May is the time when just about everyone starts thinking about horses, or, more to the point, horse racing. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic postponed the Kentucky Derby to September while the date for the Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown, remains in limbo. 

And while the state of Michigan is known worldwide for automobile horsepower, Schoolcraft College once had courses related to actual horses. Offered by Continuing Education and Community Services (CES), which was the forerunner of today’s Continuing Education and Professional Development (CEPD), “Horse Care & Management” was under Physical Education and ran approximately 16 weeks. 

It was offered beginning with the Fall 1973 term and ended after the Fall 1978 term. Here’s the class description from 1973:

CS9013-01 HORSE CARE AND MANAGEMENT

A study of the economics and management factors involved in the daily care and raising of horses.

Monday – Room D105	16 weeks	$22.00 In-District
Feb. 5 thru May 21	8:00-10:00 p.m.	$44.00 Out-District

Two horse-related courses were offered in 1978. One was under Math-Science and included this information:

CS8030 Equine Podology. Detailed study of horse limbs and how they relate to conformation and movement. Leg normalities and treatments discussed.

Horse Care & Management continued under Physical Education and Recreation. Here is the description for 1978:

CS9093 Horse Care & Management. A serious study of the economic and management factors involved in the daily care and raising of horses. Instruction should provide valuable knowledge for the beginning business person. The casual animal owner or farm employee could also benefit from the information presented.

New for 1983 was a course on harness racing, possibly because of nearby Northville Downs. Here is the description:

HARNESS RACING (1.0 Cr.)-CE1161

Learn from professional horsemen the history of harness racing, America’s oldest native sport; the skills of breeding, owning, breaking, training and driving the harness racehorse; your employment possibilities within the sport; and how to handicap a harness race. Included are “hands-on” demonstrations at the track and horse farms.

Sect. No. 9208	Sat.	8 Wks.	Sept. 17
1.0 Cr.	11-1 p.m.	B470	D. Conway

Also available was English Horseback Riding (for beginners and intermediate) and Exercise on Horseback at Fox Pointe Farms in Union Lake. 

Special thanks to Michele Kendall of the Archives team for her help with this story.