OklahomaHorses Magazine January 2022

26 OklahomaHorses • January/February 2022 E Q U I N E P R O D U C T I O N AT M I D - AM E R I C A T E C H Preparing Students for the Equine Industry by Anna Holton-Dean Photographs courtesy of Mid-America Technology Center T he equine production program at Mid-America Technology Center in Wayne, Oklahoma, helps to prepare students for a career in the care and man- agement of horses. Students are instructed in the selection of feeds, equine mainte- nance, genetics, marketing, anatomy and physiology, breeding techniques, and skills needed to operate a healthy environment for horses. Students also learn practical activities such as weaning techniques, halterbreak- ing, sales preparation, mare and stallion breeding management, foal management, ground-driving techniques, bitting and saddling techniques, and development of leadership skills. Mid-America Tech Center owns 12 mares and two stallions. Students follow the mares from breeding through con- ception, gestation, foaling, weaning, and halterbreaking. At the end of the spring semester, during halterbreaking of the foals, students compete in an “in-hand” trail class. Just before the school year ends, they hold a showmanship competition. The next fall semester when second-year students return, they introduce the Mid-America yearlings to ground driving, market them, and sell them through an online sales company. In fall 2021, the on- line yearling sale netted a total of $33,500 for nine head. Range of Opportunities Equine instructor Lyn Schuerman says the program covers almost everything from a production standpoint. “When students are training a horse, they do everything except get up in the saddle,” Schuerman says. Schuerman runs the program with assis- tant Heather Hyde. Students who complete the equine production program are prepared for a vast range of equine-related career opportuni- ties, including ranch hand, groom, sales attendant, retail salesclerk, veterinarian’s assistant, foaling assistant, trainer’s assis- tant, and breeding-farm employee. Enrollees in the two-year program consist mostly of high school juniors and seniors, but even retirees have taken the course over the years. Many graduates have gone on to great success in the equine industry. “We have great horsemen, horses, and facilities in this area, and a lot of our grad- uates go out and shadow or do on-the-job Above, horses such as this benefit as students at Mid-America Technology Center learn how to develop a healthy equine environment. Left, students at Mid-America Technology Center examine a slightly startled horse.