College of Pet Animal Studies

Equine Studies Level Two

This course will be of interest to those wishing to increase their knowledge of the horse.

Module One Equine Evolution:

How horses have climbed the evolution tree, through the last 50 million years.
The Survivors the four types of primitive that evolved to become our modern day horse breeds
Equus Meets Man: domestication, travel and mans way to communicate. How the horse was utilised by man

Module Two: The Flight Drive

Behaviour and psychology of flight driven animals. How a flight animal’s life is different to that of a predator animal, growing up in a herd, socialisation, rules and behaviour. The learning process: how a horse learns from the birth to adult hood, and behaviour. Communication: how horses communicate with each other, herd, sexual and maternal communication, body signals and their resulting behaviour.

Module Three: Conformation:

How a horse is put together, how the different body structures result in different behaviour and temperaments, anatomy of the horse.
The Senses: Sight, hearing, smell, touch and how all of these ad to the horses behaviour and the way they perceive their environment. Teeth and digestion, telling the age of a horse, the teeth, the complex digestion process and what behaviour results from it. Locomotion The brain and its function, the anatomy of the legs, how they move, the hoof how it functions and anatomy, shoeing.

Module Four: Principles of Feeding

Quantities, types of food and how each effects the horses behaviour, types of hay, how much to feed and when, the importance of water. Recognising feed related problems: Grass sickness, colic and its signs, laminitis, allergic reactions, dehydration how to detect it, eating poop, the runs.
The grass kept horse Grass management, dangerous plants identifying them, worm control why its very important, the worm cycle, shelters. The stable kept horse How a horse perceives stabling, muck control, keeping feet clean, rugs, clipping, bedding, water, recognising vices, the importance of exercise.

Module Five: the healthy horse

Making sure the horse is getting the right balance of food and exercise, importance of vaccinations, detecting a change in behaviour due to illness. How a sick horse acts around other companions. Routine Vaccinations worming, cleaning the sheath, teeth rasping treating minor cuts, bandaging. Common horse ailments skin problems, respiratory problems, lameness, eye problems, feet problems, growths, lumps.

email: petsbehaving@aol.com
Telephone: 01746 764332