Virginia Tech Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center

08/19/2026

We hope you've all been enjoying the Equine Pasture Management Summer Series!

There's still room to sign up for the August 20th seminar here at the Middleburg AREC at 6-8pm through this link: https://forms.gle/JvdoS781RdxanqKq8

08/14/2026

Northeast VCE agents touring the AREC and learning more about Ag and Natural Resources this past Wednesday.

07/31/2026

We hope everyone enjoyed our July session of the Equine Summer Pasture Management Series! Thanks as always to our Virginia Cooperative Extension - Loudoun and Fauquier agents, as well as our friends at Virginia Working Landscapes for lending their expertise!

07/30/2026

🐴JOIN US! Tomorrow (Thursday, July 30) from 6pm-8pm for an equine hay and nutrient discussion.

See, touch, and analyze various hay for your horse's health, learn equine body condition scoring and best practices for your pasture and grassland birds. Register: https://forms.gle/RxkokxbdP7jfG3Kb9

07/29/2026

Thank you to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Agriculture Council for visiting the Middleburg AREC for a tour of our facilities and research!

07/23/2026

Calling all VA horse owners - survey alert!

Your participation is essential to accurately represent Virginia's horse industry. If you own a horse or manage an equestrian business in Virginia, your input is critical for policymakers and funders. Without your input, the industry's economic impact may be underestimated. Take the survey here: https://gmu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1AH2Lzc81fuZWqa

Virginia Horse Industry Board

07/08/2026

Calling all horse owners, barn managers, 4-H'ers, or equine enthusiasts!

🐴🌱 PastureWise Equine🌱🐴

Are you looking to improve your horse’s health, pasture productivity, and grazing management practices? Join us PastureWise Equine, a hands-on educational program designed to help horse owners understand how soil, forage, and horse management work together to create healthier horses and more sustainable farms.

This year, we are bringing the program to three locations across Virginia:
1. Thursday, August 27 at Hoge Farm Stables - Blacksburg
2. Friday, September 18 at Oakdale Equestrian Center - Powhatan
3. Friday, October 30 at Rapidan Equine Sanctuary - Fredericksburg (please note the date change to the 30th!)

⏰ 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
💲 $20 per person (includes lunch)

Explore the connection between soil health, forage production, and grazing success through:

🌾 Plant Management: pasture evaluation and conservation practices you can implement on your own farm

🐎 Equine Management: Equine nutrition fundamentals, how to evaluate hay, metabolic health and body condition scoring

🌱 Soil Management: Soil health principles and management practices

📝 Registration is open! Visit https://tinyurl.com/PastureWise for more details!

📞 Questions? Contact Mackenzie Gunn at [email protected] or 804-561-2481.

This program is supported by a grant through Virginia Horse Industry Board - VHIB with support from the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Mackenzie Gunn, Amelia Extension Office at 804-561-2481 during business hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event. *TDD number is (800) 828-1120.

Alt Text: Promotional flyer for the Virginia Cooperative Extension's PastureWise Equine program. The flyer features a maroon silhouette of a grazing horse over an outline of Virginia. Text reads: “Ready to deep dive into equine and pasture management? Join us at one of our THREE locations for PastureWise Equine!” Registration and more information available at tinyurl.com/PastureWise
The flyer includes logos for the Virginia Horse Industry Board, Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council. The flyer is displayed over a background image of a green pasture with trees and blue sky.

07/03/2026

Did you know? A horse's teeth take up to nearly two-thirds of their skull! A horse's teeth erupt continuously throughout their lives to make up for damage caused by chewing abrasive forage. To keep their teeth from growing too jagged and interfering with their chewing or causing sores, their teeth require "floating" which files down the sharp edges letting your horse comfortably chew on forage!

07/01/2026

Nothing better than a strawberry moon to light up the barns! 🐴