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Using Tennessee youth hippology contest results as a needs assessment for 4-H horse project members and development of a train-the-trainer program for Tennessee extension agents.
Abstract: Land-Grant Institutions and Cooperative Extension Services seek to disseminate information to the public; however, Extension agents differ in areas of expertise, leaving some counties with minimal ability to provide 4-H horse project members with sufficient content knowledge while agents in other counties are more well versed in equine-specific areas. Results from the 2021 and 2023 Tennessee regional and 2022 Eastern National 4-H Hippology contests were used to determine areas of knowledge deficiency. Nutrition, tack, selection, health, and breeds were categories identified as areas in which 4-12 grade youth lacked adequate knowledge and a training program and new curriculum was developed and delivered to county extension agents in effort to greater their equine knowledge and teaching strategies to disseminate this information to their 4-H Horse Project members and hippology teams. Statistical analysis was conducted using SAS v9.4 (Cary, NC). Nutrition questions were most often missed by senior and junior high youth (k = 7.8, 51.94%; k = 7.5, 44.22%) whereas junior youth missed training questions most frequently (k = 4.9, 54.14%). Of the 5 topic areas of deficiency, selection questions were the lowest percentage missed by senior and junior high youth (k = 5.9, 36.81%; k = 7.1, 39.53%) whereas junior youth missed health questions least frequently (k = 4, 39.87%). It was found that training status had no significant effect on scores from year to year. However, significant effects were found when comparing across question category ( < 0.0001), age group ( < 0.0001), and year ( < 0.0001). Despite the lack of training effect, these findings still prove valuable when assessing performance upholding the extension mission of delivering science-based information to the next generation of industry professionals.
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.
Publication Date: 2025-06-23 PubMed ID: 40589875PubMed Central: PMC12207865DOI: 10.1093/tas/txaf068Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This research focuses on understanding the areas of knowledge deficiency among Tennessee youth interested in horse-keeping, utilizing results from hippology contests, and developing a train-the-trainer program for extension agents to remedy these deficiencies.
Study Context
- The study context was driven by the aim of Land-Grant Institutions and Cooperative Extension Services to disseminate quality information to the public, even though Extension agents could differ significantly in their expertise areas. This inconsistency often results in some 4-H horse project members receiving less content knowledge compared to others, as the agents’ equine-specific knowledge varies from county to county.
Methodology
- The researchers used results from the 2021 and 2023 Tennessee regional and the 2022 Eastern National 4-H Hippology contests to identify areas where the 4-12 grade youth lacked sufficient knowledge about horses.
- The topics of nutrition, tack selection, health, and assorted horse breeds were the primary areas of deficiency discovered through this analysis.
- To address these deficiencies, a training program and new curriculum were developed for county extension agents to boost their equine knowledge and improve their teaching strategies.
- Statistical analysis of the data collected was performed with the use of SAS v9.4 software.
Findings
- It was found that senior and junior high youth most frequently missed questions pertaining to nutrition. For junior youth, training questions were most often missed.
- Among the identified areas of deficiency, selection-themed questions were least frequently missed by senior and junior high youth. As for junior youth, they missed health-related questions the least.
- The study discovered no significant effect on scores from year to year due to training status. However, significant effects were identifiable when comparing across question category, age group, and year.
Implications
- Even though the lack of training effect was found to be insignificant, the discovered data is still valuable for assessing the performance as well as fulfilling the extension mission of passing science-based information to future industry professionals.
- This study emphasizes the necessity to equip extension agents with more thorough and specific knowledge, enhancing the quality of information passed on to 4-H horse project members and hippology teams.
Cite This Article
APA
Main SC, Ivey JLZ, Strickland LG, Rhinehart JD, Sun X.
(2025).
Using Tennessee youth hippology contest results as a needs assessment for 4-H horse project members and development of a train-the-trainer program for Tennessee extension agents.
Transl Anim Sci, 9, txaf068.
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txaf068 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- University of Tennessee, Department of Animal Science, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- University of Tennessee, Department of Animal Science, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- University of Tennessee, Department of Animal Science, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- University of Tennessee, Department of Animal Science, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- University of Tennessee Extension, Office of the Dean, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- University of Tennessee, Office of Innovative Technologies, Knoxville, TN, USA.
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