Equine health course to equip riders with essential horse care skills
October 10, 2024 – by Ashley Vargo
Texas A&M University System veterinarians and Texas A&M AgriLife educational development specialists are collaborating to deliver a new training program to educate mounted patrol units throughout the nation on all the skills needed to care for their equine partners.
The course on AgriLife Learn will include an overview of equine husbandry, anatomy and physiology, strategies for preventing disease, and first-aid techniques.
The two-year training project is supported by the Cross Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense, CBTS, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence within Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
“Whether they’re working with mounted police or border patrol, these horses help keep us safe, and we want to ensure we’re doing everything to protect them in return,” said Dee Ellis, DVM, AgriLife Research veterinarian within the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Entomology. Ellis serves as the principal investigator of the collaborative effort.
Others involved in the course’s development include:
- Katlin Shoemaker, education director for CBTS and assistant director for strategic initiatives in Texas A&M AgriLife’s Educational Development and Engagement unit.
- Leslie Easterwood, DVM, clinical associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
- Glennon Mays, DVM, clinical professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
- Nikki Boutwell, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist in the Department of Animal Science and program coordinator for the Veterinary Science Certificate Program.
- David Sessum, licensed veterinary technician in the Department of Animal Science and program manager for the Veterinary Science Certificate Program.
Empowering equine riders and handlers through education
Ellis said the collaboration to develop the course is already underway.
The team plans to launch the course by early 2026. The online course will feature four to five hours on equine basics as well as scenario-based applications simulating incidents that may occur in the field. Riders and handlers will identify normal and abnormal animal responses along with medical events and intervention strategies.
Texas A&M experts will provide skill demonstrations and additional in-person training to experienced riders, who will then have all the tools necessary to become instructors themselves and educate new patrols.
“By teaching riders the basics of equine care, we hope to promote a sense of confidence among mounted patrol units when it comes to working with horses,” Shoemaker said. “And by placing the educational materials put together by this team of experts on AgriLife Learn, we hope it will serve Texas and the nation for years to come.”
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