Erika Berg has joined North Dakota State University’s Equine Studies program as an assistant professor.

She will spend 80 percent of her time teaching and 20 percent conducting research.

Berg plans to develop a therapeutic horsemanship curriculum. She also will teach an upper level equine physiology class and coach the intercollegiate hunt seat equestrian team.

Prior to coming to NDSU, she was an instructor and the horse unit manager at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a certified therapeutic riding instructor for physically, mentally and emotionally challenged children at the Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center in Columbia.

She previously worked for the Judevine Autism Project in Columbia and was a teaching assistant and guest lecturer at Texas A&M University, College Station; barn manager and guest lecturer at Berry College, Rome, Ga.; and teaching assistant at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.

Her research has focused on the physiology of equine obesity; endocrine profiles of mares and foals; equine behavior; effects of transportation on equine physiology and behavior; stress physiology in the neonatal pig; and digestive effects of fructo-oligosaccharides, a source of dietary fiber, in yearling horses.

Berg earned a B.S. degree in animal science and an M.S. degree in animal science/animal management from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Missouri.

NDSU Agriculture Communication