From the first year, our veterinary students have classes and practical work in anatomy. For this practical, their teacher organized a horse painting animation to study biomechanics in movement.
Here is a review of this unusual experience that our students particularly enjoyed!
What is horse painting ?
The horse painting allows to make the anatomy course more concrete and thus more attractive and educational for the students by painting the anatomical structures on the horse's body.
Literally "horse painting", it is a technique that consists in drawing with water paint (non toxic for the animal, and which is cleaned after the course), anatomical structures such as bones or muscle areas for example.
Why do horse painting ?
By carrying out the action of drawing, but also by seeing the animal move with the horse painting, the anatomy course is immediately more concrete, more educational and more attractive for the students. Thomas, a first year student, explains that "in the courses, the skeleton is often put next to the horse, here it allows to have a much more precise vision, it's a great experience to facilitate the learning!"
The original side, experience and also very aesthetic, has a real impact on memorization!
Charlotte Beerts, Veterinary Associate Professor, tells us more about the pedagogical interest of this experience:
"The biomechanics classes allow us to analyze the horse's movements. By combining the horse painting sessions with the biomechanics classes, the students can observe in real time the projection of anatomical structures on the horse, which are not all directly palpable. Through horse painting, students have a better appreciation of the position, size and shape of these structures. By working directly with the live animal, these sessions optimize learning skills and increase students' knowledge of anatomy."
Focus - pedagogical innovation at UniLaSalle :
Marion Flautre, UniLaSalle Pedagogical Innovation Manager, trains teachers in new methods and new tools. She explains this concept to us in more detail:
Pedagogical innovation contributes to the implementation of new learning methods with the objective of promoting understanding, information retention and memorization over time. By proposing alternative teaching methods such as horse painting or virtual reality for example, students take pleasure, they are more captive and engaged which favors a better quality and more durable learning. Pedagogical innovation offers a range of methods and modalities that are constantly evolving. It is a real field of possibilities that opens up to us!
A big thank you to the Ecuries de Nuit, for their welcome, their interest and their support!
