Equine Extension Program Developement
College of Agricultural Sciences
Animal Sciences
Larimer
County
(Statewide)
- Agriculture
- On-campus
Primary Topic:
Agriculture
Other Topics:
4-H & Youth
Internship Overview:
Are you passionate about horses, education, and serving your community? The goal of CSU Equine Extension is to help horse owners in Colorado. We educate people about horses and how to care for them through a variety of formats including field days, presentations, social media, short courses, one-page handouts, and videos. We also conduct research in areas including nutrition, facilities & pasture management, and more. You will be introduced to industry and Extension professionals both in the state and around the country. You will be responsible for assisting with all aspects of our programming and research efforts and will work with Dr. Catalano to identify a topic you are passionate about to take the lead on.
Goals, Scope and Objectives:
The overarching goal of this internship is to assist with program development and delivery, and with Equine Sciences research efforts. Key activities include planning and assisting with programming around the state (limited number of overnight trips), planning a field day for either or both youth and adult audiences (depending on intern interests), and attending site visits with horse owners. The intern will also work on a project evaluating the accuracy of AI-generated answers for commonly asked questions within horse-related topics, which may lead to a presentation at an equine conference and/or publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The objectives of this internship are for the student to develop skills that will help them succeed in a future Extension career including public speaking, technical writing, research, and critical thinking along with expanding their knowledge of equine-related topics.
With which stakeholder group(s) will the intern work?
The intern will work with stakeholders across the equine industry including horse owners, ranchers, breeders, and veterinarians. If the intern has a specific area of interest (i.e., nutrition or reproduction), the mentors will make an extra effort to introduce them to people working in this area around the state and country. The intern will also have the opportunity to work with Equine Extension faculty from other states.
What student learning outcomes do you anticipate and what are the opportunities for professional development?
The intern will learn how to plan and execute equine-specific programming from start to finish including in-person talks for both adult and youth audiences and creation of traditional Extension publications and infographics. They will gain experience in event planning, public speaking, technical writing, and scientific research. They will also gain experience with content creation for social media on a professional level.
