WATERBURY - The Equine Management program at Teikyo Post University is going from strength to strength with new Career Specialties in place and a big demand for graduates from the horse industry.

This year is particularly exciting as the partnership with Rivers Edge Farm in Bethany gets underway, with a nine-stall aisle being leased to house horses used exclusively in the program together with some students’ own horses

“This is a new venture for us,” says Carole Baker, Director of Equine Programs for the past four years, “but it is a great move forward for the program.”

Students will be responsible for running the aisle to a very high standard of horse care and thus gaining valuable hands-on experience. It will also serve as a focus for the program and offer the equestrian team more opportunities to practice.

”We are pleased to be working with Susan Horn, who has always been a great supporter of the equine program here at TPU,” Baker said.

More than 30 new students are registered for classes starting September 6, including freshmen and transfer students. This is the largest incoming class in the history of the equine program at TPU.

“Apart from our own aisle, I think that part of this growth is due to the three Career Specialties which have been incorporated into the program,” says Baker. ‘When any of these qualifications are combined with the equine and business courses we offer, students certainly have a great base to launch a successful career.” 

Now being offered within the program is a Therapeutic Riding Instructor Certification through a partnership with High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center in Old Lym,e and a certification in Trigger Point Myotherapy through the partnership with Equi-Myo in North Granby.  Also available is a Study Abroad semester at Talland School of Equitation in the United Kingdom, for intensive training to gain the British Horse Society Preliminary Instructor certification.

“I am sure the program will continue to grow as we offer students the tools they need to reach their goals,” Baker says as she prepares for a busy year ahead.