Texas Horse Help App

By Elizabeth Ennis

The Texas Horse Help App is the latest step made by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horse Program and Dr. Jennifer Zoller, Extension horse specialist, to foster connections in the Texas equine industry and encourage education for all of its members. Zoller wanted to provide an outlet for Texas horse owners and enthusiasts to connect with equine professionals in all breeds and disciplines throughout the state, discover events such as competitions and seminars in their area, and get connected to their county extension agents and 4-H programs.

Horse enthusiasts also have at their fingertips educational resources such as judging and training videos, online and in-person courses, as well as a wealth of equine science publications. This is not only a resource for Texas horse owners, but also a source of free advertising for Texas equine businessess and events as well as a way for Extension and 4-H to gain more exposure.

Over the past six months, Zoller, Chelsie Huseman, and graduate student, Elizabeth Ennis, have been developing the app to encompass all of these features in the most concise and visually appealing manner. The app went live on the IOS app store and Android Google Play on January 24, and after only three weeks, had obtained more than 1,600 downloads. The team has been receiving daily submissions of events in many disciplines of riding as well as businesses from trainers to breeders, farriers, photographers, feed and tack stores, and insurance agents. The Texas Horse Help developers are in the midst of planning additional features such as embedded videos, coupons for featured businesses, and a quiz game to keep the app enticing for all generations of horse enthusiasts.

A link to download the app as well as links to submit events and businesses can be found on the Texas Horse Help App website at https://animalscience.tamu.edu/texas-horse-help-app/.

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