The Temple Grandin Equine Center is Colorado State University’s initiative that integrates research and education in equine-assisted services. There are two locations of the TGEC: CSU in Fort Collins and CSU Spur.
The TGEC’s mission is to help advance, sustain, and promote the horse’s role in society and the EAS industry while monitoring and enhancing animal welfare. EAS includes utilizing the horse and the equine environment for the betterment of individuals with all types of abilities and disabilities.
TGEC’s programming is for the betterment of horses and humans alike. It’s a place where individuals with special challenges heal, therapists treat, instructors teach, students learn, scientists research, and horses are studied, cared for, and advanced. Programming includes:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Mental health counseling
- Adaptive horsemanship and therapeutic riding
- Equine facilitated learning
The Temple Grandin Equine Center at CSU Spur offers equine-assisted services to prescheduled clients. Sessions typically run Mondays-Fridays; check the CSU Spur calendar for exact times.
Many client sessions and horse arena time may be observed by the public; however, sessions are subject to delayed starts, early endings, or cancellations, depending on the needs of the client. We appreciate your flexibility and understanding of last-minute changes to the schedule.
A Gift Horse
She arrived at the horse barn like many little girls – wearing jeans and canvas sneakers, her curly blonde hair neatly plaited. But Laura Fischer came in a wheelchair, her 7-year-old frame held in place with black nylon straps. For her, horseback riding is not merely recreation. It is therapy, designed to improve her muscle strength and movement, which are severely impaired by a rare genetic disorder.
Laura’s disorder also inhibits her speech: She can utter sounds, but not words. So, as she recently waited to ride a Welsh pony named Bond, Laura used an assistive communication device to express herself. Unprompted, she tapped a sensor with her temple and picked a word to display on a computer tablet. “Like.”
We need your help
Volunteers are integral to providing TGEC services and programming; they assist with horse care, facility care, sidewalking and leading horses in appointments, event planning and fundraising, and more.
Contact us
Email the Temple Grandin Equine Center at [email protected] with any questions.
Hours
Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
2nd Saturday of every month: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (closed all other Saturdays)
Closed Sundays
Location
4777 National Western Dr.,
Denver, CO 80216
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TONY FRANK
Chancellor, CSU System
Dr. Tony Frank is the Chancellor of the CSU System. He previously served for 11 years as the 14th president of CSU in Fort Collins. Dr. Frank earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Wartburg College, followed by a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. and residencies in pathology and toxicology at Purdue. Prior to his appointment as CSU’s president in 2008, he served as the University’s provost and executive vice president, vice president for research, chairman of the Pathology Department, and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He was appointed to a dual role as Chancellor in 2015 and became full-time System chancellor in July 2019.
Dr. Frank serves on a number of state and national boards, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications, and has been honored with state and national awards for his leadership in higher education.
Dr. Frank and his wife, Dr. Patti Helper, have three daughters.
It’s our anniversary!
It’s our anniversary! CSU Spur has been fully open to the public, sharing hands-on, family-friendly activities around food, water, and health for two years. Join us on Saturday, Jan. 11, for 2nd Saturday activities, including desserts, a mariachi performance, face painters, horses on treadmills, veterinarians in surgery, scientists in labs, and more. The celebration is from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and CSU Spur will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; no registration required, all public activities are free.
2nd Saturday at CSU Spur is presented by Canvas Credit Union.
JOCELYN HITTLE
Associate Vice President for CSU Spur, Colorado State University
Jocelyn Hittle is primarily focused on the CSU Spur campus at the National Western Center, and on supporting sustainability goals across CSU’s campuses. She sits on the Denver Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Council, on the Advisory Committee for the Coors Western Art Show, and is a technical advisor for the AASHE STARS program.
Prior to joining CSU, Jocelyn was the Associate Director of PlaceMatters, a national urban planning think tank, and worked for the Orton Family Foundation. She has a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton, and a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Jocelyn grew up in Colorado and spends her free time in the mountains or exploring Denver.
We’ll see you Saturday!
2nd Saturday at CSU Spur is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday (July 12), and we’re hosting River Fest with all kinds of family-friendly activities, including fish-themed arts and crafts, the Hydro stream table, and information about rain gardens and rain barrels with Groundwork Denver. Plus, the Market at the Center, a monthly community market hosted at the National Western Center Riverfront in collaboration with 2nd Saturdays!