Mary E. Miller Chair of Excellence in Equine Health

The Mary E. Miller Chair of Excellence in Equine Health is one of 100 Chairs of Excellence in the Tennessee Higher Education System. It is housed at Middle Tennessee State University, in the School of Agriculture Horse Science Center.

The purpose of the Mary E. Miller Chair in Equine Health is to enhance equine health through research and teaching. The Chair Holder funds are used to support the Clinical Specialist in Equine Health.   In this role, the Chair extends knowledge to the horse industry through research and teaching and collaborates on equine health studies with veterinarians and equine scientists nationwide. Seminars, professional papers, and periodical articles will be used to reach the industry.  The Clinical Specialist position was filled in August 2022 with Dr. Alyssa Logan.

Since her arrival in 2022, Dr. Logan has been integral to the Horse Science Program. She instructs several undergraduate and graduate courses in her areas of expertise: Equine Exercise Physiology, as well as Equine Evaluation and Horse Judging. She also teaches an introductory equine care and use course, and graduate seminar and industry issues courses. Since her hiring, Dr. Logan has been the Graduate Director for the M.S. in Horse Science Program. She has served as the chair of the graduate committee for ten M.S. students, with 100% placement rate of graduated students to a career directly related to their course of study.

Dr. Logan continues to have high research activity and connection of research to the equine industry. She continues to explore, with her graduate and undergraduate student’s, methods of equine management and exercise to promote longevity of careers and reduce injuries. This includes work to evaluate rider effectiveness, horse conditioning, detection and long-term effects of equine conformation alteration, and identification of equine fatigue during training. Through research, Dr. Logan collaborates with departments at MTSU as well as equine researchers internationally. Dr. Logan and her graduate students recently presented 2 abstracts at the 2023 Equine Science Society Symposium, where and abstract was awarded in the Production and Management Graduate Student Competition, and was identified as runner-up for a Journal of Equine Veterinary Science Publication award, which Dr. Logan won as a Ph.D. student in 2021.

Dr. Logan provides industry leadership and education, in particular on the topic of Horse Judging, and serves as a director with the National Horse Judging Team Coaches’ Association. She also holds judging cards with the American Quarter Horse Association (Level 1 Judging) and the National Reining Horse Association. She also coaches the MTSU Horse Judging Team, the 2024 AQHA World Show and NRHA Judging Contest Reserve Champion Team. She brings judging outreach to local, state-wide, and national events, including collaboration with 4-H, Extension, FFA, and breed and discipline associations.

Dr. Logan brings an exciting background of research, teaching, industry connections, and student advising that continues to enhance the Chair position.

For more information about Dr. Logan, visit (https://w1.mtsu.edu/faculty/alyssa-logan) or contact via email (alyssa.logan@mtsu.edu).