Abstract
Abstract Functional Extension programming for equine owners and business operators brings unique challenges when compared to other commodity producers. The initial Tennessee Master Horse Program (TMHP) curriculum and delivery method was modeled from other successful Extension programs using a county-based, in-person training model; however, implementation of county-level offerings of the TMHP for 4 years only yielded 218 participants. Thus, our objective was to pilot a new online program format for the TMHP and to assess participant feedback to dictate future programming efforts. Data were analyzed using STATA SE 16.1 and all results are reported as mean ± SD. The THMP was hosted by the state Equine Extension Program within the Google Classroom platform and contained 12 synchronous webinars with successive recordings, 3 scenarios for participant response, 10 question submission assignments, and 14 opportunities to explore outside resources pertaining to topic areas. Topics covered included responsible horse ownership, pasture management, nutrition, forages, waste management, health and diseases, economics, and equine training programs. Total participants (n = 201) from 12 states were reached, with 162 ± 29 (min=110, max=201) live attendees each week and 35 ± 4.1 (min=15, max=61) views per recorded YouTube video. During live sessions, 56 ± 18 (min=21, max=75) questions were asked and answered, and an additional 82 ± 35 (min=43, max=140) questions per week were submitted in the Google Classroom. In the final TMHP evaluation survey, 99% (n = 95) of respondents indicated they would recommend this training to others, which may be due to highly satisfactory ratings for speakers (4.54 ± 0.15 on a 1 to 5 scale, min=1, max=5) from participants. These results indicate a high acceptance rate among participants and that an online delivery method could be an effective approach for conducting and expanding the scope of future TMHP offerings.
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