Equine, Leisure and Sports
Bachelor of Animal Husbandry
Content programme
First and second year
The first year is designed to give you an overall picture of the field. Learn for example about the influence European policies have on national practice, or about the best feed a horse should get.
In collaboration with other institutes and businesses in the Netherlands, you will gain a broad practical experience of equine work. This will be backed up by topics such as animal welfare, laws and regulations, public information, marketing, policy choices and communication.
In the second year, many subjects will serve as a preparation for the final two years. Some, such as breeding, reproduction, genetics and ethics, relate to the horse itself. Others, such as riding arenas, stall design, ventilation and training facilities, concern agricultural technologies. Business plans and business economics relate to business issues.
Then there are customer issues, such as marketing, market research and consumer behaviour. And communication, which involves analysis and criticism, presentation techniques and staffing. Each of these subjects is combined with the practical skills you learn during your ten-week work placement, so that when you start your third year you will be fully prepared.
Third and fourth year
In the second half of year three you will carry out a 20-week work placement in a secondary or tertiary equine business. Examples of organisations for work placements are: the National Equine Sport Federation (KNHS), event organising businesses, feed producers, breeding associations, equestrian magazines, import or sales companies and equestrian education institutes.
Before you start your work placement, you will spend one more semester at Van Hall Larenstein, covering a range of horse-related subjects, plus Project and Event Management, Human Resource Management, Equine Enterprise Analysis, Creative Entrepreneurship, Sports Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.
In the fourth year, you will choose a minor and a topic for your thesis. One of the minors offered at Van Hall Larenstein is Equine Sports Science, which focuses on training horses to achieve top sporting results. However, it is also possible to take your minor at a university in, for instance, the UK or Austria. You can study Event Organisation, Stud Management or Leisure Management abroad.
The course culminates in the preparation of a research thesis on an approved topic in the field of Equine Leisure and Sports.