AD3ESM: Equine Science and Management

Module code: AD3ESM

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Rachael Neal , email: r.a.neal@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Kirsty Kliem, email: k.e.kliem@reading.ac.uk

Additional teaching staff 1: Dr Kirsty Kliem, email: k.e.kliem@reading.ac.uk

Additional teaching staff 2: Dr Kate Johnson, email: k.f.johnson@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

You’ll learn about the continuing centrality of equids (horses and donkeys) to leisure, sport and in rural businesses, through gaining a deeper understanding of equine health, nutrition, welfare and breeding. Equids are not the same as ruminants, having specific dietary, behavioural and health needs and you’ll evaluate the evidence for how we feed, breed and keep horses. This is supported by visits to equine organisations to gain practical insight, develop skills in creating and critically evaluating evidence based best practice in equine management For students who’ve not studied much health/nutrition/welfare science in the past there is accessible additional reading to help you prepare.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Critically discuss the biology underlying equine physiology, nutrition, health and welfare
2. Critically evaluate scientific evidence and current research and formulate practical recommendations in equine science and management, communicating these to both scientific and non-specialist audiences
3. Critically discuss and synthesise evidence-based management plans in applied equine science topics

Module content

• Equine evolution as a grazing animal
• Equine digestive physiology and nutrition 
• Equine health, including management and prevention of nutritional pathologies (laminitis, equine gastric ulceration etc.), grazing parasites and infectious diseases
• Equine exercise physiology and the science of equine training 
• Equine reproductive biology and how this interacts with practical constraints of commercial breeding and equine health 
• Equine behaviour and welfare 
• Visits to different equine organisations and/or visiting industry speakers 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

A weekly interactive lecture series will be complemented with visits and/or industry speakers.

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Weekly journal club where students will take turns analysing the evidence in the literature and receive feedback from peers and tutors to develop key skills in literature analysis necessary for all final year modules (including the dissertation).  

Reassessment

Additional costs