Hi Everyone and welcome to Week 3 of the OEEEP program!  The first two weeks have been filled with new information about the anatomy and physiology of the horse so we now turn our attention to Unit 2 where you will learn important information about handling the horse. The horse is a 1000 lb animal, so being safety-aware is an important skill for each of us to learn.  It is also important, for those that may have had some horse experience, to not get over-confident or allowing distractions (like your cell phone!) that keep you from being focused on the horse and its behaviour.  So, take the time to review the lessons of Unit 2 and learn best practices and approaches for handling the horse to keep you and the horse safe!

Unsafe practices or inattention/prevention of accidents when handling horses can cause injury to the horse, and also to you, so learn safety when around a horse, stay alert to the surroundings and the behaviour of the horse, and you will be well on your way to developing a safe environment for all.

Some of you have added some great questions to the discussions as well as sharing your experiences, so keep that up as it all contributes to the learning community that we share.