Latest News
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Rubins Named 2008 Educator of the Year
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Harriett Rubins was animal crazy even as a youngster growing up in Brooklyn, NY. Apartment living compromised her early start as a pet lover, but through the years she has more than made up for her slow start. After time spent teaching and starting a family, Harriett auspiciously began her horse career with a little black mare called “Lady Luck”. This was the start of Haligonian Farm, which migrated from Brighton to Pittsford to Mendon, and finally to Canandaigua. Harriett served on the board of the Mendon Pony Club and was the assistant leader of the 4-H Happy Horsemen while her children Jen and Noah were growing up with the family horses, ponies, dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, parakeets, rabbits, guinea pigs, and a big spotted donkey named Novia Scotia. The farm was busy with tours from nursery schools and nursing homes. Everyone was welcome to drop by and visit and learn.
In the 80's Harriett worked as an animal health technician for Dr. Stu Gluckman's Mendon Village Animal Hospital. As usual, she rescued and rehabbed all manner of critters including dogs, cats, owls, possums, and any baby birds that fell out of their nests into the horse's feed tubs. Harriet then got hooked on racehorses and Haligonian began raising thoroughbreds. Harriett and her daughter Jen took an active part in getting the horses fit for the track, but when Jen left for college carrying the business alone became a daunting job. Haligonian was then reborn as a miniature horse breeding farm. Within two years the herd numbered 35 and reached about 65 at its peak.
Harriett took her minis to shows, libraries, nursing homes, schools, fairs – any place that people could share her love for and knowledge of these little equines. During her 18 years in the miniature horse industry she was involved with showing, breeding, sales, teaching, and was a one woman support system to many local and distant mini owners. Harriett and a network of Good Samaritans also rallied to help the growing number of neglected and uncared for minis, rescuing nearly 150 horses that have been placed in new homes.
As Harriett eased into retirement from the horse world she dispersed her breeding stock. 17 of her miniature horses, including her prized national champion stallion, were quarantined and sent to Russia to be part of the new Russian Miniature Horse Association. She was honored to have President Putin have one of his very own. Haligonian Farm was sold in 2007 and Harriett is just now starting to think about the next chapter in her life. It's a good bet that it will have something to do with animals. |
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GVEC Receives Full NYSVMS Accreditation |
Our facility in Scottsville recently went through a rigorous evaluation by the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. GVEC met the criteria of the Veterinary Facility Accreditation Program (VFAP) and in February 2006 was granted full accreditation for 3 years. We are one of the first equine facilities in New York to meet this standard of excellence.
The VFAP certification ensures full compliance with current standards of veterinary practice as well as state and federal laws. Our inspection included our practice vehicles, treatment/surgery area, pharmacy, medical records, reception area and building and grounds. Our diagnostic equipment and medical records were evaluated, and the logs that we keep for patient procedures and tests, equipment maintenance, employee safety and medical inventory were reviewed. We are proud to have met, and in many instances, exceeded the program requirements. The next time you visit GVEC, look for the VFAP accreditation plaque in our office. This plaque is your guarantee that we maintain our facility, vehicles and medical records with the same high standard of care that we give your horse. |
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GVEC Acquires Digital Radiography
Welcome to the digital era. The next forward leap in radiography is Digital Radiography (DR). This method uses the same light weight x-ray machines that we normally carry, but the x-ray cassettes and film have been eliminated. Instead, there is one cassette that is connected to a computer, and when this cassette is exposed to radiation the image is sent immediately to the computer and appears on the screen in about four seconds. The cassette is then automatically erased and is ready for the next shot. If we like the quality of the image we go on to the next view; if not, we simply delete it and reshoot.
Having the image available so quickly allows us to implement appropriate therapy right away. There is no risk of having to come back and reshoot radiographs because certain views were not clear enough, the angle was not quite right, or any of the host of other issues that can effect the quality of the x-ray image. Also, the overall quality of the DR images is superior, and they do not deteriorate over time as film images can.
We are confident that DR will prove to be especially useful for prepurchase exams, difficult lameness examinations, and for giving immediate feedback when working with the farrier on founder cases.
Microchip Identification Program
Microchip implantation will soon be the primary means for positive, permanent, unalterable and inexpensive equine identification. This has clear benefits in the event your horse is lost or stolen and can help prevent fraud. Within the next few years, the USDA's United States Animal Identification Plan will apply to all livestock, including horses.
A rice-sized microchip containing the horse's ID number is injected, much like an IM shot, into the horse's nuchal ligament, about halfway down the neck. Once implanted, the chip is invisible. To read the number, a hand-held radio frequency scanner is passed over the neck area, much like your groceries are scanned at the check-out counter. Once the ID number is registered with a database, it can be used to positively identify your horse and even check his temperature!
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NY Healthy Horse Assurance Program
Certify your farm as a healthy farm.
Since its inception in 2003, the New York Healthy Horse Assurance Program has grown by leaps and bounds. Funded by the State of New York through the Department of Agriculture and Markets, the program is designed to promote and teach a proactive approach to equine health, care and welfare. In addition to the educational framework, its voluntary certification program recognizes operations with outstanding management practices. More than 20 equine operations have been certified in 2005.
The backbone of the NYSHHAP is a thorough examination of health, biosecurity, administration, housing, commodities, manure handling and pasture management standards. Better management practices reduce the chances of loss of money, time and enjoyment of your horses due to injury, contagious disease and other health issues.
NYSHHAP serves as a wonderful educational tool for individual farms as well as 4-H and Pony Clubs. Those who attain certification status can be proud of an achievement that places their operation among the best-managed facilities in NY. One of the many benefits of certification is participation in the microchip identification program. The farm owner is provided with up to 40 microchips, which can then be implanted by the farm's veterinarian. A scanner to read the chips is also supplied.
Any private or commercial equine operation in New York is eligible to participate at no charge, and the program is suitable for backyard stables as well as large boarding, showing and breeding farms.
GVEC urges all of our clients to consider participating in this program to optimize healthy horse management practices and promote a strong equine industry in New York. Some informational material is available in our office, and our barn manager, Laura Johnson, is available to answer specific questions about NYSHHAP. Materials can also be requested from Program Director Dr. Lyda Denney by calling (315) 829-4282 or e-mailing her at lyda.denney@agmkt.state.ny.us.
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