University
of Maryland
Equine Research Unit
The
Facility
The University of Maryland's Equine Research Unit is located in Ellicott
City, MD, about 35 minutes north of the main campus. The Unit is part
of a larger 900-acre Central Maryland Research and Education Center.
The Unit is used to conduct equine nutrition studies, and it also houses
a 5-acre pasture that is being developed into a rotational grazing demonstration
site.
The
Equine Research Unit includes a 17 stall barn, 18 acres for turnout,
a treatment room, an office, a field work room, and several storage
areas. The research unit has a 6-horse automated exercise that's
used to exercise the horses when they are on study. Horses that are
used in the nutrition studies often wear fitted collection harnesses
for collection of urine and feces. Please visit our Graduate
Program in Equine Nutrition site for more information on our studies.
The
Horses
The Equine Research Unit houses up to 20 horses throughout the year
depending on when studies are being conducted. All research horses have
been generously donated by members of the horse industry.
Rotational
Grazing Demonstration Site:
The newest project underway at the Equine Research Unit is the establishment
of a model rotational grazing demonstration site. The goal of this project
is to be better able to teach horse form owners and operators how to
construct and utilize rotational grazing on their farms. The rotational
grazing site is approximately 5 acres in size and it will be made up
of 4 grazing paddocks and one sacrifice area that houses the water,
shelter, and hay feeders. This project is underway and has been financially
supported by the Thoroughbred Charities of America.
Location
and Directions
The Equine Research Unit is located at 4241
Folley Quarter Road in Ellicott City, MD, 21046.
From Route
32:
Take Route 108 North through the town of Clarksville
Turn left onto Shepard Lane
At the round about, make your second right onto Folley Quarter Road
We are just up ahead in the white building on the right on the hill.
The facility is across the street from the CMREC Dairy Unit.
For more
information about the Equine Research Unit, please contact Dr. Amy Burk
at 301-405-8337 or amyburk@umd.edu.
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