Abigail Nemec

Director – Equine Program

Contact info:
Phone: 203.596.4645
Email: [email protected]
Office: MacDermid 212

Academic Background:

Abigail Nemec is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she received a B.A. in Theatre (Children’s Theatre concentration). In addition, she has taken business and science courses at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. She received private tutoring in farriery from William Winchester, CJF.

Teaching Background:

Ms. Nemec has been teaching in Equine Business Management at Post University since 2008. Before that, she had operated an equine consulting business for several years, teaching hoof care and horse care clinics locally and on the road. She has been teaching riding and unmounted horse care for twenty-five years, focused on developing effective communication and repairing damaged owner-horse relationships.

Professional Background:

As a farrier, Ms. Nemec works using traditional shoeing methods but also specializes in barefoot performance and founder/laminitis rehabilitation. She has provided thermal imaging, hoof care consulting, diet balancing, and video imaging services for clients from Maine to Hawaii and maintained a small retail sales program for nutritional and horse care products related to her consulting services.

Ms. Nemec had ample business management experience before starting her farrier and consulting business. She had served as Head Riding Instructor, Riding Director, and Head After School Child Care Teacher for a branch of the YMCA, and worked as Office Manager for a range of employers including consulting, retail/service, day care and veterinary practice businesses in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors.

In all these roles, she was responsible for administrative tasks involved including maintaining financial records, building websites, and preparing business and personal tax returns.

Teaching Philosophy:

The art of excellent teaching requires knowledge of the subject, perspective in which to frame it, passion about sharing one’s experience, and a sincere desire for the student to enrich their lives by using what they’ve learned. Ms. Nemec strives to present material in a variety of ways in order to engage learners of all types and backgrounds.

Personal Background:

Ms. Nemec lives with her children and a small menagerie of furred and feathered creatures in Colebrook, Connecticut. Her leisure time is occupied with equestrian activities, sewing, knitting, gardening, and spending time with family.

Research/Academic Interests:

Hoof care for barefoot performance
Laminitis & founder rehabilitation
Conditioning & management of the equine athlete
Thermal imaging for preventive care
Developing the beginning/novice rider

Professional Memberships:

American Riding Instructor’s Association, Certified Level III Instructor of Recreational Riding and Distance Riding (Endurance and Competitive) 1999-present
Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Association, Certified Lay Judge #3, 1989-present

The successful Equine student …
… will initiate learning, question authority, and look beyond the ordinary to realize a unique path forward. Success lies not in what we receive but in what we do with it.

Publications/Presentations:

Seminar “Introduction to Shoeing for Barefoot Trim Professionals” Hamburg, PA (Dec 2008)
Clinic “Feeding Horses and Common Misconceptions in Equine Nutrition” Kula Maui, HI (Feb 2008)
Presented “Barefoot Transition” and “How to Make Natural Hoof Care Work”, Connecticut Equine Trade Show, Somers CT (2006)
Article “Character Counts in Riding”, Riding Instructor magazine (2000)
Series of articles on conditioning and heat management in distance horses “Along the Way”, Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Association website www.ectra.org (2000)
Featured presenter “An Unmounted Riding Lesson” Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Association Annual Meeting (2000)
Visiting lecturer in hoof care, thermal imaging, and equine nutrition, Northwestern Connecticut Community College and Post University