The Horsemanship Dentistry School – Module 6

ENROLL in The Horsemanship Dentistry School
Find the MANY EASY ways to afford enrollment
“Hands On Training”

Students that have completed the online coursework and passed the final exam will then come to Palm City, Florida and spend 5 days at The Equine Practice, Inc as outlined below to become a Graduate of The Horsemanship Dentistry School™.

Each hands on training session is listed in the calendar on the school site after logging in. Students should schedule their 5 day hands on training as soon as they think they will have completed the coursework and pass the final exam.

The purpose of the hands on training is for an instructor to give the student experience so bad habits don’t develop and confidence is rapidly gained. The goal is to teach you what the end result in the horse’s mouth should feel like and gain confidence in your ability to perform Horsemanship Dentistry™.

The details of Hands On Training:

  • Hands On Training is available only to students of The Horsemanship Dentistry School™ who have passed the final exam.
  • There are a maximum of 2 students per day per instructor.
  • Day 1 – The “Review Day” – details below.
  • Day 2 – The “Ride-along Day” – details below.
  • Day 3, 4, and 5 – The “Hands-on Days” – details below.
  • The student will be responsible for the costs of travel to Florida, transportation here, your lodging, and your food. You can fly into the Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) which is 1 hour south or the Orlando International airport (MCO) which is 2 hours north and stay at either the Marriott Courtyard or Holiday Inn Express located in Stuart Florida or other hotels further away.
  • The student must have proof of medical insurance in force with coverage in Florida to participate in the practical training. Students must also sign a waiver recognizing the danger involved in working with horses before purchasing the Practical Training along with a hold harmless agreement.
  • Hands On Training will be offered 4 times a year. See the schedule online for exact dates (must be logged in).

The Review Day:

The first day is SO IMPORTANT! Every student has told us this after completing the hands on training. Melissa and Doc T sit with you in a fly-free sunny porch in bare feet and go over everything you have learned with “Hank” and “Buster” the anatomy skulls. In the 7 or so hours together we learn about each other, relax and throw away the jitters, get to know the other students, and review (NOT TEST YOU 😉 ) everything you have learned in the coursework. Some people are so smart while others can’t remember a thing without some help. That is the point of this day. It puts everyone at the end of the day in a comfortable state with who YOU are. From this, we all can learn.

The Ride-along Day:

The second day is really important and VERY PRODUCTIVE.

The goal is to see approximately 10 horses and learn the following:

  • Become comfortable placing your hand inside an un-sedated horse. (You CAN do this)
  • How to interact with horse owners.
  • Learn to identify, connect and interact with the different personalities of the horses.
  • Develop a deep and practical understanding of the Ten Irrefutable Laws Of Horsemanship.
  • Develop a deep and practical understanding of the principles and theories of Horsemanship Dentistry.
  • Develop a deep and practical understanding of the techniques of Horsemanship Dentistry.

After 2 days of listening and watching the instructors work you will have a good understanding of what to do and how to do it. You should be able to complete their thoughts and sentences and anticipate their moves. In addition, you will get your hands inside some calm horses so you can feel your confidence grow. Between farms, time will be spent on the techniques and techniques chart, the horsemanship approach to connection, and the theories of equine dentistry.

The Hands-on Days:

Clients willing to have a student work on their horse will be scheduled. The total number of horses you will work on per day is 2 because more than this will be physically and mentally exhausting. These days are kept fun, exciting, and designed to have the student leave inspired and empowered to go back home ready to work with confidence. Did I mention that you will be mentally and physically exhausted, but grinning from ear to ear?

The horses the student works on may be sedated so that the techniques can be worked on easily. The instructor will be directly observing and coaching you as you work. The student will do the oral palpation and float the teeth. The goal here is to be sure the student is on the same page and to eliminate and prevent bad habits. Concentrating on the student doing the best they can, emulating what the instructors have done for years and jump starting the quality of work the student does when returning home are the primary goals of instructing the student during this segment of training.

At the end of the 5 days of hands on training, the student will be considered a Graduate of the Horsemanship Dentistry School.

Additional Days

What if five days are not enough? Graduates of the school can stay and ride for up to an additional 3 weeks with an instructor.  Please be aware that to do this will require that you pay for your food and travel expenses as well as a daily fee for training.  Dr Tucker travels across the country staying in hotels and driving a lot.  He sees on average 8 horses per day and works every day he is traveling.  If we stay in Florida then we usually do not work on weekends.  You will work on approximately 2 horses per day depending on the clients giving permission.  You will only work in states where it is legal for you to do so.

Many of you will not be able to come to Florida for hands on training due to logistics or personal reasons. That’s OK. You are not required to take the hands on training, but you will not be considered a graduate of the school. The beauty of the online coursework is that you don’t need to come here. Some of you are already good dentists and the course material is all you need to apply the skills to your practice.  The schedule is set up so that certification occurs on the Saturday immediately following the 5 hands on training days.  This allows graduates applying for certification to review with training students during the Thursday and Friday before the certification test on Saturday..  However newly graduated students cannot stay for certification.  They can return for certification Level 1 after completing at least 100 floats at home.

ENROLL in The Horsemanship Dentistry School
Find the MANY EASY ways to afford enrollment
Links to the other module details

Module 1 – The Essentials of Equine Dentistry

Module 2 – Anatomy and Terminology

Module 3 – Basic and Advanced fundamentals

Module 4 – Applying Horsemanship to Equine Dentistry

Module 5 – The Process, Equipment and Techniques

Module 7 – Certification in Horsemanship Dentistry

Back to School Structure