Released April 1, 2011
PERRYVILLE, Ark. - When spring break rolls around, most make it a point to avoid working.
This spring break, 4-H'ers from all across Arkansas spent their spring break working - but working with something they love - horses.
Teens from Faulkner, Lonoke, Marion, Pope, Saline, Stone, and White counties shuttled between the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Ferndale and Diamond TR Ranch near the Pulaski-Perry county line for nearly a week of lessons and other activities during the 2011 Spring 4-H Equine Camp.
"The camp is an opportunity for participants to improve their riding and all - around horsemanship skills," said Mark Russell, extension instructor-equine, for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
The camp participants witnessed horseshoeing and hoof care demonstrations from a local farrier and watched a vet perform routine care on horses, such as worming. Of course, there was plenty of work to be done. Stalls had to be cleaned, stall bedding had to be changed and horses, in the midst of shedding winter coats, needed a good brushing.
Shannon Caldwell, 4-H camping coordinator, said that in between riding sessions, the camp participants did a wide variety of non-horse activities, including:
- Built and launched a two-liter bottle rocket
- Learned constellations in a portable planetarium (StarLab)
- Made cakes in a scooped out orange at the campfire
- Participated in an egg toss competition
Equine communications skills
On the final day of camp, the participants honed their equine communications skills as Russell asked them to drop their reins and steer their horses with only their legs and weight. It's a skill that takes a confident seat and an ability to ensure the horse is paying attention to its rider's signals. Once the riders were able to navigate the edges of the ring, Russell set up a more challenging test - setting up a line of cones for a rein-less slalom.
"It was really great to see the riders' skill level grow so much in such a short time," Russell said. "On the first day, one rider could barely even mount her horse. By the end of the camp, the two were working as a team."
This is the first time the 4-H Equine camp has been offered at spring break. 4-H is a program of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
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University of Arkansas, http://www.uaex.edu/news/april2011/0401_4H_Equine_Camp.htm
Contact: Mary Hightower, (501) 671-2126, mhightower@uaex.edu
