Few people think of the horse as a collegiate teaching tool. The horse is an animal of extraordinary grace and speed, more like a work of art than a textbook or a set of equations.
Still, the horse is a valuable educational tool, one that students and professors at MTSU utilize nearly every day of the school year.
Granted, the school stables aren’t located in the heart of campus, and horses don’t roam the green spaces on campus or clatter down the hallways of the Davis Science Building. Take a 15-minute drive, however, and you’ll find the MTSU Horse Science Center, located just off Thompson Lane.
The program is part of the School of Agribusiness and Agriscience and is dedicated to educating students about all aspects of the modern equine through classroom work and hands-on experience.
Like any other department on campus, the HSC is full of professors and students on a daily basis. Some 86 majors and nearly 100 minors attend their horse-related classes in the center. One additional element, however, makes the HSC unique. It’s attached directly to the school stables, where the ingredient that makes everything possible is housed: horses.
One swing of the door leaves the traditional classrooms and lobby of the HSC behind, and suddenly the aroma of horses, pine shavings and leather prevails. If you are a horse person, such scents are synonymous with heaven.
And if you are a Horse Science student, you know that college never smelled so good.
The Horse Science program is unique in that “professors” are not limited to the two-legged variety. In addition to its talented human faculty and staff, the program utilizes some 45 horses for both riding and judging classes, as well as a small herd of breeding stock.
Every horse on the property possesses some quality or skill that makes it a valuable teaching animal.
“All of these horses have something to show every rider,” says Christine Henry, a sophomore from Marietta, Ga.
She entered MTSU in May 2008 and began working at the barn in June.
Henry has ridden every school horse available in the stables, so she knows what she’s talking about.
“The horses bring the textbook material to life,” Henry explains. “Without them, we’d only have bones,” she says, referring to the skeleton of the horse that stands in the corner of one of the HSC classrooms.
The school horses are either donated by their owners or bred and raised there. They range in age from foals to 20-somethings, and come in all shapes, sizes, colors and skill levels. Many were award-winning show horses before they came to the center.
Most of the school horses came to the university both for a second chance and for a good home, according to Henry. At least one horse in the MTSU barn might have ended up dead had she not come to the program.
“Crossword was a show pony who had some terrible experiences with [horse] trailers,” Henry explains. “She destroyed at least two trailers and probably would have been euthanized if she hadn’t been sent here instead. Fortunately, she can live here on the property year-round.”
Crossword is used for both equitation classes and equestrian team lessons. She has taught countless people how to hone their skills during her time in the program.
“These horses come here for a second chance,” Henry declares. “They love their jobs, and they are treated like the superstars they are.”
Of course, Crossword is just one of many school horses who help educate students who come through the program.
“The horses at MTSU have been a great influence on my education in helping me to understand horses, how they function and what makes them tick,” says Carol Gaw Laine, a Horse Science sophomore from Lebanon, Tenn.
While Laine has always been passionate about horses, she was deathly afraid of them until just a few years ago.
“MTSU’s horses have helped me come to know what is typical equine behavior and response, and [have] lessened my fear tremendously,” she says.
Owen the Big and Comfy are two horses who have had a tremendous impact on Laine.
“I learned, and continue to learn, to have patience with Owen and [to] ask him to do things in a way he understands.” Laine says. “Owen’s size is very intimidating, but with help, I have learned to see him for what he is and not what he appears to be.”
Laine has, in the past three years, progressed from being afraid of horses to competing in her first two jumping shows this past summer.
“I have learned so much from the horses in the program.” she explains. “To ride correctly takes a huge amount of physicality, but mentally it is way more involved. [The horses] have taught me to stay in the moment and to be present with them, not thinking of anything else.”
Patrick Kayser, professor of equine health and equine reproductive physiology, finds that having the horses nearby improves his teaching style as well. Since the center keeps Tennessee Walking Horse breeding stock on the property, Kayser’s Equine Reproduction and Breeding classes are able to witness elements of the horse breeding industry firsthand.
In addition to being four-legged teachers, both Heydare and Seve serve as good ambassadors for the program to the public.
“A lot of people [from the community] come to see our horses.” Kayser says. “We are one of the signature programs of the university, and we are well-recognized as a leader of equine education in the horse community.”
Whereas any student can ask any professor to elaborate on his experiences, it takes a special language to communicate with a horse. Teaching that language to students is what Horse Science is all about.
“Students often limit themselves by their own expectations,” Kayser says. “[If] you push them to exceed their own expectations, they begin to realize what’s possible, and they really progress forward from that point.”
If they could talk, the MTSU school horses would undoubtedly agree with him.
Horses enlighten, engage students
Published: Monday, November 2, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 2, 2009
3 comments
Nanette Levin
Sorry Allison, I didn't realize this comment went through. I think you will have a lot of fun this spring. Is there someone I can talk to about this program?
Allison Armstrong
Thanks for reading! I haven't taken the Repro class yet (it's in my schedule for the spring), but I do know the mares are bred so as to (hopefully) foal during the semester so the students can actively engage in the care of the horses, including the nutrition and medical treatments. The students also work with the stallions. It's a lecture/lab format class, so everything learned in the classroom can be reinforced by the lab sessions and vice versa. I am really looking forward to it.
Nanette Levin, publisher, Horse Sense and Cents series (books)
This sounds like a great program (and it was a fun story to read). It is wonderful to hear that you are providing a second chance and good homes for horses that may otherwise be discarded (sad as it is). I am also intrigued by the breeding program idea at the school. This must provide an unusual hands-on education for those who may go on to work with breeding farms. How much is shared with students relative to nutrition, medical treatments and other issues with the mare and foal?
