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Creating hands on learning opportunities for inexperienced equine students
Universities across the country offer equine-related classes to a diverse population of students. National trends indicate that 80-85% of these enrolled students are female and more than 50% are from suburban or urban backgrounds. Career goals for most of these students require first-hand experiences with animal care, behavior and management. Students interested in marketing and sales of animal health care products or retail merchandise also require knowledge of animal husbandry. Approximately 65% of students in Animal Science programs, particularly those of urban backgrounds, have little to no experience with horses, and thus require experiential learning opportunities.
The Animal and Veterinary Sciences department at Clemson University offers Pre-Veterinary Sciences (60%), Animal Agribusiness (20%), and Equine Business (EQUI – 20%) concentrations. The latter two require a minor in Business Administration, therefore combining a foundation in animal science with business courses. EQUI is aimed at students who wish to enter any facet of the horse industry that typically does not require an advanced degree. Most students enter the work force directly onto a horse farm or indirectly in allied animal health industries, marketing positions for manufacturing, feed mills or pharmaceutical companies or through supporting careers such as lawyers, horse associations or councils, public and higher education, and more. Students enrolled in EQUI have a diverse background; some have substantial horse experience and others have none. Therefore, it is important for faculty to provide the much-needed experiences required for successful job placement.
Courses required to meet these needs should be founded in experiential learning, utilizing live animals to provide these hands-on experiences. Formal courses and laboratories, volunteering, interning or working at a horse farm, being a working student, or enrolling in a farm immersion practicum are options. As faculty, you must learn your students’ strengths and weaknesses to offer suggestions on the types of experiences that are required to strengthen their resume and gain more horse experience. From basic horse handling and health care skills to working with a wide variety of production phases, creating unique individualized experiences is a must. To be successful in doing this, you need an organized system of integrating students from a varied background and have a diverse teaching style to cater to all students. Faculty are encouraged to develop efficient and achievable goals for students who have very little experience to provide relevant and less overwhelming experiences that align with their goals.
Keywords:
Horses, experiential learning