Jessica Cha, Entry #5, The Final Week

I have finished my 6 weeks at my lab, and although I have learned so much and am so grateful for being given this opportunity, I can't help but feel a little regretful. I have really gotten to know all of the horses involved in the research, so I will really miss seeing them each morning. I also wish that I could have stayed at the farm a little longer to see the end results of the research. I feel as if I am leaving when there is still work to be done, but I am still thankful for the 6 weeks that I have experienced.

During the final week, we focused mainly on the pastures. We continued to identify the grasses and collected the herbage mass in a couple of the rotational fields. This is done by walking diagonally around the pasture. We step 50 times, then we place down a wooden square and cut all of the herbage down to about grazing height (about a 1/2 inch above the ground). On the larger fields, about 16 brown bags of herbage are filled while on the smaller fields, only about 4 bags are filled. We then drive over to the lab and place the bags in the dryer. Once all the water is out, we carefully put the herbage inside the grinder and then ship it to a lab in Ithaca where it is processed.

Collecting herbage mass

While the research is still not over, there are clear distinctions between the continuous and the rotational fields. In a couple of the continuous fields, the trampling had caused patches of bare ground where grass will not grow. Also, in the continuous fields, there are large sections of weeds and manure that the horses will not graze on. Although there is not a stark difference between the continuous and rotational horses, there is a slight difference in the amount of fat (continuous horses tended to be fatter). I am expecting these results to stay the same until the research is over at the end of fall. 

On a side note, I was finally able to see the birds that hatched in the barn. On my first day, I had noticed that there were a lot of birds flying in and out of the barn. When I asked my PI about it, she told me that every year, the birds come into the barn to lay eggs. Although she wasn't very happy about letting the birds stay (sometimes she knocks the nests down with a broom since the birds leave a mess of poop and straw in the barn), she left them alone. On the last week, they hatched which was a perfect ending to my last few days at the farm. 

Two baby birds sitting in the nest

I want to thank my PI, Dr. Williams, for this experience. Last year, I would have never even thought about studying equine nutrition, but this research has really broadened my perspective of both animal health and agricultural sciences. I will forever be grateful to her for letting me under her wing, and for taking the time to teach me. I also want to thank Dr. Peretz and Dr. Venanzi for preparing me to take on this research. It was a hard process, but I am so thankful for everything they have done.