The Oppenheimer Family Equine Center at Cal Poly stands as a leading facility dedicated to equine science and education. This state-of-the-art center provides comprehensive resources for breeding, foaling, training, and boarding, making it a vital hub for students, researchers, and horse enthusiasts alike. With a focus on hands-on learning and cutting-edge practices, the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center is designed to foster the next generation of equine professionals.
State-of-the-Art Breeding Lab
The breeding lab at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center is meticulously equipped to support a successful equine breeding program. It features advanced artificial insemination equipment, high-powered microscopes for semen analysis, and a sophisticated computer system for detailed record keeping. This comprehensive setup allows for every aspect of the breeding process, from collecting stallions and evaluating semen quality to palpating and breeding mares, and ensuring overall herd health management. The lab utilizes a phantom for efficient stallion collection and includes specialized chutes for mare examinations and general equine care.
Innovative Foaling Barn
Opened in 2018, the Foaling Barn represents a significant upgrade to the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center. It boasts six spacious 16’ x 16’ stalls, four of which feature removable center walls, offering the flexibility to create larger 16’ x 32’ spaces as needed. Each stall is connected to an outside run that overlooks lush, irrigated pastures, designed for the seamless transition of mares and their newborn foals. Understanding the intensive nature of foaling, the barn also includes a dedicated student lounge. This comfortable space is for students participating in the foaling enterprise, who undertake round-the-clock mare watch shifts during foaling season. The lounge is equipped with a split-screen monitoring system, providing continuous observation of eight paddocks and stalls housing expectant mares.
The Central Stallion Barn
Exterior view of the Stallion Barn at Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, showcasing its classroom and office facilities.
The Stallion Barn is a central feature of the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, serving as home to Cal Poly’s esteemed stallions and housing the main office for the entire Equine Center operations. Each stallion enjoys a secure and generously sized stall and paddock. Beyond equine housing, the Stallion Barn uniquely integrates a large classroom space within its structure. This versatile area is utilized for diverse purposes, including classes, meetings, and larger gatherings. Equipped with large screens and an integrated laboratory, the classroom setting provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to engage with live animals directly in an educational context, truly embodying Cal Poly’s “Learn By Doing” philosophy at its finest within the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center.
Dedicated Student Horse Barn
The Student Horse Barn at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center caters specifically to students who wish to bring their personal horses to campus for use in equine courses, such as intermediate riding classes. While bringing a personal horse is not mandatory for these courses, the availability of housing at the Student Horse Barn provides a valuable opportunity for students, subject to instructor approval. Students boarding their horses at this facility pay a boarding fee for a stall with an attached corral and gain full access to the extensive amenities offered by the Equine Center. For detailed information regarding student horse boarding options, please visit this link.
Expansive Equine Center Pastures
The Oppenheimer Family Equine Center boasts over 150 acres of pastureland, strategically divided to cater to the varying needs of its equine residents. Lush, irrigated pastures are dedicated to supporting mares in foal and growing foals, providing them with nutrient-rich grazing. Drier pastures are available for riding horses and enterprise horses that are beginning their training programs, as well as weanlings, yearlings, two-year-olds, and recipient mares. This extensive pasture system ensures that all horses at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center have access to appropriate grazing and turnout environments.
Versatile Arenas for Equine Activities
Aerial view of the covered arena and outdoor ring at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center, highlighting the sand footing and surrounding corrals.
The Oppenheimer Family Equine Center features two well-equipped arenas to support a wide range of equine activities and disciplines. The main arena is a substantial 150 by 300-foot covered arena, complete with spectator stands providing seating for one hundred individuals. The second arena is a 100-foot diameter circular outdoor ring. Both arenas are constructed with solid sides and feature multipurpose sand footing, suitable for various equestrian disciplines. These arenas are actively used for classes, enterprise projects, and are also available for use by boarders and Cal Poly’s riding teams. Adjacent to the arenas are five round corrals, providing convenient spaces for turnout and groundwork training.
The Functional Forty-Stall Barn
The forty-stall barn at the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center is a hub of activity, housing horses involved in various Cal Poly equine programs. This barn provides stabling for horses participating in the renowned Quarter Horse Enterprise, as well as the talented horses of the Cal Poly Dressage Team and the competitive Cal Poly Equestrian Team. Additionally, horses involved in Cal Poly’s animal nutrition research projects are housed in this barn, alongside privately boarded horses. This diverse occupancy underscores the barn’s central role in the multifaceted operations of the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center.
Comprehensive Additional Facilities
Beyond the specialized barns and arenas, the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center offers a wide array of supplementary facilities designed to support all aspects of equine management and care. These include a 36-stall mare barn, a teasing pen for managing breeding activity, modern tack rooms for equipment storage, convenient wash racks and tie rails for horse grooming and preparation, a large 500-ton hay barn for feed storage, and multiple spacious pipe paddocks equipped with shelters for turnout and temporary housing. These comprehensive facilities ensure that the Oppenheimer Family Equine Center is fully equipped to meet the diverse needs of its equine residents and programs.
