Diploma Course for Instructors in Functional Hoof Care
Martina-Siebenhandl_01.jpg/jcr:content/BMLFUW_Strubreiter_(c)Martina%20Siebenhandl_01.jpg)
Hoof health is one of the key pillars of animal welfare and is therefore particularly important for the quality of life and performance of cattle. Both aspects are of considerable importance to society and have been the subject of widespread discussion for years.
To ensure correct hoof trimming, appropriate training programmes are essential, such as the certificate courses for own-herd and external hoof care approved by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Regions and Water Management. Competent instructors who possess not only practical expertise but also the didactic and pedagogical skills to pass on their knowledge are a fundamental prerequisite for any high-quality training. Opportunities for professionally sound instructor training are very limited across Europe.
To address this gap, the Higher Federal Teaching and Research Institute for Agriculture Raumberg-Gumpenstein has been offering a diploma course to become an instructor in functional hoof care in cooperation with European Hoofcare since 2020.
The comprehensive training programme lasts 8 - 12 months and qualifies graduates, for example, to teach in certificate courses on functional hoof care and to assess performance in the relevant examination committees.
The diploma course covers hoof care, animal husbandry and health, communication, pedagogy and presentation techniques, both in theory and in practice.
The diploma course was submitted as the first non-formal specialist training programme in the agricultural sector to the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) by the responsible service centre, the University College for Agrarian and Environmental Pedagogy in Vienna. Its classification at education level V (upper secondary school-leaving examination level) has now been officially confirmed: https://www.qualifikationsregister.at/public/qualification/116/ . This makes the level of training transparent and comparable in an international context.
For further specialist information, please contact Mr Robert Pesenhofer (Head of Technical Training, European Hoofcare, office@klauenpflege-pesenhofer.at). For organisational enquiries, please contact Ms Alexandra Eckhart (Alexandra.Eckhart@raumberg-gumpenstein.at) at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein.