ee-tiny Assessment Tasks

The Master of Animal Science (MAS) course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, Australia, aims to promote advanced critical reflection on professional practice in the animal industries, preparing graduates for leadership positions.  For me, the particular attraction of this CSU course is that it provides a selection of subjects relevant to the equine industry.  I chose to study for a Masters post-graduate course at CSU for this reason, and also because of my very happy association with this institution when I studied Horse Husbandry back in 1986.  The MAS requires candidates to successfully complete 96 points made up of course work and thesis or dissertation.  I commenced study in 2013 and am progressing at a rate that would make a snail proud to be in the lead but.. at least I have started and, challenging as it is, at least I am still there. 

Well, as you can see, I didn't keep this section up to date for very long!  So long, in fact, that I have now finished the course and I am proud to announce that at the end of 2020 I was awarded both a Master of Animal Science with Distinction, and an Executive Dean's Award for 'outstanding academic performance'.  This was a surprise as I had no idea such an award was on offer!  So, while I did not upload any more of my school work, I will provide a link to my research thesis 'Lifting The Veil on Bridles' which I will upload to my ethicalequitation facebook page.

The spoils of my late night, coffee-charged efforts are still available below.  Happy Reading!

2013

For the subject Equine Rehabilitation there were two written assessment items - a Take Home Exam and a Literature Review.

1.  Assessment Item 1 was a Take Home Exam comprising four questions covering wound healing, shin soreness, lamininitis (which involved writing a hypothetical artical for an equestrian magazine) and routes of drug administration.

2.  Assessment Item 2 was a Literature Review of a wound-healing product of my choosing commonly used on horses.  I chose to review a Kelato product - KelatoGEN - on the basis of anecdotal evidence the product yielded outstanding results, especially in treating exuberant granulation tissue in horses.  Please follow this link to read Kelatogen - A Literature Review

2014

Semester 1:   Critical Reviews in Animal Science

This subject requires submission of two Critical Reviews and a Systematic Review.  To date, the first of the Critical Reviews has been submitted.  It is a review of a 2013 Journal of Veterinary Behavior paper - 'Assessing ridden horse behavior:  Professional judgment and physiological measures' by Hall, C et. al .  and you can read my Review by following this link Assessing Ridden Horse Behaviour. 

The second critical review I was asked to undertake was of a paper that appeared in the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science in 2007 by Górecka, et al entitle  ‘A note on behaviour and heart rate in horses differing in facial hair whorl’.  This paper was a 'short communication', a type of review that researchers might choose to do if they wish to 'stake a claim' on further research.  The paper examined Polish Konik horses to determine whether or not there was a relationship between the location and/or type of facial hair whorl, and behavioural and physiological responses to mild aversive stimuli.  My professor was surprised (that is a mild version of what he really said...) that this paper ever saw the light of day.  That I sort of reached the same conclusion after reviewing the study gave me confidence I was getting the hang of doing critical reviews.  Anyway, here is the link: LInk between facial hair whorl position and behaviour.

The final task for this subject was to undertake a 3,000 word literature review about the topic I will be undertaking for my Masters Dissertation, that is, my final detailed, year-long thesis.  I have an abiding interest in what, if any, impact bitted bridles have on horse and human morbidity and mortality.  To date, there have not been any peer-reviewed studies of this type.  Under the guidance of my subject 'study buddy', Dr Petra Buckley, BVSc, I chose to answer the question 'What is the evidence for bitless bridles in horses?'.  The conclusions of this review would, hopefully, provide me with a line of enquiry for further research to undertake in my Dissertation year.  Here is the link:  The evidence for bitless bridles in horses.

Semester 2:  Equine Health