Professor: Dr. Ralston Phone: 848-932-9404 Office: Room 209, Bartlett Hall E-mail: sarah.ralston@rutgers.edu Office hours: By arrangement Course Objectives: To provide a solid back ground of knowledge about the anatomy, physiology, behavior and nutritional needs of horses to apply in decision making in relation to restraint, housing, dealing with and prevention of both behavioral problems and common illnesses. This will give the students a solid basis for the selection and care of horses and responsible horse ownership. Controversial issues in the horse industry will also be discussed. Learning goals: at the end of this course students will: 1. Be able to identify the common anatomical parts of the horse and discuss the significance of the unique anatomy of the legs (loss of rotational movement in forelegs, lower leg features). 2. Discuss the unique features of the equine behavior and relevance to handling and groupings in pastures, confinement in stalls and common causes/treatments of behavioral problems. 3. Know how to properly restrain and lead a horse and apply techniques such as chains at the end of lead ropes for added control. 4. Identify both the common and specialized gaits of horses and how to assess lameness in addition to the common causes of lameness in horses. 5. Discuss common characteristics of the most common breeds of horses with the activities they excel at, and common heritable problems. 6. Discuss the many considerations you need to address BEFORE buying an equine animal. 7. Give the cause, clinical signs, treatment and prevention of the common viral, bacterial and protozoal diseases of horses, which ones are preventable with vaccines, which ones should or should NOT be treated with antibiotics. 8. Discuss routine management in terms of daily feeding concerns and management, grooming, hoof care, vaccination/dental check/care schedules, pasture and housing concerns and requirements. 9. Recognize common causes, clinical signs/ treatment and management of the most common metabolic problems of horses: Colic/laminitis/Metabolic syndrome and fatigue. 10. Identify special concerns with respect to management of very young horses, broodmares, stallions, old horses and performance horses 11. Discuss the issues and facts associated with ethical issues in the equine industry such as what to do with unwanted horses and how to prevent overpopulation, ethics in performance horse management, breeding concerns, etc.
Schedule of Lectures: NOTE: You are expected to have read the On-line notes BEFORE class and come prepared to ask questions. Class starts at 9:15AM and ends at 10:35AM on Mondays and Thursdays. It is held in CDL-room 102 on the Cook Campus unless otherwise noted in the syllabus (See below). Optional field trips will be organized for times outside the regularly scheduled class time to a local livestock auction, Rick's Saddle Shop, therapeutic riding programs, boarding farms and a hay farm. Dates and locations will be announced and number of opportunities dependent on interest. Students are strongly encouraged to volunteer at horse events (Watch for e-mails and Announcements). You get 1 point added to your midterm or final exam score for each day you spend HELPING (not just attending or competing) at a horse event. Rutgers University welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University's educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a student with a disability must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/documentation-guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with a Letter of Accommodations. Please share this letter with me and we will discuss the accommodations as early as possible. To begin this process, please complete the Registration form on the ODS web site at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registration-form. Schedule of Lectures/events Date Topic Lecturer SEPTEMBER 6Thursday Introduction to course/global Equine Industry Ralston 12 Monday Issues in the Equine Industry-Global perspective Ralston 15 Thursday Horse Evolution and Anatomy Ralston 19 Monday Anatomy (continued) Ralston 22 Thursday Horse Behavior Ralston 26 Monday Horse Behavior (continued) Ralston 29 Thursday Restraint Ralston OCTOBER 3 MONDAY Gaits/lameness Ralston Quiz #1: LECTURES: Industry, Issues, Anatomy, Behavior, Restraint
6 Thursday Conformation Ralston 10 Monday Breeds Ralston 13 Thursday Buying Horses Ralston 17 Monday Common Diseases Ralston 20 Thursday Common Diseases Ralston 24 Monday Routine Management Ralston Quiz #2: LECTURES: Gaits, Lameness, Breeds, Buying horses, Common diseases 27 Thursday Nutrition-basic Ralston 31 Monday Nutrition -feeds Ralston NOVEMBER 3 Thursday Feed Management Ralston 7 Monday Colic/Laminitis/Equine Metabolic Ralston 10 Thursday Performance horse management Ralston 14 Monday MIDTERM EXAM: All lectures from evolution UP TO BUT NOT INCLUDING Performance Horse 17 Thursday Stress and transport Ralston 21 Monday Housing/pastures Ralston 22 TUESDAY (Thursday classes)breeding horses Ralston 24 Thursday THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAY 28 Monday Foals, Weanlings, yearlings Ralston OPTIONAL TERMPAPERS DUE You will be submitting them electronically into the drop box-please plan accordingly! DECEMBER 1 Thursday Emergency Care Ralston QUIZ # 3: Colic/Laminitis/EMS, Performance, Stress/transport/housing 5 Monday Careers in Equine Science Panel discussion 8 Thursday Responsible Horse Ownership Ralston 12 Monday Review/case studies Ralston Final exam: TBA (Officially scheduled for 8AM-11AM but trust me, it will not take 3 hours! If you have conflicts please let me know!
GRADING: For students taking the course for college credit, final grades will be based on the following: Average of 2 best grades on 3 quizzes 1/3 Midterm Exam 1/3 Final Exam 1/3 Letter Grades: If no one gets a 100 on a given test/paper I "curve up" by adding the required number of points to bring the highest grade up to 100 to all of the other students. For example if the highest grade on a quiz was a 96 everyone would get 4 points added to their grade. A: 89-100 B+: 85-88.9 B: 79-84.9 C+: 75-78.9 C: 69-74.9 D+: 66-68.9 D: 60-65.9 F: <60 Note: Midterm and Final exams are cumulative. Quizzes will cover only the previous 3-5 lectures. There are learning goals/study guides listed for every lecture topic-use THEM TO STUDY! Regular attendance in class is expected of students taking the course on campus. Though tests and examination questions will be taken from the lecture notes, Dr. Ralston will emphasize and expand upon the topics/facts she considers to be most important. THERE IS AN OPTIONAL TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT: If you choose to do the term paper assignment below, it will count for 1/4 of your grade (and reduce the value of the other three assessments to 1/4 ONLY if it will increase your grade-in other words it will only help you if you do poorly on the other assessments. Term paper assignment will be graded as described on the term paper description below
OPTIONAL TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT The Situation: It is September, 2016. You have just received word that a distant relative died and in his/her will left you a small boarding/training stable. There is a barn with 10 stalls, all of which are currently occupied, an outdoor arena, one 5 acre pasture and 3 one acre paddocks near the barn. Water is supplied by a well, there is a stream running through the 10 acre wooded area in the rear of the property. There is a house on the land that is in good condition where your relative had been living. You have inherited two adult horses, a mare and a gelding. Your boarders have 4 mares, three geldings and a stallion-all between 4 and 20 years of age Your Assignment: READ THE DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY! You may choose any breed/use of the horses BUT you must specify the breed and planned use of the horses in your discussion. Use your imagination but be realistic. (ie: No unicorns please, nor Arabians running in the Kentucky Derby). Please avoid fluff -I really don t care about your boyfriend or cousins! Do Not rely solely on the course notes: seek out references, contact actual vendors for what you are planning to do with the farm. Visit some farms to get an idea of what it might be like. Internet sites also can be quite useful - check the webliography BUT evaluate your sources carefully. For example, using sheds obtained from Australia or using recommendations for pasture seeding published in Brazil is not appropriate! In 5 pages (excluding drawings and reference lists): 1. Facilities: Give a detailed description of what you think the ideal housing/pasture arrangement should be-i am NOT giving you details on the barn because I want YOU to provide them. You can change the fenced areas, add buildings/structures, safety features, but do give the layout and size of stalls, aisles, locations/types of windows and doors, what is provided for the horses in the pastures and paddocks, other amenities in the barn such as feed storage, etc. Drawings of the layout and structures are encouraged. (25 pts) 2. Your Barn Rules! What you will require from your Boarders and what they will expect from you (5 pts) 2. What you will do with the horses: A. Give the breed and discipline you are catering to, detailing health concerns for that breed/discipline. 10 pts B. Daily routine, exercise, groupings when on pasture. 10 pts C. Nutritional management (15pts)
D. Health care (15 pts) The remaining 20 points will be assigned on the basis of extra details, practicality of the plan, clarity of the writing, etc. Up to 10 bonus points will be added if finances are included (realistic costs, potential sources of income). The final grade, however, will not exceed 100 pts. Grading: A checklist of bare minimum details I expect to see will be used to determine the number of points you earn in each section. Points will be deducted for omissions, serious errors-be careful to fully address all of the above issues and that what you are saying is practical and realistic. If you are not sure, or totally lack horse experience-check with someone who is knowledgeable (ie: me).