Bits 'N' Pieces 4-H Club

Love your ponies and treasure every moment you have with them 🤍

"10 Things You Might Not Know About Equine Nutrition"

#6 - 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗘 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱. Vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects against cell damage, boosts immune system response, and prevents debilitating neuromuscular diseases, is abundant for horses with access to lush green pastures. Not all horses exhibit clinical signs of vitamin E deficiency, but unless horses are on green pasture for at least 6 months/year, they require supplementation. Test your horse’s blood vitamin E levels and discuss the results with your veterinarian before adding vitamin E supplements.

Participate in the Michigan Forestry Scavenger Hunt from your backyard, campground, or wherever your family will be during this time! Learn about the forestry industry in Michigan while completing missions on the GooseChase app. All you need is a smart phone or tablet with a camera for this FREE family program. The top placing U.P. and L.P. teams will be awarded a prize package that includes a camp hammock, plus other prize packages will be awarded to teams throughout the scavenger hunt.
For more information and to register, visit: https://forms.gle/BVEqknFR6RruzivN9

Have you ever wanted a pen-pal? Now's your chance! Fill out the form below to be paired with a pen pal from somewhere in Michigan based on your age and interests. This activity is open to all youth, you do not have to be a 4-H member to register! Registration will close on July 24th at midnight.

Register here: https://forms.gle/rmxKMiutp1P3SgJj8

Honoring our 4-H Senior, Olivia Kuizenga.
Olivia Kuizenga, Bay City Western High School, Class of 2020
Olivia is a member of Bits N Pieces 4-H club. She is avidly involved in horses, and competes in open shows, Bay County Fair, and High School Equestrian Team on her Arabian “MSU Is He Izzo”. She also enjoys sharing her knowledge of horsemanship and being a great role model for the younger 4-H members in her club. Beside horses, she also enjoys her rabbits, dogs and cats. Liv is a Varsity Girls Soccer player for Western and a long-time travel soccer player for her Midland Fusion team. Her future plans include going to SVSU majoring in Education and trying out for SVSU’s Equestrian Team.

We wish you nothing but the best of luck Olivia!
You will do great things!

Honoring our 4-H member, Patrick Hernden
Patrick Hernden will be leaving 5th grade at Mackensen Elementary School for 6th grade at Western Middle School this fall.
He enjoys being around all his friends in 4-H, working with their horse, horse council, volunteering at 4-H events, 4-H Shooting Stars Archery Club, and still projects.
Patrick belongs to the Bits N' Pieces 4-H Club.
Patrick is also on Bay City’s U11 Travel Soccer team for BASA the past few years and several years playing basketball for the Y. He plans on trying out for the 6th grade basketball and the swim team in the fall at Western. He is also an avid hunter and got his first turkey last year, hoping for another one this year, and a deer this fall. He loves being with his friends or gaming with them on line.

Please vote for “Bay County 4-H Advisory Council”

Our group gives raises money to provide scholarships for Bay County 4-H kids to attend summer camps, educational activities, reimburses supplies for community service projects, and we host an annual awards banquet to celebrate their accomplishments.
Last year we gave back over $8,000!

Voting is officially on! Help your favorite nonprofit by voting on our poll. The nonprofit with the most votes at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 4 will win a $250 prize. Vote here and share with your friends: https://form.jotform.com/201123450911036
Thanks to prize sponsor Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for helping make this possible.

For those who remember going to Weiss Centennial Farm...... 🐄

On our farm, we confirm pregnancies via blood test. This eliminates the need to have a vet out to check with ultrasound or by palpation. The blood test is less stressful for the cows, as I can collect the sample, and they are used to me walking among them. Often, they stand at the bunk and keep eating!

In light of current events, this method also eliminates the need to have an extra person (the vet) come to the farm. As we are doing everything possible to keep ourselves and our milk hauler healthy, this is important!

To collect the sample draw, I draw 3cc of blood from the cow into a vial (about enough to fill a Sharpie marker cap). I record the cow ID on the vial, fill out a form with additional information, and send it to a lab in Ohio. They run the test (which takes about 24 hours), and send the results to my email.

BioPRYN is the name of the test - if you read the small print at the bottom of my report, it details how the test works.

This results report came back today...the percentage of cows pregnant is awesome! The robotic milker, and the T4C cow management program that came with it, track the cows' activity and help me identify which ones need to be bred. As you can see, it is working well!

The AKC Family Dog Program is pleased to announce doing a wonderful program for youth with Trick Dogs at home! You can submit a video to an AKC CGC Evaluator for review and approval. This applies to all levels of AKC Trick Dog training and is a great way to work on your skills while at home and get feedback!
https://link.akc.org/view/5b6b341c639ec83f07431c075e78fb681259f55df04195dd/9da7a543?fbclid=IwAR0WdSu1bEnltJcFlZtNedYyu4mIVdV9r8wFf4MKblEPYVZkUWaBiMZH-H4

An exciting opportunity for all you livestock youth! Join us for an online series of Livestock Learning! We will cover many topics through out the next few weeks. Meetings will take place on Monday and Thursday at 7 p.m. You must pre-register for this event to get the link to join on the meetings.

We have some amazing guest speakers coming to talk including a staff from Sullivan's Supply, a Livestock Judging team coach, a board member from MJLS and many more!

Check out this link for the schedule and registration: https://events.anr.msu.edu/OnlineLivestockLearning/

⏰ JOIN US TODAY at noon EST!!
💻 Join us for our all-new online lecture series "Lunch & Learn"! Approximate 45 minute lectures begin at 12:00pm EST. There will be opportunities for questions and interaction!
🍀 Monday, March 30: Careers in the Horse Industry with Maria Rising
First things first, BEFORE the first lecture, be sure to download the (FREE!) Zoom app on your smartphone or computer. Once downloaded, it's just one click to join the lectures: https://msu.zoom.us/j/672412960
Meeting ID: 672 412 960
We will also stream LIVE on www.YouTube.com/ExHorses. All videos will then be stored and easily accessed at that YouTube channel.

Free Courses | myhorseuniversity We want you to experience the richness of content and flexibility of participation of our online, self-paced courses. Enroll in one of our FREE courses today!

Attention 4-H Horse and Pony Project Youth….BORED & STUCK AT HOME?!

💻 Join us for our all-new online lecture series "Lunch & Learn"! Approximate 60-minute lectures begin at 12:00pm EST. There will be opportunities for questions and interaction! Lectures will not be recorded, so be sure to join LIVE.

Topics:
🍀 Monday, March 16: The Basics of Equine Conformation
🍀 Wednesday, March 18: Basics Bits & Bridle Fit
🍀 Friday, March 20: Horse Health & Vital Signs

First things first, BEFORE the first lecture, be sure to download the (FREE!) Zoom app on your smartphone or computer. Once downloaded, it's just one click to join the lectures: https://msu.zoom.us/j/672412960

👉👉 We'll give this a test run this week and if everyone likes it, we'll do more!

Back by popular demand, Flying Star Rodeo Productions will be at the Bay County Fair on Wednesday, August 12th! Discounted Advance Tickets are available for a limited time only, so don't wait to grab yours either online (www.baycountyfair.com/tickets) or from one of our members. We will have rodeo tickets for sale at our Chicken Dinner/Gun Raffle this Saturday night at the fairgrounds as well.

Have you ever wanted to be a Super Hero for your Community? NOW YOU CAN! Join this exciting new club and start helping the people in our community. We will be working together on community service projects to benefit our Greater Bay Area. Please register on 4-H Online to save your spot so we can help save our Bay County!

https://baycounty4h2020.itemorder.com/

Get your orders in for club gear! :)

Bay County 4 -H Apparel 2020 Online ordering for Bay County 4 -H Apparel 2020 ends on Wednesday February 26th, 2020 (11:59pm EST)

IT'S BAAAACK!!!

🌟We are starting our Hippology Academy 3.0 on February 17! 🌟

Topics covered will be:
✅ Genetic Diseases
✅ Organs in Horses
✅ Anatomy of the Front Leg
✅ Equine Facilities
✅ Bits and Bitting
✅ Reading a Feed Tag & Formulating a Ration

👉This course is targeted for older youth and adults.
Courses can be taken concurrently, or separately

👉Bronze Level = $50. Access to content for 9 months.

👉Silver Level = $100. Includes 6 week access to instructors to ask questions, and access to content for 9 months.

Registration information is available at www.extensionhorses.org