The College of Southern Idaho is located in Twin Falls Idaho and is a two year public college that offers associate’s degrees in many different degree programs. One of the programs that is offered by this college is an Associate’s in Applied Science Degree in Horse Management. This program is designed to prepare students to work in many different aspects of the equine industry and it will also prepare students to be able to manage their own horses.

Students are required to complete several basic classes that include:

· Fundamentals of Oral Communication

· English Composition 1

· General Math Courses

· General Social Science Courses

Students will also take a number of more specific classes to develop their knowledge and skill in the equine industry. Some of the classes that students will have to complete are:

· Equine Nutrition – This course is designed to teach students the anatomy and physiology of the horse digestive system and to classify the functions of nutrients and relate them to digestion, absorption, and metabolism as they relate to growth, work, and reproduction.

· Equine Reproduction – Students will study the reproductive physiology of horses that include hormone control, reproductive diseases, reproductive failure, artificial insemination, and embryo transfer.

· Horse Judging – Students will be required to evaluate some of the more common breeds of horse’s bases on conformation and performance. Students will have to present reasons to the instructors for their evaluations.

· Horse Anatomy and Unsoundness – Students will be required to identify common unsoundnesses in horses along with their location, cause, and possible treatment options.

· Draft Horses – Students will survey today’s common draft breeds, their history, conformation, principles of harnessing and hitching, and management of draft horses. The course also includes showing procedures, breeding, foaling, and training. This course also has a mandatory lab that consist of students handling, harnessing, hitching, driving, packing, and caring for and managing draft horses.

· Horsemanship – This course is designed to teach natural horsemanship to students of any skill level and riding discipline. Students will learn to effectively communicate with the horses and to become their natural partner and leader. During this course, students will learn the proper way to safely handle, saddle, mount, and ride a horse.

· Business Aspects of Raising Horses – This course is designed to teach students the fundamentals of business relating to the raising of horses. Some of the ideas and theories that are taught in this class include production, marketing, accounting, finance, and law and ethics

· Equitation – There are three levels of equitation classes that a student can choose from depending on their prior riding experiences and current skill level. The beginning Equitation class will teach students natural horsemanship along with how to saddle, mount, riding skills, and how to communicate with the horse. There is also an intermediate equitation class that is designed to teach advanced natural horsemanship skills to students who have already completed the beginning equitation class. There is also an advanced equitation class that is available to experienced students in western equitation. This class gives students very advanced training skills to help them train better horses. Students are required to have their own horse for this class.

· English Equitation – This class is designed to teach students with no prior riding experience the fundamentals of English riding. Student will have hands on experiences in grooming, saddling, bridling, and mounting. For the more advanced rider, Intermediate English Equitation is also offered. This class is for students who already have a basic knowledge of English equitation. This class will place a great amount of emphasis on riding positions, balance, control and figure eights at the trot. There is also an advanced course that emphasizes riding in a show ring.

This is only a brief list of the different classes that are offered to students who wish to pursue a degree in an equine related field.

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