Abstract

The emerging field of sustainability education considers complex interactions between natural and social systems and offers a conceptual framework for transdisciplinary skill set development. Despite rising interest in sustainability education programs within colleges of agriculture, there are a paucity of relevant programs within the specific discipline of equine science. The objectives of this study were to gauge undergraduate student knowledge and interest in courses that addressed climate change and horse management topics using a 26-item survey distributed to students taking agricultural science courses at two land-grant universities. Students (n=362) reported low levels of content knowledge related to relationships between climate change and equine management but expressed strong interest in potential courses pairing topics of climate change and equine science. Ranking their interest on a scale of 0 (not interested) to 100 (extremely interested), students responded most favorably to learning more about the effects of climate change on animal health (71.9±18.9), pasture management (71.7±21.1), facilities management (71.1±21.0), and nutrition and feeding to manage waste (68.7±23.0). Based on this needs and interest assessment, equine science educators should explore educational methods to effectively engage students and assist them in enhancing their understanding of topics related to climate change and horse management practices.