Equine Welfare and Management on Coursera

Hosted on the Coursera platform, this is an online course consisting of pre-recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer-reviewed assignments and community discussion forums. This course is self-paced and designed to teach you a new skill in as few as 4-6 weeks.

This unique course was developed by veterinarians at the world-renowned University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. The course will address horsemanship from a welfare perspective, within the context of “The Five Freedoms” of animal welfare. We’ll explore equine physiology, behavior and basic needs, including housing, nutrition, hygiene and disease management. You’ll learn how to perform basic tasks to assess the overall condition of the horse and identify problem areas. We’ll also examine the specialized needs of the equine athlete and the major responsibilities we as owners, handlers or competitors must assume in order to ensure the health and welfare of our equine companions. Finally, we’ll examine several special topics in equine welfare, including disaster planning and the international welfare efforts now in place to protect working horses and other equids in key industries such as racing, international competition, tourism and mining. By the conclusion of this self-paced course, you will be well equipped to develop a comprehensive welfare plan for any horses in your care.