Most horse lovers tell similar stories: They grew up on a ranch or farm and horses were a part of their everyday lives.
Devan Catalano, an assistant professor of equine science and Colorado’s new Equine Extension Specialist, tells a different tale. She grew up in Massachusetts suburbia and wasn’t born into a horse family.
And then everything changed in a most unexpected way.
“Ground Zero for me was a pony ride at a neighbor’s birthday party,” Catalano said, laughing at the memory. “I got on that horse and was hooked.”
She was 8 years old. By third grade she was taking riding lessons and spending her free time at the barn. Not long after that, she convinced her parents to cancel her other activities so she could focus on horses.
“I was a barn rat,” she said. “I was at the barn every spare hour of every day. After I got my driver’s license my parents never saw me again.
“I couldn’t imagine a better childhood. Horses are just magical, and that feeling has stayed with me.”
Her love of horses led her to Colorado State University, which was the first university to offer a degree in equine science and is widely considered the top program in the country. CSU introduced her to like-minded people who share her passion for the horse and could answer all of her questions about how to care for them.
It was also where she learned what a career connecting science and horses could look like. She called her time as an undergrad at CSU “life changing.”
CSU’s Equine Science program offered Catalano a variety of experiential learning opportunities and exposure to research that set her up for success in graduate school at the University of Minnesota, where she received a master’s and Ph.D. During her graduate work, she was introduced to extension, the public education and outreach mission of land grant universities.
“From the time I was a sophomore in undergrad I was planning my return to CSU to teach,” she said. After graduate school, I knew that I wanted to be the CSU Equine Extension Specialist. I love the public education aspect of it. It’s very much about applied science: What’s the best way to do things? What has the most impact for horses and their owners?”
Catalano’s job is 60% extension and 40% research. Her research focuses on equine nutrition and facilities management strategies including pasture management. She also coordinates the CSU Legends of Ranching colt starting program and performance horse sale. Once she has learned all she can about an operation and its unique challenges, she makes research-based recommendations.
“My goals are to help horse owners figure out the intersection of horse health, good land stewardship, and the economics of horse ownership,” she said. “Colorado is such a big state with different needs for horses in different areas. Wherever horse owners are in this state, I want to help them.”
