Horse Care II BAG204

This is a good foundation course for anyone who aspires to work with horses; either in their own business or elsewhere; on a farm, stud, riding school or in an equine supplies business.

Study feeds and nutrition, stable management, exercise and conditioning

Self-paced distance learning module

This course follows on from Horse Care I. While the course is relevant to horses at grass, it does focus more heavily upon care of the stabled performance horse. The course covers feed is and nutrition , stabling, foot care, bedding, tack and conditioning of the horse.

This is a stand alone course and may be taken without Horse Care I as a prerequisite.

It can also be selected as a complete course of study in conjunction with Horse Care I and Horse Care III.

1. Feeds
   • roughage
   • concentrates
   • roots
   • green feeds and succulents
   • tempters and tonics
   • salts
   • feeding for special purposes.
2. Stabling
   • three ways to keep horses
   • combined systems
   • stalls, stables/looseboxes
   • barns
   • stable layout
   • feed rooms
   • tack rooms
   • the medicine chest
   • stable routine
   • stable tricks and vices.
3. Bedding and Mucking Out
   • reasons for bedding
   • bedding qualities
   • bedding types
   • choosing a system
   • tools needed for mucking out
   • mucking out
   • bedding down
   • managing the bed
   • conserving bedding
   • comparing bedding
   • the muck heap.
4. The Foot and Shoeing
   • foot structure
   • trimming
   • advantages and disadvantages of shoeing
   • signs that shoeing is required
   • the farrier's tools
   • how the horse is shod
   • what to look for in a newly shod hoof
   • basic shoes
   • surgical shoeing
   • studs.
5. Exercise and Conditioning
   • the difference between exercise and conditioning
   • soft and hard condition
   • exercising a horse
   • the fittening schedule
   • principles of fittening
   • maintaining fitness.
6. Tack and Tack Fitting
   • principles of bitting
   • the mouth
   • types of bits
   • where the bit acts
   • fitting the saddle
   • causes of sore backs
   • care of the back when unsaddling
   • saddle types
   • linings
   • girths
   • saddle cloths and numnahs
   • tack cleaning.
7. Horse Facility Design
   • farm layout

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Analyse the feeding requirements and feeding techniques available for horse husbandry.
• Develop a stable management program for horses.
• Explain the management procedures necessary to fulfil the bedding requirements of horses.
• Explain the management and care of horses feet.
• Implement management procedures for the conditioning of horses.
• Describe the procedures used for managing the tack requirements of horses.
• Explain the management, including design and applications, of facilities used in the horse industry