing the sale, they should teach their students better marketing principles rather than endorse a doomed from the get-go strategy. Those students do an amazing job prepping their mares/ foals, and should be commended on that. But you really have to wonder what the school is teaching on the business side of the horse industry; their strategy is poor.

Also, there is no reason the sale *always* has to be held the very same weekend in October. They could pick the weekend the football game is elsewhere.

[patch work farm]

It was my understanding that the MARE center was a donation to Tech and was to be used for research as part of that very generous donation?

I do believe the poor prices were driven by the economy and I have to agree about their marketing, this is the first year in many that I did not receive an invite to the sale with a booklet about the yearlings included. Obviously they mailed only to those that have bought, not previous bidders. I know their budgets are crunched and MAJOR cut backs have taken place NOT just at the MARE center but at the EMC as well. I was just told that they are disbanding their research program and will no longer take donations (a friend of mine just donated a 5 year old to New Bolton and the ONLY reason they took him was based on his age, they said they have a HUGE list of donors and Morven has said the same). I think it speaks volumes about the horse industry right now. Here are Universities that cannot maintain their research herds, the states are cutting their funding and who in the long run will suffer? Many people would rather donate a horse than keep it, there have been several different threads about starving horses recently, but there most likely will be a lot more of them suffering this winter based on where the industry is headed. I am not so sure that stopping slaughter did any of them a major favor, is starving to death a better fate? I know-this is a whole thread of its own and I might just get a scorching for that comment!

My vet was here the other night (stitching!) and she said she had just come from a local meeting of horse owners, they were talking about someone who adopted a horse from an individual who has many and is starving them. Apparently the adoptor wanted to get donations from local folks to help him feed the horse-my question is, why did you adopt a horse YOU cannot afford to feed?! I am not sure why that is any better than leaving them where they were? No question, this is going to be a tough storm to weather for all of us since the economy seems to tank further and further daily but once these programs are gone, I bet they will never get them back even if things ease up. It is clearly a shame, unless we as owners band together I am not sure how else this could be resolved?

[Absolut Equestrian]

It was my understanding that the MARE center was a donation to Tech and was to be used for research as part of that very generous donation?

Your understanding is correct. The following was taken directly from the MAREC website:

In 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA, made a gift of 420 acres of farmland to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and also provided financial support to help establish the Virginia Forage Research Station. Mr. Mellon envisioned forage systems that would promote animal productivity and, at the same time, maintain the integrity and fertility of the soils/livestock and the land in harmony. Research activities began in July 1949.

[Fairview Horse Center]

They had apparently done some research on "spring slump", and I tried a few years ago for months to get some kind of information on their research, or the supplement they developed. I couldn't get any response at all from anyone at the MARE center. It was very frustrating.

[Dalemma]

Anybody know what the prices are expected to be? What were they last year?

Dalemma

[Melyni]

Hokie Harvest Sale

If it's a VT home game in Blacksburg, then for sure you DO NOT want to be there trying to park, find a table in a restaurant etc.

Prices have been very variable over the years, so it's really hard to predict.


It was on a Saturday once I recall. but it is usually a mid week day.

It's a pretty part of the world, well worth the trip!
MW

[Absolut Equestrian]

Anybody know what the prices are expected to be? What were they last year?

Dalemma

A bit about prices last year: http://www.equine.vt.edu/hokieh07.html

and other years:

http://www.equine.vt.edu/HHCatalogAccess.html

[YankeeLawyer]

Anybody know what the prices are expected to be? What were they last year?

Dalemma

Dalemma, they really do offer some very nice horses. Also, per their website, they also have a selection of horses, including youngsters, available throughout the year. I know they had some good babies this year.

[Ladybug Hill]

I graduated from VT in 1986. I owned a horse while in college and bred before and after college. I got a tiny bit involved with the horses at that time and was so unimpressed that I did not pursue it at all despite being a completely horse crazy individual. I remember them having one or two decent stallions at the time, but the youngsters were handled by students and were "cowboy-ed" by the person in charge then. I was completely disgusted with what I saw.

Since then, I have watched the quality of the horses go up quite a bit and was impressed with what they were doing and the changes made. Seems as though maybe it is falling back now? A friend of mine was offered mares back that she donated a couple of years ago to the MARE center. Such a shame--they were very very nice mares.

And by the way, I did enjoy meeting Melyni and her sister back then--really great folks. They both treated me very well though I was just a kid at the time.

[BlueRidgeEventer]

Since at least 1998, I'm pretty sure the Hokie Harvest Sale has been held on the last Friday in October (I'm a VT alum and a previous Hokie Harvest purchaser). Each year, the sale prices seem to reflect the economy, so I expect there to be some pretty good deals this year. The quality of horses being offered in the sale, especially those bred by Tech, is excellent. I have my eye on a weanling and a couple of yearlings this year and am looking forward to attending the sale.

It's pretty neat to see how far the program has come since it's early days. This year, a weanling colt received top honors at Dressage at Lexington and went on to compete very successfully at Devon. What I really like is that the horses being bred now are bred for specific purposes (i.e. there are horses bred for eventing, for dressage, etc.).

As for advertising, there have been ads in the Chronicle of the Horse as well as the Virginia Horse Journal. I think that they could potentially do more advertising, but I don't think it's fair to say that they haven't done any.

Dr. Splan is very approachable about the horses available in the sale and those available private treaty. Since she plans the breedings and is involved with the foals development until they leave the property, she can pretty much answer any quetion you'd have about them.

Hopefully I'll see some of you at the sale and good luck bidding (as long as your not bidding against me).

[Va_Horse_Extension]

They had apparently done some research on "spring slump", and I tried a few years ago for months to get some kind of information on their research, or the supplement they developed. I couldn't get any response at all from anyone at the MARE center. It was very frustrating.

I've been pretty busy with things the last few months and haven't been on these forums as much as I could have wished.

I'm sorry to hear that you were unable to get a response from the Center, but I'm a little hopeful that things have changed since you tried to contact us. All I can say is that, at this time, I'm more than happy to address any questions you might have about the Center. My e-mail is cporr@vt.edu or you can contact me through this forum.

The most recent research here at the MARE Center focused on insulin resistance, obesity, and laminitis. Past research has evaluated the well-known fat and fiber vs. sugar and starch feeds, pasture forage nutrition (effect of time of day, fertilization, etc), and various vitamin and minerals' status, and results from many studies have led to some of the high fat, high fiber feeds and other supplements carried by many companies today. There hasn't been a specific supplement developed by the MARE Center that was released as a product, however. (At least not to my knowledge.)

Also, the MARE Center is not "going away". Yes, we are being impacted by the down economy which greatly impacted the auction this year, and by the budget cuts that have come from the state. Everyone is being affected by these sorts of things. Yes, we are finding homes for some of the horses here on the farm in order to decrease our own expenses and be more responsible and efficient in our management of the horses and the property. We are catching up on farm work right now and are moving forward in planning for future research projects as the program revs up again in the next year or two.

Times are tough, but it's not all doom and gloom. Keep your eyes open for future extension events and research coming out of the MARE Center.

Shea

[Fairview Horse Center]

Thank-you for responding Dr Porr.

The research I was tryng to find information about was a study about why horses lost weight for a period when their diet changed from mostly hay, to pasture grasses in the spring. This happens when it would seem they should be gaining. I had found some information about the MARE center developing a supplement that helped prepare the digestion system for the change in forage/diet. I would love to have more information. Thanks for any help.

[Everythingbutwings]

I thought the land donation was not equine specific. Didn't the Middleburg Ag Research Station have sheep in the late 1980s or was that a different center?

I have been to several seminars held at the M.A.R.E. Center and look forward to attending more. It's a beautiful and useful place.

[HorseHeaven]

MARE Center Auction

The MARE Center's 17th annual auction was a success in that the horses went to good homes and the staff at the center care about the program and the horses. Visit their website www.vaes.vt.edu/middleburg or call them - they are very helpful, always return my calls and provide the info I need. Virginia Tech is a great school and has shown that it is invested in equine research at the center. Do a search on the Internet sometimes and read all the positive things happening at the center.

By the way, they are not accepting mares right now, but this does not mean they will NEVER again accept horses. They are not doing reproductive research at this time (the MARE center was never a breeding program) but that does not mean they won't again in the future. The center is not closing, so we won't have to worry about that one. What I think the center needs is support from the horse communities. I do what I can and I know they appreciate any and all donations and gifts in kind.

Call them if you have any questions. I'm not sure who is in charge at this time, but I'm sure Virginia tech has it all under control. Many people have benefited in many ways from the MARE Center's research and activities. Find out what's happening for yourself

[Va_Horse_Extension]

I thought the land donation was not equine specific. Didn't the Middleburg Ag Research Station have sheep in the late 1980s or was that a different center?

I have been to several seminars held at the M.A.R.E. Center and look forward to attending more. It's a beautiful and useful place.

When it was originally donated to VT, it was a cattle research center, focusing on pasture management. In the late 1980's it was re-dedicated to horses, and in the early 1990's the first horses arrived and kicked us to where we are now.

Thanks for the positive feedback, and we look forward to seeing you at other events!

Shea

[Va_Horse_Extension]

Thank-you for responding Dr Porr.

The research I was tryng to find information about was a study about why horses lost weight for a period when their diet changed from mostly hay, to pasture grasses in the spring. This happens when it would seem they should be gaining. I had found some information about the MARE center developing a supplement that helped prepare the digestion system for the change in forage/diet. I would love to have more information. Thanks for any help.

Hmmmm, not sure about the specifics of that issue, as our horses are on pasture 24-7-365 and we don't see a weight loss in the spring, but my guess would be that the initial switch from low moisture hay to high moisture grass could account for some of it. In the initial stages, there are more calories in the grass but the horse has to eat a lot more of it to get the concentration necessary to maintain their weight (the water dilutes). They can be pretty good at selecting out just the new blades of grass, however short, and ignoring the older stuff. Perhaps this is part of the issue.

As for supplements to prepare the gut for such a change, I'm not aware of anything. It's possible you're referring to the fat/fiber supplement that was researched heavily in the 1990's. I don't believe we've ever marketed anything from that, but I know several feed companies have come up with products along those lines.

Shea