Horse Science

Gain equine education skills for teaching, coaching, or leadership roles. Choose thesis or non-thesis tracks.

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Horse Science, Equine Education Concentration, M.S.

The Equine Education concentration offers a skill set needed to teach and provide instruction at a postsecondary equine program or leadership within the Cooperative Extension Service.

Students in the Equine Education concentration have the option to conduct and complete a traditional, research-based thesis project or to select a non-thesis option.

There are many career options for graduates of this program, and they may include:

  • Lecturer
  • Coach
  • Extension Service Agent
  • Equine Program Instructor

Faculty members mentor students in curriculum development and provide training in scientific methods, principles of equine student education and instruction, and general industry practices.

All M.S. degree candidates share a common core of coursework in statistics, research methods, and multiple disciplines in horse science and animal science.

A significant number of elective credit hours are available, permitting each student to customize the program with courses in other departments.

A limited number of graduate teaching assistantships are available.

If you live in one of these states: WV; you may be able to attend MTSU at in-state rates under the Academic Common Market program.

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Careers
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News Briefs

Horse Science Graduate Students present research and receive recognition at international conference

The Equine Science Society held its biannual Symposium in Grapevine, Texas in June 2023. During this Symposium, students and professionals alike presented recent research, networked, and collaborated on future research. Two students in the M.S. Horse Science Equine Physiology program presented research (Jenelle Stellmack and Alyson Snyder), along with one Undergraduate student (Fallon Marshall). Graduate student Jenelle Stellmack was awarded 3rd place in the Production and Management Graduate Student Competition, and 2nd Alternate in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science Publication Award. Jenelle's abstract was titled 'Comparison of Physically conditioned and non-conditioned university horses after semester break.' All abstracts are published with conference proceedings in the special issue of the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.

MTSU students teach horsemanship clinics in Europe

Horse Science graduate students Helen Hardy, Ariel Herrin and Andrea (Smith) Rego conducted international horsemanship clinics in Europe in summer 2015 after MTSU won a grant from the American Quarter Horse Association. Dr. Holly Spooner, director of the Horse Science master's program, headed up the overseas trip that also included undergraduates Seneca Ewing and Delaney Rostad. "The chance to travel to these countries and see other parts of the world, all while spreading my passion of the American Quarter Horse, is without a doubt the experience of a lifetime," says Herrin, a 2014 world champion. The Middle Tennessee State University students expanded their teaching and horsemanship skills while meeting new friends in Sweden and England, Spooner says. "We definitely learned that the language of horses is universal," Rego says. Hardy says she learned from both participants and fellow clinicians: "I am so fortunate to have gained a unique perspective on the international industry that have benefitted me as an instructor and rider."

News Briefs

Horse Science Graduate Students present research and receive recognition at international conference

The Equine Science Society held its biannual Symposium in Grapevine, Texas in June 2023. During this Symposium, students and professionals alike presented recent research, networked, and collaborated on future research. Two students in the M.S. Horse Science Equine Physiology program presented research (Jenelle Stellmack and Alyson Snyder), along with one Undergraduate student (Fallon Marshall). Graduate student Jenelle Stellmack was awarded 3rd place in the Production and Management Graduate Student Competition, and 2nd Alternate in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science Publication Award. Jenelle's abstract was titled 'Comparison of Physically conditioned and non-conditioned university horses after semester break.' All abstracts are published with conference proceedings in the special issue of the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.

MTSU students teach horsemanship clinics in Europe

Horse Science graduate students Helen Hardy, Ariel Herrin and Andrea (Smith) Rego conducted international horsemanship clinics in Europe in summer 2015 after MTSU won a grant from the American Quarter Horse Association. Dr. Holly Spooner, director of the Horse Science master's program, headed up the overseas trip that also included undergraduates Seneca Ewing and Delaney Rostad. "The chance to travel to these countries and see other parts of the world, all while spreading my passion of the American Quarter Horse, is without a doubt the experience of a lifetime," says Herrin, a 2014 world champion. The Middle Tennessee State University students expanded their teaching and horsemanship skills while meeting new friends in Sweden and England, Spooner says. "We definitely learned that the language of horses is universal," Rego says. Hardy says she learned from both participants and fellow clinicians: "I am so fortunate to have gained a unique perspective on the international industry that have benefitted me as an instructor and rider."

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CAREERS

A wide variety of careers are associated with the horse industry. A student’s talent may pertain directly to horses or to science, education, marketing, management, or business. Some potential career options with advanced degrees in Horse Science follow:

  • Collegiate horsemanship instructor or equestrian team coach
  • Community college or technical school instructor
  • Equine behaviorist
  • Equine exercise physiologist
  • Equine facilities manager
  • Equine nutritionist, equine feed specialist, or nutrition laboratory technician
  • Equine reproductive physiologist
  • Horse extension specialist or extension agent
  • Instructor or program coordinator of therapeutic riding and equine-assisted therapies
  • Journalist for major horse publications (breed or discipline-specific magazines)
  • Pasture management specialist
  • Pharmaceutical representative for equine products
  • University instructor or teaching professor specializing in horses
  • Collegiate coaches and instructors
  • Youth coaches and instructors
  • University and private labs
  • Private business ownership
  • Equine Affairs
  • High School Agriculture teachers/FFA advisors

Employers of MTSU alumni

  • Middle Tennessee State University
  • American Quarter Horse Association
  • American Paint Horse Association
  • Mars Petcare
  • Excel Equine
  • Horse trainers
  • Pfizer
  • Alltech
  • 4-H or Adult Extension agents in numerous states
  • Youth Equestrian Development Association
  • FarmVet
  • Purina
  • Nutrena
  • Tribute

 

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