Brief Bio:
Kylee Jo Duberstein was born in Missouri, but grew up in Gainesville, FL on a small horse farm where she competed jumping horses at a national level for over 15 years. She showed at the Grand Prix level for over 10 years and has won 4 USEF national standard Grand Prix events, as well as medaled for two years in the North American Young Riders Championships, with many of her accomplishments coming aboard her home raised American Quarter Horse, Whatazan. She resides just outside of Athens with her husband and two children on a small horse farm where she continues to enjoy horses.
Position:
Kylee is a professor in the Animal and Dairy Science department at UGA where she instructs in the equine science program as well as serves as a state equine extension specialist. Kylee teaches courses such as Equine Nutrition as well as Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Horse. She leads the applied, hands-on equine science curriculum by teaching introductory horse handling and riding courses as well as an advanced course on horse behavior and training to students from many different majors across campus. As part of her equine nutrition research program, Kylee conducts research in the area of forage selection and pasture management for horses, with a recent focus on managing horses with metabolic disorders. Additionally, Kylee has worked extensively in the area of equine biomechanics where she enjoys studying potential impacts of nutritional, farrier, and training factors on the equine gait.
Goal:
Her main focus right now is to develop research-based recommendations for grazing horses with metabolic disorders involving insulin dysregulation. She has a large research project going on in collaboration with a faculty member at the vet school. They are wrapping up phase 1 of this project and planning to continue working in this area.
Ashley Best, Newton County Extension Coordinator