Temple Grandin didn’t talk much about horses during her Virginia Tech appearance Friday, but one point should sound familiar to anyone involved with breeding performance animals.
Grandin said breeders need to think about what is “optimal, not maximum.”
“If you over-select for any trait, whether it’s production, looks, or performance, you will wreck your animal,” she said.
Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, an author, and one of the world’s best-known experts on animal behavior and livestock handling. Her work has helped reshape how the livestock industry approaches animal welfare, facility design, and low-stress handling, and she has written extensively about both animal behavior and autism.
This one small piece of two talks held at Virginia Tech, Grandin said pushing selection for any one trait too far — whether production, appearance or performance — and the health and function of the animal can suffer. Grandin specifically included racehorses among the examples.
Her message was simple: Performance matters, but so do soundness, health, and the animal’s ability to function.
Learn more about Grandin at templegrandin.com
