Lingfield’s Care and Management 1 course prepares adult learners to take full responsibility for horse welfare, whether you own, loan, or work with horses. The content covers the BHS Stage 1 syllabus and thoughtfully incorporates key topics from Stages 2 and 3, giving you a broader and more useful foundation than most entry-level courses.
You’ll study a wide range of topics including:
- Stable Management & Routine Care: Stabling vs grass-keeping, bedding types, grooming techniques (strapping, quartering), rug types and correct usage, safe tack fitting and maintenance, saddle fitting basics, martingales and nosebands.
- Feeding & Nutrition: Understanding feed types, storage, feeding rules, and how to adjust feed according to work level or health status.
- Health, First Aid & Welfare: Spotting early signs of illness, checking vital signs, treating minor wounds, understanding equine behaviour, and building a positive vet relationship.
- Worming & Hoof Care: How modern worming plans work (including a sample 3-year plan), plus farriery basics and how to recognise hoof issues early.
- Legal Responsibilities & Safety: Health and safety practices on the yard, road safety, equine passports, trailer basics, and understanding livery contracts.
- Ownership Guidance: Advice on buying a horse, budgeting realistically, and building a support team of professionals.
Throughout the course, the emphasis is on safe, modern, evidence-based practices—all taught in a friendly and approachable tone, in line with Lingfield’s ethos of education that is both useful and humane.
Whether you’re caring for your first pony, thinking about equestrian qualifications, or returning to horses after time away, this course gives you the knowledge and confidence to do it properly. You’ll come away with a deeper understanding of horse care—and the reassurance that you’re doing the right thing for your horse, every day.
