Equestrian Network Magazine

Teaching Adolescents Horse
Management Online

by M. Y. Mim

You're a typical horse-crazy teenage girl dreamily sitting in a class at Hometown High School, Anytown, U.S.A. While the teacher drones on, you're thinking about mounting Blue as soon as you get home, and practicing for the 4-H show this weekend. Why can't high school classes be as much fun as being with horses? You wish you could take an elective class for credit about horses.

Thanks to the remarkable Ellen Walker, you or your teenager can do
just that.

Best yet, the student takes Horse Management online and doesn't even need to own a horse.

Ellen comes from a background of teaching and horses.

"I am a lifelong horseman and rider," said Ellen. "I have been a 4-H leader and Pony Club DC. I am also a certified teacher in Utah, and have taught all the grades from third to junior college. Currently I teach part-time at an alternative high school (mostly English & math), and fulltime for Utah's Electronic High School (ninth grade English and Horse Management)."

In 1999, Ellen's grant application to develop the Horse Management class was accepted. She spent that summer organizing the class, planning the assignments, and writing the course material, which is more or less an on-line textbook (although students are urged to buy or borrow at least three of the following books: 4-H Horses and Horsemanship, 4-H Horse Science, USPC Manuals 1, 2 & 3; Prince & Collier's Basic Horse Care, Basic Horsemanship & Basic Training for Horses; The UC Davis Book of Horses, and Parker's Equine Science.).

Ellen's now taught the class for eight years, refining it over the years. An investigation of the curriculum proves this class equal to any of the expensive on-line courses offered by many famous trainers.

Electronic High School student Talia Halbleib (currently enrolled in the first quarter) and Frankie the horse.

The self-motivated high school horse enthusiast earns the same elective credit the student would

earn for spending a school year in a class at a regular school.

Utah-based Electronic High School (The EHS), accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, mails any credit earned to the student's home high school. Most high schools should accept the credit, but students should check with their high school counselor to be sure. This elective credit, as with any other, is accepted as such
by colleges.

Lest anyone make the mistake of thinking "oh, that's an easy A," that student should be prepared for a shock. The class is not difficult, if one does the work. Here's Ellen summarizing the year-long course:

Ellen and H. Zsofia, doing
second level at a show in 2005.

"The first two quarters of the class cover horse science: basic vocabulary, safety and trailering, basic body systems, feeding and nutrition, routine health care, diseases, parasites, injuries and first aid, conformation & lameness, breeding and genetics, and the horse breeds. The third quarter introduces riding, training, teaching, competitions, and conditioning. The fourth quarter brings in stable and farm management, horse-related

careers, open space issues and the future of the horse business.

"It takes self-discipline and motivation to work on a class you aren't required to attend every day. Most students don't finish at all. Probably the most typical student is a high school girl who has always liked horses, and likes the idea of earning some of the elective credit she needs to graduate by studying horses. My best students tend to be kids who are already quite involved in 4-H, the USPC, and/or high school rodeo, and do have their own horse.

"I would estimate the average length of time students take to finish one quarter is in the three to five month range."

Student Sierra Lundberg and her horse Koko. Sierra finished the first quarter of the online class, is nearly done with the second, and is the starting third quarter. Teacher Ellen remarks that she should be wearing her helmet!

To get a better idea of what that involves, look at the syllabus for just the first quarter!

Syllabus
Horse Management I is a one semester (.5 credit) class. It is divided into nine units, each with several assignments and a quiz. There is also a midterm test,
and a final.
The units cover:

Unit 1 - Introduction to the World of Horses
Unit 2 - Safety, Equipment and Trailering
Unit 3 - Overview of Equine Body Systems
Unit 4 - Nutrition and Feeding
Unit 5 - Routine Health Care
Unit 6 - Conformation and Lameness
Unit 7 - Health Problems and First Aid
Unit 8 - Life Cycle, Breeding, and Genetics
Unit 9 - Breeds of Horses

Ellen Walker, Horse Management instructor at Utah's
Electronic High School, has been involved with horses since
she was younger than her students are today.

Ellen brags about several of her past pupils.

"One of my best students was a boy who is also one of the top junior shotgun competitors in the US, is poised to graduate early, and is already a partner in a trucking business with his father. Another good student was a girl who has health problems that caused her to miss school often. Another was a girl being home-schooled. Several have gone on to veterinary school."

The course is free to Utah residents and available for a very nominal fee (about $50) to those out of state. To find out more, contact The Electronic High School, http://ehs.uen.org and please mention Equestrian Network Magazine in order that the school can track references.

Sources: Ellen Walker; The Electronic High School, Utah.

M. Y. Mim is a free-lance journalist based in Santa Barbara, Ca. She may be reached at mymim3@cox.net, or through her agent R. Almqvist, 805-705-5349. The Author wishes to thank Mr. R. Almqvist for his invaluable assistance in making this article possible.