78 To Fart or Not to Fart – Instructor guide
To Fart or Not to Fart
Instructional Guide
Learners will explore what gas colic is, including its causes, signs, and treatment. With this, students will learn the typical horse gastrointestinal system.
Intended Grade Level
This lesson is intended for 6th- 8th grade. Students should be familiar with general anatomy of the GI system, and the role of microbes in digestion.
Learning objectives
- Students will be able to correctly display the gastrointestinal system of the horse.
- Students can demonstrate how gas colic can occur in horses.
- Students will be able to explain what contributes to gas colic in horses and why.
- Students will be able to recognize the signs of colic and how we would diagnose it.
- Students will be able to recognize how treatment will help relieve gas colic.
Lesson Format
This lesson can be done in any size group. For this lesson, a balloon, empty bottle, baking soda and vinegar are recommended for a demonstrative experiment.
- First students will read an introduction, either independently or in a group, to what gas colic is in horses. They will also watch a video to familiarize themselves with the horse gastrointestinal system(15 minutes)
- Next, students will play a game to label the horse GI system . (8 minutes)
- Students will then watch or participate in an experiment that demonstrates what a stomach filled with gas is like and how it occurs (10 minutes).
- Afterwards, students will read about the causes, signs and treatment of gas colic (10 minutes)
- Once finished, students will take a quick quiz to test their knowledge.
Lesson Background
Colic is a term used to describe gastrointestinal pain in a horse. In this specific lesson we will explore gas colic, which is a specific type of colic caused by gas buildup in the GI system.
Horses are hindgut fermenters, meaning that the microbiota within their cecum, or their hindgut, is primarily responsible for breaking down ingesta. When there is a buildup of gas within the system, either due to eating food that leads to higher gas production, or an inability to release gas, the horse can experience colic.
Activities
After learning about the horse GI system, students can test their newly learned knowledge out with a drag and drop activity where they must place the horse GI system in order.
Students can either watch or take part in a balloon experiment. A youtube video will provide the steps for them to follow along with. Students will be encouraged to manipulate the balloon once it is gas filled in order to see how a GI tract with gas in it could lead to colic.
Common misconceptions and challenge points
Students may be confused about the term colic. Colic describes many different disease processes within horses, and just refers to a gastrointestinal pain.
Students may not understand why horses cannot burp, and only pass gas. This is due to a one-way valve connecting their stomach and esophagus. So when gas builds up, it can only pass through the GI system and be expelled as flatulence.
Assessment
Students will go through a short quiz that involves true/false, multiple choice, matching and drag and drop question styles to test their new knowledge about gas colic.
Further exploration
Other pages within this textbook that students interested in this topic may enjoy can be found below:
Every Digestive System is Unique!
Why Do Horses Guts Just Stop Moving?
