TOP LEFT: Dr. Temple Grandin delivering her keynote presentation. TOP RIGHT: Logan Freeman, a member of the 4-H club – Reddick Collier Elementary Wranglers – asked Dr. Temple Grandin an important question: “How does the squeeze machine calm you and other animals down?” BOTTOM LEFT: The Drake family was honored with the Acorn Conservation Award. L to R: HFF Director of Conservation, Busy Shires; George MacKay Drake, Jr., Trusten Holland Drake, Laura Drake McDonald, Bob Drake, Ann Louise Drake, and HFF President Bernie Little. BOTTOM RIGHT: Dr. Temple Grandin signs a book for Nell Ward with her father Carlton Ward, Jr.
Horses to the Rescue
During high school, Dr. Grandin was bullied, but she found a refuge at the school’s horse barn, which was part of the school’s educational program. “The only place I was not bullied was with the horses,” she said. “That was the one place. They basically saved my teenage years. I had friends through riding horses and going to shows and I also learned how to work. I had nine stalls to clean and I had to run a horse barn.” Working with horses and with the strong influence from her mother and her high school science teacher gave her the
confidence to pursue her research on animal behavior and livestock welfare. In 1989, she earned her Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Illinois. Dr. Grandin is now a Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.
Animals Think in Pictures
Through Dr. Grandin’s own experiences with autism, and her career as a scientist, led her to the realization that she thinks in pictures, and that animals also think in pictures. “My memory is like the pictures on your phone,” she said.
This unique perspective gave her an advantage to understanding animal behavior. While her research is primarily about cattle, her research and observations also apply to horses and other animals. “If you want to understand a horse or any animal, you have to get away from words,” said Dr. Grandin. “It’s a sensory-based world; it’s not a wordbased world. What is it seeing? Some of the first work I ever did with cattle, I got into the cattle handling facility, and I saw they were scared of shadows and reflections. These are things we don’t normally think about.” When Dr. Grandin was in her late 30s, she discovered that there are different
OCALAMAGAZINE.COM | JAN 2026 |
43