KER Friday Video: Round & Round They Go

The Kentucky Derby this is not… but it’s still highly entertaining.

This may not be quite the same showdown as the first Saturday in May, but it’s arguably just as fun to watch… maybe more! This herd of ponies and donkeys certainly can boogie, and those tiny feet still raise quite a bit of thunder.

This herd calls New Zealand home: all of these ponies and donkeys were rescued and suffering from laminitis, so it’s heart-lifting to see them running for joy at top speed, free from pain and lameness.

The track system that this video narrator describes is gaining more traction as a method to imitate the horse’s natural movements as though they were in the wild; a narrow but long pasture such as this dirt track encourages the horse to move more over mixed terrain. For laminitic horses, such as this herd of ponies and donkeys, a dry track provides room for exercise and movement while preventing access to grass.

World leaders in equine nutrition. That’s not a claim we take lightly. For 30 years, Kentucky Equine Research has conducted studies that have revolutionized the way people feed horses for optimal health, performance, and growth. With our own 150-acre research farm and dedicated Thoroughbred training center, Kentucky Equine Research conducts more studies than some leading universities.