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Guelph, Ontario – After declaring 2013 the ‘Year of Colic Prevention,’ Equine Guelph has delivered many initiatives to help the horse owner combat colic including the release of its latest online health care tool – the Colic Risk Rater.

This free, customized tool is designed for the individual horseperson to rate his/her horse’s risk of colic. In the final month of this year long campaign, Equine Guelph has posted a free colic prevention tips poster for download.

Historically, colic became the horse’s arch nemesis thousands of years ago when humans started taking horses out of their natural environment. The use and management of modern horses are a huge departure from their wild counterparts, placing them at a higher risk of colic. Horse owners can play a major role in reducing colic risk through management. Owners must be aware of the risk factors.

Education plays such a key role in safeguarding horses. With domestication comes responsibility. Equine Guelph has declared 2014 the year of “Full-Circle-Responsibility” for equine welfare. 'Helping Horses for life' has been Equine Guelph's mandate from day one providing education to horse owners and promoting equine welfare. As of late welfare concerns for horses have been heightened due to changes in the racing industry.

Equine Guelph is developing an educational initiative which stands to benefit the welfare of horses in both the racing and non-racing industries. Members of Equine Guelph's e-database will receive special feature articles, information sheets and video links discussing life cycle planning from the joyous initial purchase to the more difficult and often unforeseen decisions every horse owner must plan for.

Equine Guelph director, Gayle Ecker says, “I would like to thank all the horse owners who signed up to learn colic prevention and horse health tips in 2013. We look forward to sharing more essential horse owner information in 2014, the year of “Full-Circle-Responsibility” in our monthly Enews with the goal of reducing disturbing incidences of unwanted horses through education.”

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Equine Guelph is the horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the University of Guelph. It is a unique partnership dedicated to the health and well-being of horses, supported and overseen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epicentre for academia, industry and government – for the good of the equine industry as a whole.

For further information, visit EquineGuelph.ca.