ODESSA — Halloween isn’t just for ghosts and goblins this year. It’s also for horse enthusiasts.
The West Texas/Southeastern New Mexico Equine Conference Oct. 31, in the Ector County Coliseum, should be a treat for those looking for money-making tricks in the horse business. Registration and introductions will be from 8:30 to 9 a.m.
The conference is sponsored by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service offices in Andrews, Ector and Midland counties. Robert Roark, Andrews County Extension agent and a conference coordinator, said the program targets the serious person who makes a living full-time or part-time with horses.
“Horses are big business in Texas,” he said. “Interest in current management practices is very high in the West Texas-New Mexico area. We’ve tailored this conference to meet the most relevant needs and interests of the profession and gathered some top-flight speakers.
“The fast-moving program includes formal presentations, but it’s also liberally sprinkled with live demonstrations and a trade show. We feel this will be the best and certainly the most informative horse program of the year in this region.”
The morning program starts at 9 a.m. with a look at horse theft and the new technology available to prevent it. Paul Riggs of Forney with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association will demonstrate freeze branding techniques as part of his presentation.
Dr. Will Evans of the Gardendale Veterinary Clinic at Gardendale will discuss how to prepare a mare for breeding season. Dr. Pete Gibbs, Extension horse specialist at College Station, will follow with an equine body condition scoring demonstration.
After lunch, the program resumes at 1 p.m. with a discussion of equine dentistry by Dr. Mike Martin, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, College Station. Gibbs will follow with a discussion on the economic impact of the equine industry.
The program’s final two segments deal with the Stock Horse of Texas Program or “SHOT” as it’s called. The first segment is an explanation of the program by Dr. Bruce Carpenter, Extension livestock specialist at Fort Stockton, and Stan and Dena Smith, Big Spring ranchers and horse trainers. The Smiths are founding SHOT members.
They will wrap up the program with Stan giving a demonstration of SHOT working-competition classes featuring what he calls the “truly broke horse.”
Registration before Oct. 25 is $5 per person. For further information, contact Roark at (915) 524-1421; Carpenter at (915) 336-8585; Jim Word, Ector County Extension agent, at (915) 498-4071 or Sam Field, Midland County agent, at (915) 687-1351.
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