“I used to build props and worked in film and television production, and I had a shop in my garage at home,” says Russ Gray, cofounder of Veterinary Simulator Industries (VSI) in Calgary, Alberta. “My neighbour was the dean for the University of Calgary’s new Veterinary School. He knew that I built weird things, so he asked me if I could build the back end of a cow just to garner some interest for the new school at the agricultural fair in Calgary. He wanted the back end of three cows so that kids could reach up into the rectum and palpate a calf’s head. I contacted my business partner, Bryan Pfahl, and we created them for him. At the time we were doing all kinds of jobs for science centres and things like that during the course of our careers, so we just took it on as another project.”

Morris Animal Foundation’s $2 Million Research Investment Offers Hope for Horse Lovers - After decades in the making, a vaccine against deadly foal pneumonia might finally be within reach, thanks to Morris Animal Foundation-funded research conducted at two major universities. The breakthrough could potentially save the lives of thousands of foals every year.

Researchers at the University of Guelph are searching for clues to better manage a virus that can cause late gestation abortion in mares. Horses carrying equine herpesvirus (EHV) may exhibit signs as minor as a runny nose and mild fever, but the virus is a major cause of neurological, respiratory, and reproductive disease, including abortions, in the equine industry.

Colostrum - you know it as the mare’s first milk. It is a complex fluid, rich in nutrients and immune-regulating compounds, all designed to give the newborn foal the immune support he needs to thrive. Unlike humans who are born with an initial level of immunity, newborn horses do not benefit from any placental transfer of immunoglobulins; therefore, they must consume colostrum in the first few hours of life in order to survive.