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Horse Diet Study Reveals Unexpected Findings
13 Apr
Summary
- Student research presented at the 2026 Amarillo Research Symposium.
- A graduate student's horse diet study yielded results contrary to her hypothesis.
- The symposium aimed to foster collaboration between different research departments.
The 2026 Amarillo Research Symposium brought together over 100 student and trainee researchers from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine (TTUSVM) on April 10th. The event featured keynote speaker Frederick Grinnell, Ph.D., who discussed "Ambiguity in the Practice of Science." Presentations spanned basic science, laboratory research, animal work, and human clinical research, demonstrating a broad spectrum of scientific inquiry.
This collaborative effort, including the TTUHSC Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, aimed to enhance interdepartmental connections and spark new research ideas. Dr. Shyanne Hefley emphasized the value of bridging departments like veterinary medicine and human medicine for novel project development. The symposium's history began in 2021, with ongoing efforts to involve local colleges for broader participation.
Graduate student Ashley Starrett presented her research on equine nutrition, studying the digestibility of common diets in horses. Using a method adapted from beef cattle research, she analyzed fecal matter from horses fed either coastal hay or a commercial grain. Her findings indicated that the grain diet led to larger fecal particle sizes, contradicting her hypothesis that hay-rich diets would be more associated with colic.
