How to Develop Effective Training Models for Youth Horse Bowl & Hippology Teams

Determine the rules of the contests in which the youths intend to participate. Many of the hosted contests across the United States follow the National 4-H Horse Classic contest rules. Some breed associations, such as the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), offer contests with rules similar to the National 4-H Horse Classic rules. Both the National 4-H Horse Classic horse quiz bowl and the AQHA youth horse quiz bowl utilize three types of questions- one-on-one, toss-up and team bonus. Many hippololgy contests utilize four phases: stations, team problem, written exam and horse judging.

Identify the resources utilized by the contest. The Western Division National 4-H Horse Classic hippology contest resource materials include the Equus magazine glossary; "The Horse" by Evans, Borton, Hintz, and Van Vleck; "Feeding and Care of the Horse-Second Edition" by Lewis, Williams, and Wilkins; "The Horse Industry Handbooks and Youth Leaders Manual" and the "Equus Illustrated Handbook of Equine Anatomy." The Western National 4-H Horse Classic horse bowl contest utilizes the "Illustrated Dictionary of Equine Terms" and the AQHA rule book, in addition to their hippology contest resources. The Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup quiz bowl and hippology contests use "The Coloring Atlas of Horse Anatomy"; "Equine Science: Basic Knowledge For Horse People of All Ages"; the Dover Saddlery Catalog; and the Smith Brothers Catalog, in addition to the resources used by the Western Nationals.

Secure study materials. Purchasing the contest's specific resources is a great place to begin. If you can only purchase a few resources, look for ones that are used in multiple contests. Resources may also be available for loan from your local cooperative extension office. The Internet is a valuable tool for finding sample contest questions. Many websites compile test questions used in hippology and quiz bowl. For example the Penn State College of Agricultural Science website (http://www.das.psu.edu/4h/horses/rules-references-and-resources/hippology) offers many questions from past National 4-H Roundup competitions. The "Horse Learning Laboratory Kit" created by Ohio State University, is an excellent hands-on resource for studying hippology station identification, hippology exam questions and quiz bowl toss up questions.

Study resource materials. Study sessions should be done individually and in group settings because in some parts of the contest the youths work individually and in other parts they work as a team. The use of hands-on study tools, such as the "Horse Learning Laboratory Kit," can greatly enhance learning. Quiz bowl contestants must prepare for one-on-one questions, which are answered individually, toss up questions, which students must buzz in for, and team bonus questions, on which the team confers together and then answers. Hippology students must prepare for written exam phase questions much like the ones used in quiz bowl. In the station phase of hippology, youths must be able to complete stations that may ask them to identify different types of breeds of horses, parts of saddles, types of horse equipment, types of horse shoes, types of forages and grains, types of parasites or telling the age of a horse by its teeth. During the team problem phase of hippology, contestants must work as a team and present a solution to a problem such as preparing a horse's feed ration, selecting a horse, assembling horse-related equipment, solving training problems or managing a horse's behavior. The judging phase of hipplogy asks youths to make a comparative evaluation of a set of horses on conformation or performance.