Course summary

We are pleased to confirm that Writtle University College and ARU (Anglia Ruskin University) have joined together as of 29 February 2024. Writtle’s full range of Higher and Further Education courses will continue to be delivered on site at the new ARU Writtle campus, enhanced by resources available at nearby ARU Chelmsford If you are starting your course in September 2024, your degree will be awarded by ARU. Find out more about ARU, including our recent Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework, at www.aru.ac.uk We have invested over £1.5million in our equine facilities to enhance your hands-on access to specialist resources. We are the only UK institution to have our own bespoke equine stud facility on campus. Our facilities include two large indoor riding arenas, floodlit outdoor menage, bespoke therapy barns, stables, water treadmill, solarium, round pen and oval horsewalker. You will benefit from our work with organisations like the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants (IAABC) to bring specialist tuition and support during your Equine Behavioural Science degree. We have a wide range of scientific and technological equipment that is used to enhance taught sessions, as well as enabling you to conduct original research projects that are relevant to the industry. Our students' research findings have been presented at conferences such as the International Society of Equitation Science, the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare and the British Society of Animal Science. You will have the opportunity to work with World Horse Welfare, assisting in the rehabilitation and training of their rescue horses in preparation for re-homing. We create unique degrees in consultation with industry to ensure our course content remains relevant Aimed at those individuals who wish to support their interest in the equine athlete, with a robust grounding in scientific principles relevant to the industry. The equine athlete is a complex creature, with supporting needs that address the way in which the animal is managed, to maximise performance in a range of diverse disciplines. There are very many branches to this support, as there would be for a human athlete, covering elements such as nutrition, equitation science, training, health and disease, managing gait abnormalities, the influence of extrinsic factors such as coaching the rider, saddle fit, behaviour, farriery and many more. This programme aims to provide the student with a thorough understanding of all of the possible contributors to performance, from a micro to macro level; thus enabling the individual to contribute positively to equine performance. Developing a thorough scientific understanding, combined with the ability to apply that knowledge practically, will enable the individual to take a proactive role in the industry following graduation. Writtle’s approach of ‘science into practice’ is never more evident than in this programme; developing excellent communication skills will be key to the graduate prospects for students who have undertaken this award.