With Covid restrictions on gatherings in place throughout the summer, horse camps across the country went virtual in 2020.
Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Woodbine, MD offered Camp-in-a-Box, a fun alternative to their annual summer horse camp.
“We wanted to bring the horses and the farm to kids while doing the same fun activities from home,” said Nicky Wetzelberger, DEFHR Community Outreach Director.
Days End’s Camp-in-a-Box included hands-on projects, DIY experiments, online videos and exciting activities revolving around horses, but it also included information about the environment.
Camp information stated that campers would “find out why caring for the environment is part of caring #4thehorses.”
Each week centered around an environmental theme, reminding kids how caring for the environment also gives back to the horses they love. Campers dove into a vital part of the world around them, learning about the parts of a horse, their vital needs, and everything from the water we drink to the food we eat and from the sand in the paddocks to the birds in the trees.
Days End campers paid $100 for the first week and $35 per week afterward. They received an official camp bag and t-shirt, stickers, trading cards, pins, a field guide for hands-on projects and experiments, access to online videos, DIY crafts, printable activities, and a Horse Ambassador certificate.
Penn State Extension
Andrea Kocher, an Equine Extension Specialist and instructor of equine science for Penn State talked about their PA 4H Virtual Equine Science Camp.
“For our hands-on animal science camp for livestock, dairy and horse in May, we bring kids on campus and have hands-on [sessions] with instructors of equine science. Since we couldn’t hold it this year, we used that educational model but gave it a virtual twist,” she said.
“We knew it couldn’t be as hands on, so we worked hard to engage them virtually. We took six days and met with them for one and a half hours in the evening via Zoom. There were five age groups. We tried to break it up, because kids are so Zoomed out these days.”
The camp was held over six days at the end of July and early August. All campers logged in at the same time and watched a six to eight minute video clip about the topic of the day or heard one of the leaders or teachers present the introduction. Then the campers split off into their age groups.
“The five age groups each had a corresponding horse name,” Kocher said. “The Cloverbuds, 5- 7 year olds, were called The Foals. The 8–10 year old group was called The Mini’s. Our 11 – 12 year olds were called The Ponies and our 13 – 14 year old age group was The Horses. Ages 15 to 18 (my group) were The Drafts.”
Kocher said each group had a team leader in charge of the educational materials. A box of supplies sent in advance contained work sheets and activities like word searches, crossword puzzles, a coloring page for the younger kids and educational documents like a sheet with horse vital signs. Each child received a real stethoscope, craft supplies for their specific activities, and baggies with samples of feed for the nutrition session.
“Day one was the science of equine science,” Kocher said. “Day two was art and history of the horse. Day three was anatomy. They had activity instructions plus pipe cleaners and pasta and googly eyes for parts of the horse. Little kids glued pasta representing the skeletal components of the horse to paper. Older kids did the 3-D version with the pipe cleaners. We got horses rearing, sliding stops in reining and all sorts of positions,” she said with a laugh. “They were so cool. Each child took a photo of their activity and we uploaded them to a box folder, organizing them by age, so we could pull up the age group they were in.”
Campers discussed their skeletal horse diagrams and the 3-D versions that they could all see in the folder. Then, they covered Horse Health. Kocher said she used her own horse from home for the older group, and that was fun.
“They learned about horse vital signs. People had donated real stethoscopes, so they could practice on living animals in their home. We talked about pulse and respiration. There was vet wrap in the box for them to practice wrapping legs, and a vital sheet to put in their barn, plus a sheet on bandaging instructions and how to use them correctly.”
On day five, the campers learned about nutrition, discussing forage versus concentrates. On the last day they covered equine careers.
“At the beginning of camp, we asked them to come up with an infographic or a business card that would be their own equine career,” Kocher said. “We talked about the economic impact of the equine industry in Pennsylvania. We sent a camp t-shirt to wear on the last day. The PA Horse Racing Association had also put together a harness driving package with information about PA harness and thoroughbred racing with trading cards of jockeys and harness racing, and they got that in their box, too.”
Kocher said the feedback from parents was extremely positive. Registration was originally capped at 60, but the response was so overwhelming that they opened it up to 120, and they still had 30 on a wait list. The cost was $15 for PA 4-H members and $45 to out of state and non-4-H members.
Alyssa Ronco’s daughter Angeli is in the Cloverbud program. She said her daughter was excited to be a part of the camp.
“They had a wonderful curriculum set up and they learned about horse anatomy, wrapping and bandaging legs, how to take your horse’s vitals, equine careers and equine nutrition,” Ronco said. “We had a whole box of materials with feed samples in tiny bags so they could smell, see and feel different types of grain, and they even gave each child a stethoscope to have. They got baggies with different pasta shapes which they used to build a model of horse anatomy. This was so fun!”
Eight-year-old Angeli said her favorite parts were learning how to use a stethoscope to hear a horse’s heartbeat and how to properly wrap legs.
“They had videos that they were able to watch via zoom to show these skills as well as had instructors with their own horses on the other end to demonstrate skills live,” Ronco added.
“I was so happy that this was offered for Angeli’s age group. Because we have been so careful with Angeli’s Covid exposure due to her medical conditions this was a great way to have a camp but stay completely quarantined. 4H has been excellent with providing virtual camps at the state and local level and there have been other activity boxes we have gotten from our local chapter for her to complete, too.”
Eighteen-year-old, Rachel Bitler said she was excited to sign up for camp, too.
“Last year I attended the in-person 4-H equine science camp and absolutely loved it,” Rachel said. “I had signed up to attend again this spring. Even though we couldn’t hold camp in its normal setting this year, I’m thankful that we still had the opportunity to learn in an online format.”
Rachel said her favorite session was the equine skeletal system.
“I enjoyed making my own model of a horse’s skeleton out of pasta,” she said. “But I also loved the opportunity to talk with other 4-H members around the state about their personal horse projects. During our last session we discussed our potential future careers. It is amazing to see how many current 4-H members have set goals to use the skills they’ve learned through a job in the equine industry.”
Rachel said, for her, the virtual camp was about more than what they learned in daily sessions.
“I feel that another important benefit of camp (and of 4-H in general) is the opportunity to make connections with and hear the advice of so many successful adults who work in the many careers that involve horses,” said Rachel. “I now have two of [the camp’s] instructors, Mrs. Kocher and Dr. Smarsh, as professors at Penn State. I plan on integrating horses into my future with a career as a veterinarian. I hope to involve horses in my college experience with a minor in Equine Science as well as joining some of the many equestrian clubs PSU has to offer. I couldn’t imagine a future without horses in it.”
Up and down the coast, camps like this happened because a determined equine community recognized the need.
“Despite a pandemic, we are bound and determined to make sure our youth still have some great experiences and get educational components from our programs,” Kocher said. She echoed the sentiments of many.
For more information about Camp in a Box from Days End Farm Horse Rescue, email info@DEFHR.org or call (301) 854-5037. For more information about the PA 4H Virtual Equine Science Camp, contact Andrea Kocher, at alg917@psu.edu or (814) 863-3957.