Six horses housed in the Dudley barn located just behind the Leatherdale Equine Center at the University of Minnesota are bringing new possibilities for educating veterinary students, undergraduates, horse owners, and children. The horses were selected for their temperament from backgrounds as diverse as horse rescues to research trials.
Learning about and from horses
Horses at the University of Minnesota are bringing new possibilities for educating veterinary students, undergraduates, horse owners, and children.
Experienced equine students who miss their horses back home got their horse fix through grooming, feeding, and clean up after the horses. They in turn, worked with veterinary and undergraduate students unfamiliar with horses to help them get experience.
The herd has become the foundation for the Gopher Adventures Horsemanship Camp. For the month of July, children ages 9 to 15 divide their day between the Equine Center and the St. Paul Gym. "To see these gentle horses being led by the tiniest of kids or vice versa is truly heartwarming."
In addition, a partnership with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has evolved, which capitalizes on a horse’s power to heal and to teach people more about themselves. Programs offered through the Arboretum help disadvantaged children deal with challenges through interactive sessions with horses.
The herd is also going to be used by EAGALA, a nonprofit association for professionals using equine therapy to address mental health and human development needs, for certifi cation training in equine-assisted growth and learning
Constant care and riding by undergraduate students keeps the horses calm and interactive with people with varying horse experience.
This year, the Equine Center offered a new online course, Introduction to the Horse, through the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Population Medicine Department.
Over the fall and spring semesters, 50 undergraduate students worked with the horses in interactive laboratory sessions. Students learned about equine breeds, basic nutrition, health and behavior, and horsemanship.
Introduction to Horseback Riding on campus was offered for the first time, and an amazingly diverse group of 40 students took the class. Students came from as far away as China, with majors ranging from mortuary sciences to economics.
The herd was also active with first-year veterinary students who develop confidence in horse handling and performing physical examinations on a well-behaved group of horses.
As Stephanie Valberg, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate ACVIM Director, University of Minnesota Equine Center reports, "While our faculty members are teaching students about horses, our horses are teaching humans to deal with life’s ups and downs. You can’t beat that!"