Education

Dr. Amy McLean has had a lifelong passion for equids especially equids with long ears! She grew up on a donkey and mule farm in Georgia. She has devoted her professional career to conducting donkey and mule research that focuses on improving management and their well-being. McLean is an Assistant Professor in Teaching of Equine Science in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California Davis where she teaches six upper division equine science courses. She earned her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in equine science where she studied methods to improve working donkey welfare in Mali, West Africa. She earned her Master’s of Science with a focus in Reproduction Physiology from the University of Georgia. Her Bachelor of Science was also earned from the University of Georgia focused on Animal Science with an equine emphasis, dairy science as a co-major and a minor in Agribusiness.

Since earning her PhD, Dr. McLean has worked in 28 countries leading many research and teaching programs with universities and nongovernmental organizations. In addition, she’s mentored graduate students and fostered collaborations with several international institutions and served as an external reviewer for tenure and promotion packets. Considering her area of expertise, she has been a resource for the donkey skin trade industry from consulting with government officials in China to policy makers in South Africa to better regulate the industry.

In addition, her research with donkeys, mules, and hinnies had led to publishing over 30 articles with a continued focus of improving welfare of working equids with the idea that improving their welfare will help improve the welfare of the families they work for. Along with completing an invited book chapter in 2019 in Vet Clinics of North America on Donkey and Mule Behavior, she has written five additional book chapters including a chapter for Temple Grandin on Working Equid Welfare. Recently in 2021 she was asked to chair a special “How to Session” for the American Association of Equine Practitioners 65th Convention dedicated to Donkey and Mule Medicine, a session that was well attended and offered for the first time in over 20 years.

In addition to her international experience in research and teaching, McLean has a passion for performance horses and has coached both youth and collegiate horse judging teams to World Championships at AQHA competitions. She has served in the role as the International Marketing Director of the American Quarter Horse Association and worked closely with stakeholders around the world. McLean remains active in the industry by serving as a board of director for several national mule and donkey organizations.

In her free time, she volunteers and serves as a board of director for the Equitarian Initiative who focus their efforts on working equids in Central and South America. She leads their research program and assists with educational programming in the field specific to mules and donkeys. Also, McLean actively shows on a national level in allaround competition and enjoys taking lessons and attending clinics with her mule Big Star Sarge and her Jack Russell Moonpie. She has consistently led the amateur all around division for the American Mule Association and other national organizations.