A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 20, 1994 Horse Training, Composting Demonstrations Part Of Ag Progress VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Farming Staff ROCKSPRING (Centre Co.) Educational demonstra tions are a large part of the puipose of Penn State Ag Progress Days, held annually at the Russell E. Lar son Agricultural Research Center, in Rockspring. Among some of the offerings this year were a horse training clin ic and a manure composting demonstration. The horse training clinic drew a large audience as Ward Studebak cr, Penn State University Horse Farm manager, used one of the university horses to demonstrate the basic techniques for establish ing communications with a horse and training it to react in a predict able way. Studebaker talked about and demonstrated the use of his physi cal presence to “push” a horse, and to allow it to come toward him. Also, using a rope, he demon strated how a horse is made calm with materials and how to intro duce them to the animal. Further, program Farm Link, distributes information and talks to vis itors about keeping farms in farming by helping retiring far mers meet young want-to-be farmers, and helping both understand and develop a relationship that can transfer the farm to the next generation. , - JSU SCS, talks electric fencing with visitors to Ag Progress Days. he demonstrate how a rope is used in conjunction with body move ments to nudge a horse into doing something. Studebaker stressed that the horse learns only through repeated experience and not the whip. He said that while there may be times when a horse may need to be shown firmness by the handler, it is more effective to perform repeated, and consistent simple actions that correspond to specific behaviors in the horse. He said that the reward for a horse is to be unpressured. For example. Studebaker demon strated how his walking toward the horse resulted in the horse moving away, a natural horse behavior. Then he demonstrated how when he backed away from the horse and stood, the horse came to him. Studebaker said horses under stand the movement of legs and, without the use of a halter rope or any other means of constraint, he walked the horse around the ring, made it change directions, go away from him and come to him just by Studebaker’s own maneuverings in the ring. While there were many lessons in Studebaker’s presentation, he stressed that horses are dangerous to be around, that they all kick and may bite very quickly and that it’s more important to be smart with dealing with a horse than by using force. Other demonstrations at Ag Progress included a composting educational site, where university personnel and USDA Soil Conser vation Service staff discussed the basics of turning manure and other waste into a rich, safe soil amendment The key is to combine nitrogen from the manure, carbon from plant material (leaves, woody materials or paper) and moisture in proper combination in order to provide a growing environment for areobic bacteria and fungus, which use the carbon and nutrients to cre ate a stable form of the nutrients and materials. The demonstration site was pre viously a manure stacking pad that Penn State wanted as a remote site to store manure from its dairy facility. Later, the university decided to expand the site to compost the manure and constructed a gravel base pad adjacent to two cement storage structures to use as a com posting pad. On display this week were two long windrows of com posting material. One windrow was a week old, the other a month and a half old. (Turn to Pago A3l) George Herd, a PSU Extension staff member, center, talks about the specifics of composting manure to a group of Ag Progress Days visitors. Ward Studebaker puts a harness on a horse while assistant Brian Egan helps out. Studebaker is giving a demonstration on training and handling horses. Rick Fogal, supervisor with the Pa. Department of Agri culture’s Bureau of Weights and Measures, displays the bureau’s testing wares and answers questions. A \ 5' i Ir&tmuxifc Xm**' *'
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