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While equestrian helmets protect riders, there is no test in place to evaluate a helmet’s crush resistance. UK students are working to develop a helmet testing method and collect data that will hopefully serve as the start of a crushing-safety standard for helmets.

"This is a unique and special outreach event. The purpose is to showcase some of what is happening in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment in terms of scientific discovery and service efforts relevant to the young horse.”

Previous research showed that many catastrophic injuries occur in limbs with underlying and preexisting damage, leading to the theory that these injuries occur when damage accumulation exceeds the healing capacity of the affected bones over time.

On this week’s edition of the “Behind the Blue” podcast, Carl Nathe of UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications talks with Nick Heebner and Kimberly Tumlin about a new research effort, the Equestrian Athlete Initiative.

Animals know when to push through, when to play and how to focus. They live focused on the moment and don’t get distracted by the past or the future. They heed their instincts to stay alert to their senses and to each other. They stay focused on what is most important.

The 2019-2020 foaling season has seen an increase in reports of Nocardioform placentitis, both in cases submitted to UK’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) and in reports from equine practitioners in the field.

The UK Sports Medicine Research Institute is looking closely at jockey performance and the work has implications for jockeys and thoroughbreds.

The Keeneland Association continues its long-standing philanthropic relationship with the University of Kentucky with a gift of $1.3 million to the Keeneland Endowed Chair in Equine Veterinary Science.

A gift of $100,000 announced recently by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities will enable the University of Kentucky to further support equine surfaces and safety research under the direction of Mick Peterson, director of UK Ag Equine Programs.

Providing the very latest in equine research information is the goal of a two-day event being hosted by UK Ag Equine Programs on Jan. 25-26.