EquiSTEP

The EquiSTEP Program is required for ALL 4-H Horse members! Failure to complete the online course will result in the members' inability to participate in the Franklin County Fair.

Franklin County 4-H Horse Advisory Committee Equine Safety and Ethics Programs

General Horse Exhibitor Rules

• Waivers: All exhibitors of 4-H Horse Projects (On special exhibit or Not on special exhibit) and their guardian must have completed the Franklin County 4-H Horse Advisory Committee Equine Safety and Ethics Program. The following must be on file with the Franklin County Extension Office:

• Completion of the Ohio 4-H EquiSTEP Program.

• The Ohio 4-H Permission to Participate in 4-H Horse Activities Disclosure and Release, signed by 4-Her and guardian. This is now a part of your online 4-H enrollment.

• The Franklin County Agricultural Society Equine Activities Release of Claims Waiver, signed by 4-Her and guardian (signed and submitted for the current year). A copy can be found on the forms page.

To Complete the EquiSTEP Program (Equine Safety, Training, and Education Program)  

• EquiSTEP is an annual statewide requirement for all youth participating in Ohio 4-H Horse Program activities.  EquiSTEP replaces the statewide requirement of reading the Horses, Safety, and You (191R) resource and viewing the Every Time, Every Ride and Horses, Kids, and Ethics videos for youth and their families who are new to the 4-H horse program. The EquiSTEP curriculum focuses on helmet safety, equine safety & handling, equine health & nutrition, and sportsmanship and is designed to rotate topics every year.  The topics for the EquiSTEP program are shared below and will rotate as the member completes the course annually. 

• STEP 1: Head (Helmet Safety)

  • Helmet Safety Video (Every Year)

• STEP 2: Hands (Equine Safety & Handling)

  • YR 1 Equine Behavior

  • YR 2 Safety & Handling

  • YR 3 Tack & Equipment

• STEP 3: Health (Equine Health & Nutrition)

  • YR 1 Assessing Horse Health

  • YR 2 Preventative Health

  • YR 3 Nutrition

• STEP 4: Heart (Sportsmanship)

  • YR 1 Winning & Losing

  • YR 2 Discipline vs. Punishment

  • YR 3 Handling Adversity

• Here is the link to enroll in/access EquiSTEP:  go.osu.edu/equistep2024

• To complete EquiSTEP individually, a participant must enroll using their own unique email address.  (Participants should not use their school email addresses as the course enrollment invitation will be blocked by the school’s email system.)  Participants must view all five videos (introduction and STEPS 1-4) which last approximately one hour in total.  Once the videos are completed, participants will be able to access the 10-question quiz.  Participants must complete the quiz associated with the training and achieve a minimum score of 7 (out of 10) in order to pass the training.  Once the quiz is successfully completed, participants will need to complete the course survey to trigger a certificate of completion.  The certificate will be emailed to the participant’s email address as well as their county’s 4-H email address (countyname4h@osu.edu).  The participant must select their correct county to trigger the email to the correct email address and they must click on the submit button at the end of the survey to trigger the email.

Waiver Forms

• Both the Permission to Participate (completed on 4-HOnline) and the Franklin County Agricultural Society Equine Activities Disclosure and Release of Claims are signed each 4-H year as a part of your annual enrollment paperwork.

• The Franklin County Agricultural Society Equine Activities Disclosure and Release of Claims is available from your 4-H Club Advisor.