Associate Dean Appointed to Equine Teaching and Outreach Position at Colorado State University

Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences associate dean, Jim Heird, recently was named director of teaching and outreach for the equine sciences program and director of the Colorado Agricultural Rural Leadership programs. Heird also will serve on the Y-Cross Ranch management committee, which he currently chairs, a university holding in Wyoming. He’ll also continue to serve as the college’s liaison in the long-running partnership with the National Western Stock Show.  

As director of outreach for equine sciences, Heird will oversee public educational opportunities through Colorado State University Cooperative Extension and various short courses open to the public on topics such as management, equine training and riding.

Heird has been a member of the university faculty within the College of Agricultural Sciences for 18 years.

Equine sciences has the largest number of undergraduate students enrolled as a major in that area than any other major option within the college. Colorado State offers the only equine sciences degree from a land-grant university, and about 40 percent of the students enrolled in equine sciences are out-of-state students.

"This program is unique in its ability to combine equine production with business management," Heird said. "Students leave this program with a variety of strengths such as equine reproduction, nutrition and behavior management, as well as business management and communication skills."  

Many students who major in equine sciences leave the university to work in fields such as ranch management, equine nutrition and supplies, real estate and banking. About 25 percent of the students in this field have a double major in business or agricultural business.

The equine sciences program was developed at Colorado State in 1982, and the major became available in 1986.

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