Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My daughter is wanting to do a project on a miniature horse that has foundered. We took measurements before they corrected the hooves of the pony and then measurements after the hoof was clipped. She was wanting to see how long it would take before the hoof would get out of angle again. Her teacher said we could not do this becuse we were only measuring the hoof. If we had two horses -one with a shoe and one without a shoe and measured the difference in time that the hooves had to be taken care of would that be enough to make it a science project? If we compare the two instead of just watch the one?

Hello JChastain21a,
Thank you for your post. I'm not sure why the teacher said you could not do this project, but I'm going to guess it is because you don't have a hypothesis and a control. I will direct you to some resources on these things. But basically, you need to do some research about the growth of hooves, what factors can affect growth, and issues arising from using shoes vs. not using shoes. Do some research online on Laminitis, how it happens, how to correct it, prevent it, etc. For examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminitis. From there, you can help your daughter come up with a hypothesis, such as: I think that since hooves, like fingernails, are constantly growing, that ____ will affect the growth rate (or whatever else you want to test: growth rate, malformations, exposure to different ground textures, etc.).

Science Buddies has some great resources, start with this one on the overview of doing a project, maybe that will give you the bigger picture: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... thod.shtml
For more information on forming a hypothesis: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... evariables and https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... esis.shtml.
You will need to have a control pony (one that you will compare your 'subject' to, that has no adjustments to the shoe, etc.), and an experiment (what you will be testing/ observing). These are your variables. When you gather your data, this will answer your hypothesis question (saying yes the hypothesis was accurate, or no it was not). Start there, and then post again here in this thread when you have other questions. I look forward to hearing how the project comes along!

We just found out that is was not the experiment itself but that you can not use animals for your science project. With all the information we have gathered and test we have already done she will have an excellent source for a research paper though Back to the drawing board on science project ideas.

Hello,
I see...yes, that makes sense, but there should be no problem in doing an "observation" of a procedure already being done (by someone else, a professional).
But, have you looked on this website for project ideas? We have some excellent resources. If your daughter wants to do something relating to animals, try: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... deas.shtml, and look under the section Mammalian Biology and/or Zoology. You can also type into the search box: horses, or whatever you are wanting to do. Another great resource is the Science Buddies Project Wizard, you can type in your daughter's grade, experience level, and interest areas, and you will be taken to a list of projects that she can do: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ndaproject.

Try either of those and let us know what your daughter decides. Also, she can post here under her profile or under yours so that we can answer her specific questions, that will also give her experience working with real scientists! I look forward to hearing from you and your daughter soon.