New equine school at Royal Agricultural University

The University’s equine courses were first established in 1992, after extensive consultations with the various areas of the equine industry. It maintains those strong links with the industry and continues to redefine course content to meet employer requirements. Graduates benefit from a blend of teaching methods, including both practice and theory, from international trips, and from exposure to senior figures from across the equine world, going on to pursue a diverse range of careers.

The University’s equine courses were first established in 1992, after extensive consultations with the various areas of the equine industry. It maintains those strong links with the industry and continues to redefine course content to meet employer requirements. Graduates benefit from a blend of teaching methods, including both practice and theory, from  international trips, and from exposure to senior figures from across the equine world, going on to pursue a diverse range of careers.

Dr Meriel Moore-Colyer is the first Dean of the new School. Meriel graduated with a BSc Honours degree in Agriculture in 1984 from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and went on to be a Lecturer in Animal Science at that University between 1989 and 2004. She completed a PhD in Equine Digestive Physiology at the University of Edinburgh in 2000.

Meriel is a registered Animal Scientist with the Society of Biology and an active researcher, with a wide range of publications on equine nutrition and the health and welfare of the stabled horse. In this respect she has developed and fostered many valuable links with a number of academic institutions involved with equine research and management.

She has worked with numerous UK-based feed companies in product development and is committed to the application of both pure and applied equine research to the horse industry. Meriel regularly lectures at international conferences and industry CPD days across the UK and Europe. With her background in agricultural science she is well-placed to appreciate the relationship between the horse and agricultural industries and to identify areas of mutual interest between them.

A keen horsewoman, Meriel has ridden at international level representing British Universities as a student and participated in hunting, eventing and dressage in Ireland and the UK. She currently competes her home-bred Irish Draught horse in dressage at Small-Tour level. 

Dr Meriel Moore-Colyer said: “The formation of the new School of Equine Management and Science is an exciting new development at the RAU, giving us a clear identity and a platform from which provide our courses.  Our International Equine and Agriculture Business Management degree is unique and ever-popular and we will be building on our portfolio of industry-related equine management courses in the near future.

“The new School will provide a clear identity for our research specialisms in nutrition, genetics, health and welfare and further enhance our USP in applied equine research. We have excellent links with all aspects of the equine industry and we hope to build on these to further enhance our courses giving students at the RAU an exceptional learning experience.”

For more information please contact shelly.hampshire@rau.ac.uk on 01285 652531.