- Breeding
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- Horse Breeding, Part 3: Birth and Care of a Foal
- A Brief History of Horse Breeding
- Buying a Horse
- When Dealing With Horses Get It in Writing - Sign Up for May 16 FREE Webinar
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- What do do when the Panic is On to keep our Horses Safe!
- General Horse Articles
- Is it my Fault--Or my Horse's
- Keeping the Horse Replenished - Equine Electrolytes
- Old Habits Die Hard
- Horse Feeding
- Ingredients in Feed that Affect Behavior
- A Look at Horse Feed
- You’ve Got the Right Feed, Now What?: Proper Feeding Practices
- Horse Grooming
- Equine Experts Send Us Your Best Tip - Win $750 Worth of KAM’s Healthy Horse Products and More
- What do do when the Panic is On to keep our Horses Safe!
- eZall Shine & Detangler Transforms Ratty Manes and Tails Into Flowing Tresses
- Horse Health Issues
- Essential Fatty Acids – The Functions and Benefits in Horses
- Common Horse Illnesses: Colic
- Horse Breeding: Covering a Mare
- Horse Training
- Training Mythunderstandings: Heeding Groundwork: Class Review
- Training Mythunderstandings: Little Things Do Mean a Lot
- Equestrian Education: Choosing the Right Horse School
- Horses & History
- A Brief History of Horse Breeding
- The Missing Equine Link: How the Modern Horse Came to Be
- Top 5 Strange and Unusual Horses
- Horses & Sports
- How to Prepare for Your First Equestrian Competition
- Relive Southern Eighths/Nikon Three-Day on YouTube
- Healthy Horse Boutique Supports Haddad Staller In Her Olympic Quest
The Top 4 Equine Colleges in the United States
03/30/2009
If you’re a young rider heading off to a university for the first time, you’re often torn between your desire to ride, and your family’s desire for you to go to college.
If you’re a young rider heading off to a university for the first time, you’re often torn between your desire to ride, and your family’s desire for you to go to college. Equine college can be the perfect compromise: students receive a 4-year degree from an accredited liberal arts college, while at the same time studying equine science and riding horses. Equine colleges and equine college programs are ranked differently than traditional colleges, a combination of the equine college’s liberal arts reputation, student-to-teacher ratio, number of horses, and number of riding hours. Here is a list of the top 4 ES equine colleges:
Centenary College
Centenary College is the perfect equine college if you plan on riding competitively. For the past decade, this equine college has been training riders with their top-division equestrian center. They also have a very well-respected liberal arts center, so you can get a balance of equine and non-equine education. Located in New Jersey, Centenary Equestrian College prides itself on rare, top-breed horses for many disciplines of riding: hunting, jumping, and dressage. And unlike some of the other main equine colleges, Centenary doesn’t require any previous horse riding experience: they take students from all levels.
Sweet Briar
The all-female jewel of equine colleges, Sweet Briar’s acclaimed liberal arts education is second only to their equestrian education. Sweet Briar has developed an international reputation that allows it to stand out from other equine colleges, due in part to its development in modern riding. As with equine colleges like Centenary, Sweet Briar emphasizes competitive riding training in their equine studies program. The program falls into three different areas of equestrian training: hunter/jumper/equitation, training young horses, and hunter-oriented cross country riding. While some people use this equine college’s program to become a successful competitor, others do it to improve their recreational riding while achieving their college degree. The major is also flexible, allowing for participants to also take pre-veterinary or business courses.
Virginia Intermont College
One of the few 4-year equine colleges in the United States, Virgina Intermont offers a great mix of academics and equestrian instruction. Unlike the two previous equine colleges, VIC doesn’t focus solely on riding, but is more concerned with the equine industry in general. Outside of training in hunting, jumping, and dressage riding, VIC also teaches barn management and equine health. There are a variety of courses in everything from barn management to teaching to anatomy and first aid. Participants in VIC will find their equine education is more well-rounded than at other equine colleges, with the option of team-focused equestrian sports training.
State University of New York-Morrisville
SUNY-Morrisville is one of the equine colleges that offers a Bachelors in Teaching with a concentration in Equine Science. This degree is for the equine student who desires to improve their technical and business savvy concerning the equine community. With concentrations in Equine Science and breeding management, students are able to get a hands-on knowledge of equine studies. And with SUNY’s excellent collegiate reputation, students can get a great all-around education, in and outside of the program.
