University of Minnesota-Crookston – Equine Science Degree

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The University of Minnesota-Crookston in located in Crookston, Minnesota. This university offers a B.S. and Associates degree in Equine Science. UMC focuses on the management and business aspect of the equine industry. Students will be provided a very balanced education with knowledge in all areas of the equine field including daily care, nutrition, health care, exercise and training, business, and management. Graduates of the program will have knowledge in the theory and practice of nutrition, health, physiology, and reproduction along with knowledge of equine ownership responsibilities. They will also be well versed in management theories and be trained to use a variety of different types of software and marketing strategies related to the equine industry. Along with the management skills, graduates will also have highly developed horsemanship skills and will be able to train horses with all types of temperaments and conformation. This will give graduates the greatest opportunity to find employment in any field of the equine industry. Some of the different careers that are available include:

· Bloodstock Management and sales

· Breed Association Specialist/Administrator

· Buyer or Pedigree Evaluator

· Drug and Pharmaceutical Co. Management and Sales

· Equine Appraiser

· Equine Nutrition and Feed Sales

· Equine Industry Journalist

· Equine Reproduction Specialist

· Equitation or Riding Instructor

· Equestrian Team Coach or Youth Worker

· Extension Educator

· Guest Ranch Manager

· Horse Trainer

· Horse Show Manager

· Horse Equipment Representative

· Horse Judge

· Horse Farm Ranch Manager

· Professional in Marketing or Advertising

· Stable Manager

· Stud Farm Manager or Assistant

· Therapeutic Riding Specialist

Students that are involved in the Equine Program will work with a variety of the 40 horses that are permanent fixtures at the UMC stables. Students will care for these horses to gain hands-on experience by training, riding, grooming, breeding, and showing all of the different breeds that the school has. Students are not assigned to a particular horse unless they are in a training or showing class, instead, students will ride and work with different horses so that they will be able to gain experience in dealing with horses with different temperaments and conformation. Along with using the campuses horses, all students are issued a laptop computer that they will use on a daily basis along with any of the relevant software that their coursework requires. This makes graduates highly sought after because they have many different equine skills and many technological skills that graduates from other schools will not have.

The University Teaching and Outreach Center is located on the north end of the UMC campus and has a number of great features that include:

· Faculty offices

· Interactive television classroom and networked classrooms

· Science lab

· 90 x 120 foot heated indoor arena with seating for 205 people

· 45 stalls with automatic waterers

· Western, hunt seat, all-purpose and saddleseat equipment and tack

· Bathrooms

· Boot wash rack

· Laundry room

· Locker room

· Round-pen

· Paddocks for turnout

· Tack room

· Horse wash rack

· Breeding phantom and stocks

· Driving carts and harnesses

Students can also participate in many of the schools equine related clubs. The IHSA riding team participates in Zone 9, Regions 3 portion of the IHSA. Members can participate in either Western or English events at a number of shows. Students can also join the Horsemans Association. The purpose of the Horsemans Association is to provide information to the community about equine science, compete at colleges in the interest of horsemanship, provide a support group for students interested in horsemanship skills, visit businesses pertaining to the equine industry, and to provide social activities for it members.