Farm Vocational Program
Farm Elite Vocational Program
6 month long classroom & hands-on vocational training program with periodic assessments & a final examination.
Introduction
- Introduction to the horse
- Horse Terminology
- Horse Colors
- Parts of the horse
- Halter and leading equipment
- Terminology of barn and farm equipment
- Horse Behavior and Safety
- Characteristics of horses developed for survival
- Horses don't "whisper" - but they do "talk"
- Working around horses safely
- Cue, response, reinforce
- Daily Routine
- Care of horses in groups
- Care of horses in stalls
- Haltering, leading and communicating with others
- Overview of stall care
- A thermometer a day keeps the vaterinarian away
- Keeping it clean (the barn and shedrow that is)
- Restraint
- Shanks and leads
- Twitches
- How to make an emergency halter
- Grooming Basics
- Tools & their uses
- Brushing - its all in the wrist (and the bristles)
- Picking feet - no smell is a good smell
- Barbershop quartet - Bridle path, ears, mane & tail
- To shave or not to shave (that sensitive muzzle)
- How do I bathe thee, let me count the ways
- Clean tools are happy tools (brushes too)
- Stall Care
- Setting up a stall
- Bedding types
- Reading a Stall
- Clean, quick pick or strip?
- Vital Signs - Normal, Caution, Red Alert
- Baby it's hot inside - taking & recording temps
- Your horse's heart beats for you
- Take a few deep breaths
- Dehydration can happen fast
- More than skin deep
- Skin is the biggest organ (Problems and treatment)
- Heart and circulation
- Lungs
- Colic
- Defined
- The 7 warning signs Colic
- Listening for gut sounds
- What to do until help arrives
- Principles
- Purpose of bandages
- Identification of different types of bandages
- Different direction on different sides
- Applying basic bandages
- Polos
- Standing Bandage
- Figure 8 running bandage using 3m™ Vetrap Tape™
- Leg medication applications
- Poultice
- Sweat
- Brace
- Tack Identification
- Bits, headstalls and reins
- Nosebands and other head gear
- Blinkers and hoods
- Saddle and other body gear
- Tacking Up
- Saddle up
- Bridle up
- Final Adjustment
- Exercise time
- Leg a rider up
- Catching and untacking after workout or race
- Tack cleaning
- Cleaning Materials
- Cleaning procedures
- Height, weight, body condition score
- Using a hight-weight tape
- Henneken Body Condition Scorecard
- Basic internal anatomy
- Skeleton
- Muscles
- Tendons and Ligaments
- Front Legs
- Bones
- Conformation
- Common injuries
- Rear Legs
- Bones
- Conformation
- Common injuries
- Additional bandaging
- Run down patches using 3M™ brand
- Splint support bandage using 3M™ Equisport™ tape
- Speedy cut and glue on run down patches
- Principle of pressure and release
- Escape
- Choices - we all make them
- Cue, response, release
- Body language
- Move Forward
- Stop
- Follow
- Results
- Juvenile Behavior
- Respect
- Harmony
- Hoof Care
- External anatomy of the hoof
- Picking feet revisited
- Treatment of thrush
- To paint or not to paint, that is another question
- Hoof injury or abscess & treatment
- How to make poultice bandage
- Hoof Conformation
- Internal hoof anatomy
- Hoof balance & problems of imbalance
- Bone alignment & conformation issues
- Long toe & under run heel issues
- Laminitis or Founder
- Risk factors & triggers
- Symptoms of two most common varieties
- Progression of laminitis
- Management of laminitic horse, short & long term
- Farm Trim
- Reading the foot & identify balance problems
- Identification of tools
- Handling and using both the tools & the hoof
- Simple farm trim including checking the balance
- Farm Shoe care
- Care of a shod versus a barefoot hoof
- Types of shoes and reasons for shoeing
- How to pull a loose shoe correctly
- Mouth & mouth care
- Identification of teeth and how they arrive
- Teeth problems & symptoms
- Mouth care schedule
- Anatomy of Digestive System
- Anatomy of Foregut
- Cecum and friends
- Anatomy of Hindgut
- Where there's no hay there is fire (ulcers)
- Colic
- Types of colic
- Symptoms revisited
- Risk factors & reducing risks
- Treatments
- Feedstuffs - grain
- Identification of grains used in horse feeds
- Sweet feeds, pellets or plain
- Vitamins, minerals and other feed additives
- Feedstuffs - hay
- Identification of different types of hay
- Hay quality measures
- Feeding hay safely - watching for blister beetles
- Hay storage & handling
- Feeding and feed safety
- Feeding groups of horses on pasture
- Feeding horses in stalls
- Monitoring horses & feed quality
- Red flag behaviors
- Inflammation
- Injury terminology
- Inflammation defined
- Control of inflammation
- Cold Therapy
- Cool water hose
- Put them on ice
- Space age cold
- Hot Therapy
- Warm running water
- Sweat it out
- Lasers and other hot stuff
- Touch Therapy
- Massage those tired, sore muscles
- Warm up
- It feels good to your horse too
- Hot Weather
- Heat Index
- Shelter, Fans and other cooling devices
- Cooling a hot horse on a hot summer day
- Non-sweaters
- People get hot too
- Cold Weather
- Wind Chill Index
- Blankets and other shelter
- Cooling a hot horse on a cold winter day
- Tucking in for the night -- heat lamps or not?
- People get cold too
- Emergency First Aid
- Supplies, procedures & preparation
- Handling specific common emergency situations
- Emergency bandages
- Nursing a sick/injured horse
- Types of injuries & potential problems with each
- Poor healing, proud flesh, wound management
- Dispensing medication
- Respiratory Illness
- Ventilation & air quality
- Respiratory illness symptoms and management
- Vaccinations and vaccination schedules
- Pre-race
- Find out when to pull feed and hay
- Pre-race veterinary exam
- Get tack ready
- Race Time
- Put on bandages & bridle and take to holding barn
- From Paddock to Pony
- Watch the race
- Post-race
- Catch horse when it returns
- Going to the test barn
- Cooling out back at the barn
- Parasites
- Types of internal parasites
- Control & de-worming
- Types of external parasites
- Control of external parasites
- Care of the Aged Horse
- Additional monitoring
- Nutrition for older horses
- When they've done their time
- Fencing
- Safe & unsafe horse fencing
- Inspection & maintenance
- Pasture
- Pasture quality, management & care
- Identification of toxic plants and trees
- Symptoms of plant toxicity and treatment
- Racing Breeds
- Thoroughbred
- Quarter Horse
- Standardbred
- Paint
- Appaloosa
- Arabian
- Identification of Racehorses
- Color and markings
- Tattoos
- Brands