Equine Research Park

The Equine Research Park is a multifunctional satellite facility that is part of the OSU-CVM USDA-, PHS, and AALAC-approved collection of research and teaching facilities. Situated on forty acres of land in Stillwater, Oklahoma, twenty-eight of the forty acres are dedicated to pasture while a stall barn, BSL-2 barn, force plate facility, arena and storage barn are situated on the remaining twelve acres of land. The ERP is set up to support a wide variety of research projects including but not limited to lameness studies, exercise studies, vaccination trials and gastrointestinal studies.

 

BSL-2 Barn

has the capacity to hold up to sixteen twelve-foot by twelve-foot stalls. This barn is climate controlled and is equipped with a large capacity single-pass HEPA-filtered ventilation system that allows the facility to operate to Biosafety Level 2 standards. The BSL-2 barn has an attached laboratory with standard bench-top tools.

 

Stall Barn

holds up to twenty stalls. This barn doesn’t have permanently set stalls so it is a flexible space that can be set up in a manner that best supports current project needs.

 

Pastures

The ERP has twenty-eight acres of fenced pasture, each providing access to shelter and water. The pasture area is divided such that we can offer three separate pastures each separated by a twelve-foot gap. These three pasture areas are further divided into smaller paddock areas by a single fence. This set up allows us the capability to house three independent groups of animals that can all be isolated from each other.

 

Force Plate Building

is equipped with a Kistler Multicomponent Force Plate and its associated BioWare® Bio Mechanical Software Analysis System. This system is designed for basic research and use in sports. It is useful in measuring ground reaction forces, moments, and centers of pressure in biomechanics. The plate is highly sensitive due to piezoelectric sensors and can measure dynamic phenomena in a wide range of applications.

 

Our Herd

The ERP currently maintains a herd of resident horses that are cared for by our student workers and research team. Our horses participate in our teaching and research and are helping us to better understand the

effects of exercise on physiology.