Seven students and a professor, all in dirt-encrusted boots, stood around a shed on a Wednesday afternoon collecting halters and rope.
Molly Nicodemus, assistant professor of animal and dairy science, dispersed the necessary equipment to her students from inside the small shed outside the main arena at the Mississippi Horse Park.
The students then walked out to a circular grazing pasture to get their horses. The students put halters over the horsesܬ mouths and noses and led them back to the arena.
ܬWe teach them beginning at square one,ܬ Nicodemus said.
The students brushed down the horses and laid the saddle cloths across the horsesܬ backs, then strapped the saddles on. Pairs of students shared horses because most of the horses were involved in research this semester.
Nicodemus hopes to have more horses for a larger class in the spring, she said.
As sophomore animal and dairy sciences major Carrie Beers finished brushing down her sand-colored quarter horse, he nipped at her shoulder.
ܬHe thinks everythingܬs food,ܬ Beers said.
Beers has been riding all her life, but she said the class has still helped her.
ܬIt has really helped me with the basics that Iܬve just forgotten,ܬ she said.
Spencer Broocks, a senior majoring in management, said he didnܬt know that much about horse riding when he began the class, but he said he has learned a great deal since the semester began.
ܬI feel more comfortable on the horse,ܬ Broocks said.
One person from each pair of students mounted the four available horses. They trotted the horses, warming them up. Then, Nicodemus told them to practice stopping on her count.
ܬOneܬtwoܬthree.ܬ Nicodemusܬ voice bounced off the metal rafters as four horses came to a halt.
The students also attend a lecture immediately after the lab. In the lecture, Nicodemus discusses a variety of topics covering from recognizing horses by their color and markings to different types of horse gaits, she said.
Students interested in taking the class in the spring can look up course code ADS 1132. The class includes a one-hour lecture and a two-hour lab.