What’s covered in the unit?
On completion of this unit, you will:
- Understand the routine practices on a stable yard, your role, responsibilities and reporting lines
- Know how to care for horses on a day-to-day basis, recognising and assessing normal and abnormal behaviour and understanding when veterinary intervention may be required
- Be able to fit standard tack and travel equipment
- Be able to prepare horses for presentation
- Have a knowledge of feeding and an understanding of fitness, including the factors that will affect the amount of feed a horse will receive
- Understand basic anatomy, location of key organs and the function of the digestive system
What will you be assessed on?
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- Know about the roles, rights and responsibilities of an Assistant Groom
- Be able to fit tack and boots on a horse
- Be able to prepare a horse to travel
- Know about horse behaviour
- Understand how to feed horses
- Know about basic horse anatomy
- Understand horse fitness
- Be able to maintain a horse’s health
- Be able to prepare a horse for presentation
- Understand how to care for a horse’s feet
- Understand the environment for keeping horses
To review the learning outcomes in more detail: download the qualification specification
How will you be assessed?
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Up to three-hours criteria-based assessment.
Entry Requirements
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- A minimum age of 14 years
- BHS Stage 1 Care Award
- BHS Gold membership – Membership discounts apply for learners who are training for or taking BHS qualifications
- International students should be either International Full or International E-Members.
Skills Record
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Supporting you at every stage, your Skills Record allows you to record your achievements and progression through your career, with pre-assessment sign off criteria and coach endorsements required for career pathways.
Pre-assessment criteria and coach endorsement for this assessment include:
- Ready for assessment form completed – compulsory
- Skill: bathing a horse – compulsory
- Skill: loading a horse – compulsory
The above must be completed by a BHS Accredited Professional Coach or Coaches in a BHS Approved Centre.
Awarding body
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BHS Qualifications (BHSQ) is an awarding organisation recognised and regulated by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England, SQA Accreditation in Scotland, Qualifications Wales (QW) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland. BHSQ works in partnership with a variety of organisations to develop and award qualifications for the equestrian industry. This ensures BHSQ qualifications are fit for purpose for the sector.
As the awarding organisation, BHSQ is responsible for the processes which learners undertake to obtain certification. BHSQ is responsible for verifying that assessment practice in approved centres is conducted systematically, effectively, securely and to national standards specified within the qualification.
The British Horse Society (BHS) is approved as a centre to deliver qualifications regulated by BHSQ. BHSQ and the BHS developed these qualifications in line with feedback received from extensive industry consultation.
Learners taking BHSQ Level 2 (Stage 2) qualifications will either be seeking employment in the industry or employed and seeking career advancement. It is essential these qualifications meet the needs of employers and learners. To satisfy these requirements, the qualifications have been developed in collaboration with employers, colleges, coaches, students, and expert groups.
