Learn Essential Skills in Caring for Horses Kept at Grass 

Course Code: BAG102 | Nominal Course Duration: 100 hours

If you're getting your first horse don't look past this course! You will learn critical knowledge and understanding of horses, and the practical side of things you need to know to care properly for your horse. 

Course Aim: Describe essential management tasks to be applied in keeping a horse.

This course suits: 

• Yard staff 
• Volunteers 
• Horse owners 
• Trainees 
• Anyone involved in equine assisted therapies 
• Anyone working with horses in tourism 

This course motivates students to:

• understand horse psychology and handling,
• evaluate conformation,
• understand the importance of dietary requirements,
• feel confident about the digestive system and the principles of feeding and watering,
• use correct grooming techniques,
• develop appropriate yard management procedures,
• learn about commercial opportunities in the horse world,
• learn relevant pasture management techniques to maintain health and prevent "horse sick" pastures.

What's Covered in this Course?

The course has seven lessons, plus the requirement to submit a log of practical work. For that you will need access to a horse. 

The course covers: 

Lesson 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

Lesson 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

Lesson 3. Conformation

• The shape of the skeleton
• Body proportions and parts
• Conformation problems
• How to describe confirmation

Lesson 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 roughages
• Feeding groups of horses at one time

Lesson 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

Lesson 6. Grooming the grass-kept horse

• Conservation of the land
• Keeping horses at grass on small areas
• Roughing off and turning a horse out
• 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

Lesson 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

What You Will Learn!

• Procedures for the buying and selling of horses.
• Different ways for the correct and proper handling of horses.
• A program for the evaluation of the conformation of horses.
• The digestive system, including structure and function.
• Appropriate procedures to manage a horse at grass.
• Methods used to prepare horses for specific uses, including grooming for different tasks.
• Commercial opportunities available in the horse industry.