UVM Equity
The farm held the lab portion of the equine reproduction workshop two weeks ago. It has been such a whirlwind since, that I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to reflect. I'm going to have a go at it now.
Perspective is such a remarkable thing. I have had many different roles in past workshops. This year I had the job of handling the stallions. The learning that occurs over the course of the day is pretty intense for the students that have never been exposed to this type of work. Whatever my job is on that day, I have always gotten to see students put into practice things that they have only read about. Stallion handling was the most intense experience yet. Stallions are loud. They are sometimes aggressive when there is a mare present. Students that view horses as things that they ride and love on, had to approach a screaming stallion with a PVC artificial vagina, then put it on him as he mounted the phantom.
On a normal day of collecting stallions, this has become quite routine for me. I've done all the jobs dozens of times and I know how to stay safe. These students, however, I feel for. I remember the first time I ever participated in a collection. Sensory overload, plus your sympathetic nervous system freaking out. Perceived danger, but also actual danger. We wear helmets, but how helpful are those really if you get kicked in the head?
Anyway, this workshop was a different perspective for me. I got to see students learning in the most intense station of the day. I also had quite the learning experience. One of the stallions I had never handled, and it had been almost a year since we collected any of them. With each collection my adrenaline soared. Every time, I was acutely aware that one wrong move on my part would further endanger everyone. This perspective made me more appreciative of all of the students that were willing to give this a try. My boss provided in-the-moment guidance and support for students, which helped them to feel safe. The students saw me as some sort of lion tamer capable of controlling the big screaming beasts. When I am around people that have not been exposed much to breeding stallions, I am reminded of how much I have learned and how much I have become comfortable with. However, as a 135 pound, 5'6", 24 year old woman, the workshop participants saw my job as something that they could be capable of. Especially since stallion handling is historically very much a man's job. Participating in the way that they were gave the students a valuable feeling of empowerment. They were set up for success in a situation that was out of their comfort zone.
In previous years, I had been much further from the students in this station and wasn't able to truly grasp the intensity or appreciate the experience taking place. I look forward to creating more learning situations in the future that stretch comfort zones, but foster success to build confidence and a sense of empowerment.
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