Michelle DeBoer PhD
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Dr. Michelle DeBoer has her M.S. and
Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Dr.
DeBoer was an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls before
entering the industry to work as the Animal Nutrition Specialist for Spikes and
Houles. Dr. DeBoer is known for her social media outreach page, Equine Ph.D.,
as well as her research on horse blanketing, deworming, nutrition, hay nets
and other horse management topics. Outside of work, Dr. DeBoer enjoys dog
agility and rides her Arabians in dressage and endurance.
"Equine Parasite Control"
Parasite control recommendations are continuously evolving
due to the increase in resistance to dewormers. This talk will cover the
current status of dewormer resistance, what local research has told us, and how
we can use this information to best manage the parasites in our horses and
herds moving forward. You will be surprised how much new information there is
to learn on this topic!.
"Balancing the Horse’s Diet"
One of the most important aspects of keeping your horse
healthy is through feeding a balanced diet. However, it is easy to get lost
when considering all the nutrients, feeds and supplements available on the
market. This talk will dive into how to properly feed your horse using a forage
first mentality while ensuring other key nutrients are provided and balanced
properly to help optimize your horse’s health.
"Interpreting a Forage Analysis"
Forage, including hay and pasture, is the cornerstone of the
equine diet and should be tested to most accurately understand the nutrients it
offers. This talk will discuss how to take a proper forage sample, where to
send it to be analyzed, and how to interpret the results once they are provided.
We will also highlight key nutrients a Ph.D. nutritionist evaluates in these
analyses and why!
"Hay Nets and Dental and Chiropractic Health"
The
UMN has been researching the use of hay nets for years. This
presentation will summarize almost a decade of research and share new
data on how hay nets impact dental and chiropractic health.
Specifically, we will highlight the impact of hay nets on hay waste and
economics, time to hay consumption, hay usage, body weight and body
condition and several horse health parameters.