Equine Summer Study

The past four weeks in Scotland has been very enriching, and the courses have been very interesting. Through this program, I have improved my English riding technique, had the opportunity to do small jumps, and dressage work. The instructors for riding will give you many critiques as well as encouragement. There are a variety of horses (and with that, temperaments) here at the stables at the Oatridge campus. The equine anatomy and physiology course has been interactive and hands-on. When we were learning about the muscles and bones of the horse, we had the chance to stick labels on live horses and see where these structures were on the actual animal. We learned about the major organ systems in the class. There was an overview of each system and some details about the types of cells in each system. The equine fitness class has taught me more about the different disciplines that you can train a horse for. I haven't competed with horses while growing up, so this has been a great introduction into eventing, dressage, polo, and other areas of competition. I've also liked getting to see how different muscles and skills are necessary based on the discipline. Overall, I have learned quite a bit from this program from riding to the fitness required for different levels of horse competitions. I have not been a big fan of the food here. The options are different than what I'm used to eating back home. There are usually more options with curry and ALWAYS chips (fries) offered with every meal. However, there is always at least two options for food and supplementary food can be purchased from the nearby "Walmart" (ASDA), which we frequent on a weekly basis for supplies. The landscape of Scotland is truly the rolling green pastures with some mountains in the distance. It's simply gorgeous, and the locals are very friendly. I've also learned more about the culture (including common Scottish lingo) and met people from a wide variety of horsie backgrounds.