At first glance it seems odd that the California Thoroughbred Foundation is awarding this year’s Louis R. Rowan Fellowship in Equine Studies to a mechanical engineering Ph. D. candidate at U. C. Davis. But Sarah Shafer earned this honor by her work with horses. She graduated with a B.S. from The Ohio State University with research honors, minoring in equine science and writing a horse study for her thesis.
Her current research at the J. D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory at Davis involves studying the effects of race surface and exercise history on skeletal adaptation and risk for skeletal injury in racehorses.
Dr. Susan M. Stover, Distinguished Professor at that laboratory, writes about Ms. Shafer: “I have been remarkably impressed with her enthusiasm, drive, diverse skills, optimism, and ‘get in and do it’ attitude. She is a remarkable fit for our research program, designed to elucidate training programs that have the potential to prevent fetlock breakdowns in Thoroughbred racehorses.”
Shafer chose to move to Davis for graduate school so she could work with veterinarians on an engineering project to improve equine welfare. Her intention is to work in the equine biomechanics field as a professor at a research institution after completing her Ph.D.
An enthusiastic equestrian, she works with her reining Quarter Horse in Davis and trains her dog for agility activities.