COURSES FOR HORSES SET TO START AT COLLEGE
A TOTALLY new range of courses aimed at those interested in horses could be starting up at the Lews Castle College soon.
And the first part-time course will get under way next month - a five week course with two-hour sessions every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning.
This course is aimed at people over-16, perhaps the parents of youngsters with horses and young people interested in working with horses in the future.
If this course is successful, then further courses, including some aimed at children, will be run, and it is hoped that a full-scale HNC course in equestrian management could start in autumn next year.
The courses are being organised by veterinary surgeon Janet Smith and riding instructor Kathleen Connor and the aim is " to enable the students to develop skills to care for and maintain the health and well-being of horses."
The course is aimed at everybody, whether a horse owner or not, unlike the courses generally run through pony or horse-riding clubs. There is no previous experience needed at all and no riding is involved in the course which is split between theoretical and practical sessions each week.
One of the advantages of the course - which will cost £40 - for parents would be that they could learn what they would letting themselves in for if they bought a horse for a child.
The two organisers said there was increasing interest in horses on the Islands and at the moment any young person who wanted to pursue such an interest properly had to leave the Islands, working in stables on the mainland where they tended to be exploited. There were a lot of career opportunities linked with horses, they said.
Janet Smith said she had frequently seen horses on the Island which were not in the best condition and the course would train people how to feed, care for, and maintain the horse, and cope with day-to-day problems without running up vet bills.
There will be a limit of 15 people on the course and five or six horses will available for the Saturday morning practical session which will cover things like grooming, catching horses, and feeding.
Other aspects to be covered include road safety, the behaviour of horses, and the handling and training of young stock.
Those completing the course will get an official certificate detailing what aspect of horse care they have covered which would count towards full-scale courses run elsewhere.
It is hoped that Lews Castle College will be able to add facilities over the next year which will enable a wider range of courses to be followed.
Original article Stornoway Gazette Apr 14 1997.
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