What began in 1987 as a sister internship to the Summer Experience in Farm Management has since grown into an entire equine program at Miner Institute. Mr. Miner strongly believed in high quality education and registered livestock, so the versatile Morgan Horse was a natural fit. The few foals each year registered with the Heart’s Delight Farm prefix, "HD" form the core of the educational program’s mission. The stables and herd are used to demonstrate good farm, breeding, and training practices, as well as to provide the foundation of learning for the Summer Experience in Equine Management students. Year-round events have established Miner Institute as the place to go with equine-related questions. Seminars, workshops, clinics, and one-on-one training provide vital services to the area’s horse industry.
The horse barn at Miner has 22 stalls; each stall has lots of natural light, good ventilation, and rubber mats on the floor. Most stalls have automatic water bowls which allow the horse to drink any time. Several stalls are separated from the main barn, providing the ability for the quarantine of new or sick animals. Pastures allow groups to live outside. Each pasture area has automatic waterers and a shed for protection.
Horses at Miner Institute are fed three times per day. Hay is tested to evaluate its nutrients and grain is added to balance the protein, vitamins, and mineral amounts. The role of non-structural carbohydrates in a condition in horses that is similar to diabetes, is one avenue of equine research conducted at Miner. When insulin does not function properly, glucose levels in the blood become elevated which can lead to various metabolic disorders. Because Morgan horses have a relatively high incidence of these disorders, they are a great study group to evaluate diets which can help minimize swings in blood glucose levels.
Future studies will utilize Miner Institute's forage laboratory to determine which individual sugars in the forages may be responsible for elevated blood glucose.
The breeding shed is located in the north end of the horse barn. A phantom mount is used to collect the stallions for artificial insemination in mares, as well as fertility evaluations and semen freezing. Multiple tease areas and gate systems make it a very safe and efficient environment to work in. A set of stocks is used to hold mares for ultrasounds, artificial insemination, or other procedures. The laboratory is only a few steps away and houses all the necessary equipment for collecting stallions and breeding mares.
Miner Institute has a Morgan Horse herd of about 25 horses, including stallions, broodmares, and young stock in various stages of training.
Miner Institute maintains a herd of Morgan Horses as the core of the educational program. All horses owned by the Institute are donated, home bred, or the result of a donated stallion service. As well as our own horses, we maintain free leases on breeding stock to continue to improve the bloodlines and quality in our herd. There is usually a selection of horses to choose from for sale.
Please contact Karen Lassell at (518) 846-7121, ext. 120.
Reproductive services include a list of our stallions and their histories and horse training services.
Miner Institute sponsors a wide variety of educational equine programs for children through adults.