Learn to Select and Properly Care For a Horse
An introductory course for beginners or new owners, Horse Care I will help you understand how to select a horse that suits your needs, manage general grooming and care, and develop a general rapport with your animal through an understanding of horse psychology.
During this course, you'll work toward developing the ability to handle horses using a range of different procedures, skills to evaluate a horses conformation, an understanding of diet, knowledge of commercial opportunities, including trading horses, and more.
Course Duration: 100 hours
Course Structure
There are seven lessons in this course.
1. Horse psychology and handling
- The early horse
- Survival mechanisms of the early horse
- The modern horse: behaviour and memory
- Using psychology to handle horses
- Catching and leading horses
- Fitting the bridle and saddle
- Tying up a horse
- Safety rules
2. Buying a horse
- Temperament
- Size
- Weight carrying ability
- Age
- Equine dentition and aging
- Glossary of terms
- Dentition diagrams and detailed explanation
- Colour and markings
- Breeds
3. Conformation
- The shape of the skeleton
- Body proportions and parts
- Conformation problems
- How to describe confirmation
4. The digestive system and principles of feeding and watering
- The digestive system
- The alimentary canal
- The stomach
- The small intestine
- The large intestine
- Absorption of food
- Groups of food nutrients
- The composition of some common horse feeds
- The principles of watering
- The principles of feeding
- Feeding concentrates and roughage
- Feeding groups of horses at one time
5. The grass kept horse and pasture management
- Advantages and disadvantages of working off grass
- Paddock size and minimum area needed
- Types of fencing
- The water supply
- Shelter
- Fodder trees
- General management of the grass-kept horse
- Management in summer
- Management in winter
- Exercise
- Grooming the grass-kept horse
- Conservation of the land
- Keeping horses at grass on small areas
- Roughing off and turning a horse out
6. Grooming
- The skin: epidermis, dermis, the coat
- How the skin regulates body temperature
- Reasons for grooming
- Grooming tools
- Grooming techniques: strapping, sponging, brushing
- Using a stable rubber, dealing with stable stains on grey coats
- Oiling the feet
- Quartering
- Setting Fair/Brushing off
- Washing the mane and tail
- Washing the sheath
- Shampooing the horse
7. Industry Applications
- Resources
- Writing resumes: employment readiness
- Competition horses (overview) - event horse, dressage horse, show jumper, endurance
- Educating Horses
- Breeding
- Farm planning
- Short term operations
- Farm business structures
- Quality management systems
- Whole farm planning
- Preparing a farm business
- Managing risk
- Sensitivity analysis
- Financial management
- Record keeping
- Finance sources
- Setting up a small business
Enrol Today
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Praise for this Course:
"I learnt many new skills that are easily applied to day to day runnings." A. Green
WHY CHOOSE US?
Reputation: well-known and respected.
Industry focus: courses designed to suit industry needs and expectations.
Different focus: develop problem solving skills that make you stand out from others.
Hands-on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills.
Lots of help: dedicated and knowledgeable tutors.
Efficient: prompt responses to your questions.
A long track record: established in 1979 with a solid history.
Up to date: courses under constant review.
Resources: huge wealth of constantly developing intellectual property.
Value: courses compare very favourably on a cost per study hour basis.
Student amenities: online student room, bookshop, ebooks.
