How Prospective Students Can Explore UK Equine Programs Through Experience Equine Days

Updated

Prospective students and families can learn about the University of Kentucky's Equine Science and Management degree by signing up for Experience Equine Days, which the program offers in both in-person and virtual formats. The events are the program's designated way to visit, ask questions, and see whether the degree fits before applying. To find dates and register, start from the program's home page and follow the "Explore Degree" path, which links to the sign-up for upcoming Experience Equine Days.

What Experience Equine Days Are For

The event is an introduction to the program and the degree, not a general campus open house. The program describes it as the way to "visit and learn more about the program," so expect the content to center on:

  • The Equine Science and Management four-year bachelor's degree and its three areas of specialization: equine science; equine management and industry; or communications, leadership and education.
  • Program benefits such as the path to professionalism progression each year, leadership opportunities, internships, study abroad, and nearly a dozen clubs and teams.
  • The research and extension side of UK Ag Equine Programs, which the degree sits within.

Because both in-person and virtual options are listed, families who cannot travel to Lexington can still attend. The virtual format is the practical choice for out-of-state students or those comparing several programs before committing to a visit.

How to Sign Up and Check Dates

  1. Go to the UK Ag Equine Programs home page (equine.mgcafe.uky.edu).
  2. Follow the "Explore Degree" link, which the site identifies as the entry point for the degree program and the Experience Equine Days sign-up.
  3. Register for an upcoming session in the format that works for you — in-person or virtual.
  4. Check the site's "Upcoming Equine Events" listing for confirmed dates. The listing shows events with times and locations, so it is the place to confirm when the next Experience Equine Day is scheduled rather than relying on a general description.

One caution: the events calendar mixes Experience Equine Days with unrelated items such as service weekends, fall break, and commencement. Read each entry rather than assuming every date on the list is a prospective-student event.

What to Prepare Before You Go

The program's own description gives you a useful question list. Ask about:

  • Specialization choice. How early must a student pick among equine science, equine management and industry, or communications, leadership and education, and how much do the three paths overlap?
  • The professionalism progression. The program highlights a "path to professionalism progression each year" — ask what that looks like in practice across the four years.
  • Experiential work. Which internships, study abroad options, and clubs or teams are open to first-year students?
  • Research and extension exposure. Undergraduates sit within a program built on multidisciplinary research teams (nutrition, animal and plant science, engineering, microbiology, veterinary medicine, economics, social science) and a horse and rider safety knowledge center. Ask whether undergraduates can participate.

A Sense of the Industry You'd Be Entering

The program cites the 2022 Kentucky Equine Survey, a collaboration with the Kentucky Horse Council: Kentucky is home to 209,500 equine, and the total value of equine and equine-related assets in the state was $27.7 billion in 2022, up more than 18% from 2012 — even with roughly 14% fewer equine in the state than in 2012. That combination of fewer animals and higher value is a concrete talking point for a visit: it suggests an industry shifting toward higher-value operations, which is relevant to questions about where graduates work.

If You Can't Attend an Event

The site also covers the program's extension services for horse owners and farm managers, youth and adult education through 4-H and outreach, and services such as pasture management, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory testing, genetic testing, facility optimization, and racetrack and performance surface testing. Browsing these sections gives a fuller picture of the program's scope before or after a visit. Program apparel and goods are sold through a separate page linked from the site; the site does not state prices there, so check the page itself for current details.

Bottom Line

Experience Equine Days are the program's front door for prospective students, offered in person and virtually. Register through the "Explore Degree" link on the program site, confirm the date on the Upcoming Equine Events list, and arrive with questions about specialization, the yearly professionalism progression, and hands-on opportunities.