Madeline Boast Position/Title: MSc. Student email: mboast@uoguelph.ca Phone: Office: Research Gate LinkedIn

Education:

• Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management, Equine Management 2021
• Current MSc. by coursework student, focusing on animal nutrition 

Academics: 

Currently, I am a MSc. student working with Dr. Wendy Pearson. I completed my B.B.R.M (EQM) at the University of Guelph and am looking forward to the continuing my education at Guelph as well! For my MSc. research I will be working along side fellow MSc. student Lola Jung to investigate the use of structured water as a means to improve hydration in horses.

Structured water is H₂O that has been magnetically altered for a change in the hydrogen bonding structure. This is thought to create more readily absorbed water molecules. Structured water has been shown to produce a multitude of benefits when provided to animals (Lindinger & Northrop 2020), but these benefits have not been thoroughly researched in horses. Dehydration in sport and racehorses is a prevalent issue, therefore finding possible management strategies to decrease the risk of serious dehydration would be beneficial to equine welfare. Our focus is determining the possible positive impacts when horses are supplemented with structured water.

A little bit about me: 

Having grown up around horses I have always had a keen interest in their health, specifically nutrition. This prompted me to attend the University of Guelph where I was able to further explore my passion for animal nutrition and agriculture. In my third year at the University of Guelph I began working at the Arkell Swine Research Station. This allowed me to be more involved in other agriculture sectors and be immersed in many different research trials. Due to this unique experience, I was eager to get involved in research through graduate school.

I am personally motivated to do this work because of the challenges I have seen with equine nutrition. I feel as though it is important for more research and scientific knowledge to be spread throughout the equine industry. In the future, I hope to pursue a rewarding career in the animal nutrition industry and share my knowledge and expertise to assist others. Outside of academia, I enjoy riding and competing with my horse Piper as well as spending time outdoors hiking and camping!