Nearly 50 University of Kentucky (UK) students will accept their degrees in Equine Science and Management on May 9, but many are likely unaware of how new their degree program is and what a momentous occasion its creation was for the college.

This spring marks 10 years since the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment launched UK Ag Equine Programs, then called the Equine Initiative.

“The program is ideally situated in the heart of horse country, and this provides opportunities for researchers, extension agents, and students to leave their footprint in the industry at the local, national, and international levels,” said Jill Stowe, PhD, director of UK Ag Equine Programs.

The college set out to radically change how it served Kentucky’s signature equine industry when it launched the UK Equine Initiative in 2005 to provide a suite of services appropriate for a land grant university. At the time, the college housed the Department of Veterinary Science’s Gluck Equine Research Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and two equine faculty members in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. While there was research, extension, and teaching work already being done in equine in the college, there was no undergraduate stand-alone equine major and few horse-tailored extension programs. There was also no real “front door” for the general public to access UK’s equine expertise