Important research on horse nutrition and exercise at Virginia Intermont College, Bristol, Va., led by Dr. Patricia Graham-Thiers, professor of equine studies, are presented in one of the country’s top animal science publications.

Conducted by faculty and students of Virginia Intermont, the studies involved the relationship of diet, plasma and muscle amino acids in horses in maintenance, exercise, growth, gestation and lactation.

The studies are published in the latest edition of “The Professional Animal Scientist,” a highly regarded resource on the health of animals and wildlife. The research focused on amino acid concentrations in different functions of the horses, and the results were based on numerous samples of blood, plasma and muscle biopsies during an eight-week period, comparing concentrations in the various samples from the horses.

The research is important, providing information towards developing amino acid requirements that have not been specifically studied in horses, although similar inquiries have been conducted on poultry and swine.
A 15-year veteran of the college faculty, Graham-Thiers led the research and authored the case studies. In addition to students, she was assisted by Jacob Haught, doctor of veterinary medicine in Washington County, Va., who is an instructor at Virginia Intermont, and faculty of the animal science department at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga.

Graham-Thiers continues to lead equine research rare in the country on the undergraduate level. She is Virginia Intermont’s academic coordinator of the equine studies program and has developed and expanded curriculum during her tenure. She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a master’s in equine nutrition from the University of Florida, and a doctorate in equine nutrition and exercise physiology from Virginia Tech.

Founded in 1884, Virginia Intermont is a private, four-year coeducational liberal arts-based institution, affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Social Work and Associate in Arts degrees.