Tuesday, October 20th, 2026

Is My Horse Getting What It Needs? From Eyeball to Evidence in Feeding, Condition, and the Everyday Work of Horse Management

Presented by Ken Estes, Jr., MPS

Most of us make feeding and condition decisions by feel — a glance at the hay, a look at the horse, a sense of how things are going. But what if we could sharpen that instinct with a little structure? In this webinar, Ken Estes, Jr., seventh-generation horseman and Agricultural Program Manager at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County, shares why he built a set of free, easy-to-use online tools to bring forage science and body condition scoring into the everyday barn.
We'll start with a plain-language look at what really drives a horse's condition and how the Henneke body condition scoring system works — including why it's so easy to misjudge. Then, through real case studies, we'll put two tools to work: one for planning hay and reading forage analyses, and one for scoring body condition consistently. To close, we'll step back and look at how these fit into a broader equine farm management tool — and the other layers of care and decision-making it brings together.
Whether you keep one horse or a whole barn, you'll leave with a sharper eye for condition and practical tools you can start using right away.

Ken Estes, Jr. is the Agricultural Program Manager at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County, where he leads a broad agricultural program that includes the Master Gardener Volunteer Program, and serves as Managing Editor of LivCo Farm & Home News. He also operates JoGlenn Farms, established in 2017 on the Caledonia land his family has farmed for three generations, where he raises Lippitt Morgan sport horses and produces hay and forage. Ken holds an M.P.S. in Community and Economic Development from Penn State and sits on the Livingston County Agricultural & Farmland Protection Board, bringing both hands-on horsemanship and an extension educator's perspective to his work.

Must register here to receive the Zoom link.  Registration is free.