Welcome to week 4 of the Ontario Equine Education and Employment Program!

This week you are covering Unit 3 of the course. So, make sure that you are finishing up Unit 2 so you can keep on track and get started on Unit 3. For those who are able to work ahead, make sure you are reading your eManual as well as working your way through the Digital Learning Object for the videos and other information, as well as participating in the online discussions. Your effort and dedication to learning about care and welfare of horses will pay off as you pursue your pathway into the horse industry.

After learning about the anatomy and physiology of the horse, this week’s unit will delve into some of the health issues that horses may face. Prevention of disease and injury is one of the important roles of the groom, but also early recognition and management of disease or an injury is just as important, as not all things are easily preventable. This will be an overview of the common things, and as you will see there is much more to be learned but this will give you an introduction to this area. Enjoy the week and don’t be afraid of posting questions and joining in on discussions!

For this week, our webinar focuses on equine Nutrition, and “What the Horse Wants You to Know!.  Dr. Weidner is off this week so I have a recorded session of her presentation for you to watch.  This presentation will help you understand the “why” behind many of the “How to” recommendations for horses.  Such as the guideline for feeding of “Small meals frequently” as this relates directly to the anatomy of the gastro-intestinal tract and its functioning, and helps us understand the issues of colic, ulcers and others.

OEEEP webinar – Equine Nutrition-20240702_110429-Meeting Recording.mp4

Make sure you take time to watch this, and then we can continue to have discussions about some of the many important aspects. Feeding horses is an important skill that all horse owners need – for grooms and caretakers getting started all the way to top competitors, coaches and trainers!  And there is always more to learn!  New research about that “4-6 hour window of empty stomach increases risk of ulcers” and “risk of cresty necks” are two examples.

Body Condition Score Chart Poster

You may wish to check out the Horse Health Check poster available from Equine Guelph, and the Body Condition Score poster for the barn!  Many of our students order these for reference and these are great to post in the barn if there is a notice board or other wall space.  They are laminated and stand up to the barn environment for many years (mine is still in good shape in my barn and that is well over 10 years now!)

https://www.equineguelph.ca/education/store.php#gsc.tab=0