Hippology (from Greek:

ἵππος Hippos () or Sussita (Aramaic, ) is an ancient city and archaeology, archaeological site located on a hill 2 km east of the Sea of Galilee, attached by a topographical saddle to the western slopes of the Golan Heights. Hippos was a Hellenis ...

, ''hippos'', "horse"; and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is the study of

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

. Today, hippology is the title of an equine

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

knowledge contest that is used in

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

Future Farmers of America The National FFA Organization or FFA is an American nonprofit career and technical student organization, which offers middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. Future Farmers of Virginia (FFV) was founded in ...

(FFA), and many horse breed contests. Hippology consists of four phases: horse judging, written examination and slide identification, ID stations, and team problem-solving. Many people across the United States and in other countries compete in hippology-related knowledge competitions annually. Items covered in the contest may cover any equine subject, including

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...

, training, parasites,

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

, history and origins,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

and physiology, driving and harnessing, horse industry, horse management, breeds, genetics, western games, colors, famous horses in history, parts of the saddle, types of bits, gaits, competitions, poisonous plants, and nutrition.

Judging

The judging phase generally includes judging both a halter class and an "under saddle" class (such as

western pleasure Western pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed and slow but collected gait cadence, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to ...

, hunter under saddle, etc.). The classes involve four horses and contestants are given a judging card to place the horses. Unlike the horse judging competitions, hippology competitors are not expected to give reasons, but only place the classes.

Written examination and slide identification

The written examination is a multiple-choice, 50-question test. The written examination can cover any of the topics and any of the information from the designated sources. The slide identification is composed of 25 slides.

ID stations

The ID station phase includes 10 stations, each with 10 pictures or objects to be identified along with a list of multiple-choice answers. Each station has a theme (anatomy, poisonous plants, tack, etc.). A time limit exists allotting only 2 minutes per station.

Team problem solving

The team problem solving phase requires a team, with three or four members, to present their solution for a problem to a judge or judges. The team is given 10–15 minutes to discuss the problem, form a solution, and prepare their presentation. No written materials are allowed. They then have an average of 5 minutes to present their solution. Members are judged on their teamwork (especially during the discussion phase), the accuracy of their solution, and their presentation skills. No coaches or any adults are allowed in the room during the team problem.

Hippology in 4-H

In 4-H, hippology teams consist of 3 or 4 members. (In the case of a team with 4 members, the lowest score is dropped.) Teams compete at a regional level, where the first place team advances to compete against the other region winners at a state level. The winner of the state level then advances to either Eastern Nationals in Kentucky, or Western Nationals in Colorado, depending on the state.

References