We all have a sticking point in certain subjects - in the equine world, some people are extremely knowledgeable on the ground but they lack the confidence to ride a horse well, others excel in the saddle and sometimes forget the more detailed parts of horse care. For some, however, the point at which they come unstuck is far more generalised - and I am one of those people. The one thing I have always struggled to get my head around is feeding a horse - I have an honours degree and many qualifications, but I will stare blankly into feed bins for a good ten minutes at a time before admitting defeat.
Half of the problem is that I am not involved in horse care on a daily basis, much as I would like to be. I was in the Pony Club as a teenager and learnt so much through that and working at my stables, and I even remember earning my feeding badge, but I also remember that it was a lot of hard work at the time, and that was a good decade ago.
So, with some vague mumblings about wanting to become a horse owner at some point in my life, I've always known I have to sharpen up the areas I'm lacking in - because a decade old feeding badge from the Pony Club is almost certainly out of date, not that I can remember anything from it anyway - before I take the plunge, for my peace of mind as much as the welfare of any horse that finds its way into my life. Reading Horse and Hound magazine and Your Horse's Twitter account, I found out about a free equine nutrition course being run through the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Edinburgh. Basically, the course is five weeks long, it aims to teach you not just about what to feed and when but also physiology, dietary management and how to understand all of it. And the best part? Did I mention it's free?
I've signed up for the course - 3-4 hours a week can easily be fitted around a full-time job - which is entirely online, along with over 10,000 other people, in the hope that this time around, something might stick in my head!
To learn more about the course and enrol, click here.
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