Stanford medical students are stepping outside the hospital and into the stable to learn how to improve their patient skills, NBC11's Marianne Favro reported.

It is all part of a new medical school course aimed at helping the school breed better doctors.

SLIDESHOW: Images Of Students, Horses

Stanford teachers said the students can learn a lot from working with horses.

For example, if you look past a horse's teeth, tail and a lack of toes, you'll find they the animals have a lot in common with humans, Favro reported.

One thing that springs to mind quickly is that the horses do not enjoy being examined, according to Favro.

Favro said unlike most two legged patients, a horse will tell you immediately if they don't like the way they are being examined and that instant feedback can be useful for a doctor in training to help them develop ways to make a patient more comfortable.

One teacher told the students that one of the things they were addressing in the course is the student's bedside manner and how they are perceived, as well as how they carry themselves.

Favro said horses are good judges because they respond to the subtle body language.

Third year medical student Katalin Szabo told Favro she considers herself a "lovey-dovey" person, but after working with a 1,200 pound patient, she quickly realized compassion alone doesn't always work..

Szabo said, "I need to step up and sometimes stand my own ground."

Jason Moss told Favro he is trying to convince his patient named Dream to step on this Mylar blanket. He said it was a tough task and that he learned everyone has a particular way that her or she needs to be motivated as he attempted to get the horse to comply.

Moss said, "You can be the most competent knowledgeable person, but if you can't instill trust in someone then its all for nothing."

One teacher told Favrr that medical students who take this course will have the tools to be able to really listen to their patients and remember their in a profession where they aren't dealing with a petri dish, they're dealing with a human being.

Favro called that a barnyard lesson on bedside manner.

More Resources:

• Horsensei Equine-Assisted Learning and Therapy