Learn Stable Management Online
A course for:
- Horse owners
- As a foundation for working with horses in a stabled situation
- Professional development for anyone working with horses
This 100 hr courses is supported by a team of experienced equine tutors located both in Australia and the UK. Interacting with your tutors allows you the opportunity for very individualised support as you move through our carefully constructed and very practical study program.
As with all of our courses, this is an experiential based study program. It is all about learning through experience; observing things that reinforce and give perspective to what you read in your course notes. If you have horses you can work with, there are opportunities to apply what you are studying; but even if you do not, it is still quite feasible for you to do this course.
Course Content
There are seven lessons as follows
Lesson 1. Feeding
- roughage
- concentrates
- roots
- green feeds and succulents
- tempters and tonics
- salts
- feeding for special purposes.
Lesson 2. Stabling
- three ways to keep horses
- combined systems
- stalls, stables/loose boxes
- barns
- stable layout
- feed rooms
- tack rooms
- the medicine chest
- stable routine
- stable tricks and vices.
Lesson 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.
Lesson 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.
Lesson 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.
Lesson 6. Tack and Tack Fitting
- principles of biting
- 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.
Lesson 7. Horse Facility Design
HORSES NEED PROPER BEDDING
In the open, horses can find a soft patch of grass to sleep in; but in a stable or small yard, this may not he as easy. An important part of caring for a stabled horse is to provide good bedding; and to change the bedding frequently.
When keeping a horse in a stable it is necessary to use some form of bedding for the following reasons:
- Prevents injury
- Encourages the horse to lie down
- Prevents drafts
- Provides warmth
- Encourages horse to stale (urinate)
- Provides comfort for the horse
- Prevents jarring to the feet and legs
- Cleanliness
Whatever type of bedding used it should be:
- Of good quality
- Safe, in case the horse eats it
- Absorbent
- Dry and soft
- Readily available
- Easy to dispose of
There are a wide variety of materials that can be used for bedding. The most important factor to consider when choosing which type to use is maintaining the good health of the horse. Continually damp or wet bedding can create a bacterial breeding ground, which can adversely affect the health of a horse’s feet. Dusty or moldy bedding can cause respiratory problems for both the horse and anyone working in the environment on a regular basis. Bedding that does not absorb urine well enough will cause more ammonia to be released in the stable environment and again, will subsequently adversely affect the horses respiratory system.
As well as health and hygiene reasons, horse owners need to consider cost, availability and ease of disposal of soiled bedding when they are deciding which particular type to use.
Whatever bedding is used, thorough and regular ‘mucking out’ of the horses stable will help to reduce any adverse health effects as well as excessive waste of the bedding materials.
