Equine Science
Through 4-H Equine Science projects and events, you can learn and improve your knowledge of horse biology and equine competition standards. Our 4-H Horse Project leaders are dedicated to creating safe, positive experiences!
Join our 4-H Equine Science Program email list!
Receive event information and program updates!
Join the 4-H Equine Facebook Group!
Connect with California 4-H leaders and families in 4-H Horse Projects, learn about events and opportunities.
Statewide Horse Events
Calendar
You can subscribe to the 4-H Google Calendars to keep track of upcoming events of interest. Event listings are sponsored by California 4-H as well as other organizations. Please contact Erica Pettey at eapettey@ucanr.edu to get your event added to the Google calendar.
Subscribe to 4-H Horse Events calendar
Public Speaking
Team and Individual Demonstration Presentations
Hippology
Horse Bowl
Horse Judging
Horse Bowl
Western
Ranch Riding
English
Jumping
Gymkhana
Miniature
Horse Educational Contests - Learning Resources
Horse Educational Contests - Rules and Scoring
All of the rules and scoring guidance shared in these documents match the National 4-H contest rules and guidelines. You can use these to host your own local contest and also to prepare to participate at the state and national levels.
Horse Bowl Study Materials
Horse Bowl teams are required to submit questions to be used in the contest.
Questions must come from the following official reference sources.
Format for the questions must include question, answer, source, and page number.
True/false, yes/no, either/or questions are undesirable.
IDET - Illustrated Dictionary of Equine Terms by New Horizon Equine Center, Inc., Alpine Publications, Inc.
HIH - Horse Industry Handbook (with 2021 updates), by the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC)
LEWIS - Feeding and Care of the Horse (2nd Edition) by Lon D. Lewis. Wiley - Feeding and Care of the Horse
HS - Horse Smarts - Horse Industry Handbooks and Updates, by AYHC
ANATOMY - The Coloring Atlas of Horse Anatomy, by Robert Kainer & Thomas McCracken, Alpine Publications, Inc.
EVANS - The Horse (3rd Edition), by J. Warrant Evans et al., Waveland Press, Inc. (New for 2023)
PARKER - Equine Science (5th Edition), by Rick Parker (Removed ?)
AQHA - 2023 AQHA Rulebook (71st Edition), (SHW300-SHW712); only show rules will be used. Listed as source for Western, NOT Eastern contest)
Hippology Study Materials
All of the information covered in the Hippology Contest may be found in one or more of the following publications.
IDET - Illustrated Dictionary of Equine Terms by New Horizon Equine Center, Inc., Alpine Publications, Inc.
HIH - Horse Industry Handbook (with 2021 updates), by the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC)
LEWIS - Feeding and Care of the Horse (2nd Edition) by Lon D. Lewis. Wiley - Feeding and Care of the Horse
HS - Horse Smarts - Horse Industry Handbooks and Updates, by AYHC
ANATOMY - The Coloring Atlas of Horse Anatomy, by Robert Kainer & Thomas McCracken, Alpine Publications, Inc.
EVANS - The Horse (3rd Edition), by J. Warrant Evans et al., Waveland Press, Inc. (New for 2023)
PARKER - Equine Science (5th Edition), by Rick Parker (Removed ?)
AQHA - 2023 AQHA Rulebook (71st Edition), (SHW300-SHW712) ; only show rules will be used.
Dover Saddlery - English Tack Resource
Schneider Saddlery - English and Western Tack Resource
OTHER - Grains, forages, and feed preparations used in this contest will be representative of feeds utilized in horse rations.
Additional Horse Bowl Study Resources
North Caroline State Extension - Sample Horse Bowl Questions
North Carolina State Extension - Digital Resources for Horse Bowl & Hippology
Iowa State University Extension - Preparing for Hippology and Quiz Bowl
Additional Hippology Study Resources
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - 4-H Hippology Resources
North Carolina State Extension - 4-H Hippology Resources
University of Florida Extension - 4-H Hippology Resources
North Carolina State Extension - Digital Resources for Horse Bowl & Hippology
Iowa State University Extension - Preparing for Hippology and Quiz Bowl
Virginia Cooperative Extension - Hippology Study Materials
Judging Contest Study Materials
North Carolina State Extension - Horse Judging Resource Material
Project Sheets
Project Sheets are a guide for Project Leaders to develop lessons with meaningful content and a reference for families and youth to learn about the types of projects that might be available. Not all projects have Project Sheets available. You will find links for available Project Sheets below.
Equine Hippology/Judging
Therapeutic Large Animals
Questions?
Please contact Erica Pettey at eapettey@ucanr.edu