Animal Science
4-H Horseless Horse Project
The Colorado 4-H Horseless Horse project teaches youth about horse care, behavior, and management without owning a horse.
Early units cover coat colors, breeds, anatomy, grooming, and safety. Intermediate units focus on conformation, health, tack, feeding, and basic riding skills while developing leadership and horsemanship knowledge. Advanced units explore nutrition, reproduction, advanced movements, showmanship, pasture and housing management, and ethics in the horse industry, giving participants a well-rounded understanding of responsible horse ownership and care.
Horse-related contests 4-H youth may participate in are Horse Judging, Horse Bowl, Horse Demonstration/Public Speaking, and Hippology.
Project Overview
UNIT 1
Making Horse Sense
Designed for members 8-18 years old.
Inspiring youth to:
- Learn basic coat colors, breeds, and anatomy
- Explore horse behaviors
- Understand grooming and safety concerns
UNIT 2
Hooves, Health, Horsemanship
Designed for members 8-18 years old.
Inspiring youth to:
- Learn about horse conformation and movement
- Study horse health, unsoundness, and blemishes
- Discuss tack and training aids
- Explore the realities of horse ownership
UNIT 3
Breaking Ground
Designed for members 8-18 years old.
Inspiring youth to:
- Understand horse teeth and feeding requirements
- Discover horse health issues
- Learn about horse judging, riding aids and basic equitation
- Develop leadership skills while helping others
UNIT 4
Bushing Up on Horses
Designed for members 8-18 years old.
Inspiring youth to:
- Understand parasites, the digestive tract and how to balance rations
- Discuss horse reproduction
- Learn about advanced movements and showmanship
- Understand basic equine, pasture and housing management skills
- Explore ethics related to the horse industry
Official Project Materials
Materials & Curriculum
Member Resources
Find Your County
Counties play a crucial role in 4-H by providing a platform for young people to learn and grow.
Counties facilitate the delivery of 4-H programs that are of particular interest in their area and qualified, compassionate adult leaders run local clubs to support our youth 4-H members.
To find out if this project is supported locally, contact your local extension office.
Upcoming Events
Currently there are no events scheduled at this time associated to this page. Please check back for the latest events as they are scheduled.
Project Tips
- It is recommended that you start at Unit 1 and work up to Unit 4. The upper units are harder than the lower units.
- Be sure to use the Colorado 4-H Horse Manual to help you answer the questions for each unit.
- Feel free to add extra pages for activities that require more space.
- Look up information in the library or on the Internet.
- Ask people (friends and trainers) in the horse industry for assistance in completing the project.
- Take field trips and tours.
- Enter your project in the county fair.
- Share information learned in talks and displays.
Careers
Farrier
A craftsman who trims and shoes horses’ hooves
Therapeutic Riding
Instructor
Provides riding instruction of therapeutic value to people with disabilities
Horse Breeder
A person who breeds and sells horses
Tack Shop Owner
A tack shop is a great place to go to obtain the proper tack for your horse
Equine Photographer
A person who specializes in photography of horses
Stable Owner
Person who owns or operates a boarding facility for horses
Horse Trainer
Person who trains horses and helps other people train theirs
Equine Massage Therapist
Trained to apply the correct therapeutic massage treatment procedure