Senior Project Refelction

1)   I think I'm most proud of how much I learned through senior project. I never used to read many of the articles in horse magazines, just looked at the pictures, but now that I've read them and tried their reasoning, I've experienced and learned so much. I've learned things that helped me in training my horse and have helped me in bettering myself as a rider.

2)   a.   I felt really confident about my presentation, and everyone seem interested. My activities seemed to be enjoyable, and a lot of the juniors came up to me and said I did a really good job and it was really interesting. I loved answering their questions about horses! Thus, I would give myself an AE. Not to sound too confident or anything, but because I worked really hard and put a lot of time and effort into it.

     b.   On my overall senior project, I'd have to say at least a P, if not a P/AE. I put in a lot of hours for service learning, which wasn't easy as my service learner isn't the most effective communicator. I devoted a lot of time to research, which taught me a lot about not only training horses, but gave me insight into their world and being. I was able to change my horse into a well rounded competitor, and will continue to work and making him better, and bettering myself by continuing to research and study horse training.

3)   I'd have to say that research worked the best for me. I was able to find a lot of good research, and learned a ton from it. There are so many informational TV shows about training horses that I didn't get a chance to completely watch, but I definitely will in the future because my research has made me really interested in training horses and getting to know how they function.

4)   Really, everything tended to work well for me. There were some speed bumps though, like when my horse would be a total jerk and put limits on our work. Such as him being gate sour, or not breaking his tack. It did help me become a better horsewoman though, as I learned to work through the problems and correct his behavior. My service learner was also occasionally uncommunicative, but it all worked out in the end as I was able to get my service learning done, and even got some extra hours.

5)   Senior project has helped me so much for the future. I've gotten a head start on the experience of training horses, and have made a lot of connections. I've even been offered a job at the WK Kellogg Arabian Horse Center in the fall! My horse experience is much needed there, as a lot of their current workers are graduating this year. I know I'll be able to use my research for the rest of my life.

2 Hour Presentation

My lesson plan can be found on the right hand side of my blog.

Answer #3

EQ: What is most important to becoming a western horse trainer?

Answer 3: A basic knowledge of horse care, consisting of grooming, tack, basic veterinarian medicine, haltering, leading, trailering, and shoeing.

Evidence: Knowing the basics will allow you and anyone else to progress forward. Basic veterinarian medicine can help you in a situation where the horse has a scrape on a hind leg. What do you do? You administer neosporn, wrap it in vet wrap, and if neccessary, wrap it in a pillow wrap. Knowing the proper tack that fits a horse will save you from having an unhappy horse, and is also a safety percaution as tack that doesn't fit can result in injury to both horse and rider. Knowing how to hook up a trailer and load horses into and out of one will help in case of emergency, say there's a fire and you need to get out urgently, you'll know how to act.

Source:
- Interview 4 with Janelle Nichols, horse trainer for JKK Performance Horses
- Larry Trocha, horsemanship trainer
- Melinda Freckleton, DVM

Room Creativity

1)   In terms of room creativity, I actually plan on holding my whole presentation outside. I'm hoping to acquire the arena at the Arabian Horse Center, but if that is not possible, then I was hoping that a grass area by the small gym would be of use. I plan on bringing my horse Leroy to actually demonstrate what goes into training a horse. If I can get my hands on some hay bales, I would like to bring those and use them as either chairs or decoration.

2)   For my answer 1 activity, which is a method that communicates with the horse, I was thinking about having the students break into groups and create stick horses using materials given. They would just need to glue their selected pieces onto the stick horse head. I'm not sure if I'm really going to do that, but it's all I have at the moment.

Answer 2

EQ: What is most important to becoming a successful western horse trainer?

Answer 2: A basic knowledge of groundwork and the equipment used to partake in it is one of the most important aspects to becoming a successful western horse trainer.

Evidence:

• Groundwork is the basis of all training.
• It establishes trust, leadership, and enforces the rules of space and respect.
• Allows a horse to think and really refine his responses, suppleness, and flexion.

Sources:

•  Groundwork, a book by Buck Brannaman
• Ride the Journey, a book by Chris Cox
• Kris Keeler, my service learner.

Presentation 2 Rough Draft

Link to Rough Draft

Answer 1

1)   One of my answers to my EQ is "A method that communicates with the horse and instills trust."

2)   Evidence of this can be found in many articles I have read, one mainly being "Ride the Journey" by Chris Cox. He explains how horses need to have trust in one before they can learn to accept ones methods. With trust, a horse can be successfully and wonderfully trained.

3)   Sources: "How to Think Like a Horse", a book by Cherry Hill, renowned horse trainer and author; "Ride the Journey," a book by Chris Cox, international horse trainer; and tips from a good friend of mine, Alecia Richard, a horse trainer in Norco.

Presentation Reflection

1)   The first interview affected my presentation in the way that it was based on basic horse hoof care. My interviewee, Nicole Hryn, said that it is important to have a basic understanding of equine medical care. Hoof health falls under that, and it is one of the most important things to know when it comes to working with horses.

2)   I think that the examples I used in my presentation stood out because I really knew what I was talking about. I researched the topics of thrush, loosing a shoe, and hoof cracks extensively, and I asked my riding friends what they knew on each subject. Thus, I found my examples the strong point of my presentation.

3)   The most challenging thing to do was finding imformation on hoof cracks. I myself have never experianced a hoof crack, and the research I found on it didn't tell me much. I talked to my trainer and some of my friends, and they were able to tell me what hoof cracks really were and how they affected the horse and how they could be treated.

Senior Project Presentation 1

Objective: To teach students how to properly care for a horses hooves.
Procedure:
1) Ask students if they've ever ridden a horse. If so, did they notice the state of the horse's hooves?
2) Explain my topic of hoof care, and how it effects horses and their ability to ride and be trained.
3) Share different methods and products that promote hoof health and help keep clear of future problems.
Check For Understanding: I will be asking questions throughout.
Resources and Materials:  I'm going to bring in the hoof care products that I use, and I will have a poster with various pictures of healthy hooves and unhealthy hooves.