KER Staff

Heidi Lykins is one of our 2023-2024 Research Interns. Heidi is from Montana and has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Montana State University. Heidi plans on pursuing a master’s degree in equine nutrition following her year with Kentucky Equine Research.

Heidi was born and raised in Indiana, where she learned to ride on POAs and showed across the Midwest and southern regions in the USA. When her family moved to Montana in 2014, Heidi spent a lot of time trail riding in the mountains with her POA, Blondie. While at Montana State University, she grew extremely interested in equine nutrition, performance, and training. Outside of the classroom, Heidi worked with trainers in Bozeman to train Quarter Horses and Draft/Quarter Horse crosses for pleasure riding, trail riding, and ranch work. She also worked at Hardaway Veterinary Hospital for three years as a Veterinary Technician Assistant to learn more about veterinary practice and how to take the best care of her own animals. Heidi has a goal to apply her equine education and experiences to one day adopt and train a mustang.

Heidi is excited to be back where she grew up in the thick of the equine industry, and she is looking forward to learning about nutrition and research, expanding her network in the equine industry, applying to graduate school, and absorbing as much knowledge as she can!