Dr. Tayler Laine Hansen

Dr. Tayler Laine Hansen, age 35, of Edwardsville, IL, passed away unexpectedly at home from an acute illness on October 13, 2024. 

Tayler was born on July 29, 1989, in Boynton Beach, FL to parents Melinda Pike Senick (Ken) and John Hansen. In addition to her parents, Tayler is survived by her beloved life partner, Scott Gerstung, of Gainesville, FL; her brother, Rodney T. Hansen, of West Palm Beach, FL; a stepsister, Stacy Gibson (James), of Aurora, CO; her chestnut Quarter Horse mare, Nina; her hound dog, Lexie; loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, friends, kind neighbors; her dearest friends in the equine community; and her coworkers at Trouw Nutrition. Tayler was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Rod and Laine Pike; and her paternal grandparents, Jack and Beverly Hansen. 

Her childhood was spent in Lake Clarke Shores attending Meadow Park Elementary, Bak Middle School of the Arts, and Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Growing up near the water, Tayler always loved spending time in nature with her family and friends either in a boat or on top of a horse. From spending most of her free time riding horses, reading, visiting botanical gardens and zoos, family trips to the Keys, to a bucket-list Kenyan safari trip with family, Tayler’s life-long mission has always been to use her curiosity coupled with science to improve animal health and welfare.

Tayler started her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida as a mathematics major. However, after taking a few Animal Science courses as electives, it became clear to both Tayler and her professors (and everyone in the room) that she was destined to become an animal scientist. During her senior year, Tayler readily fell in love with conducting scientific research while completing an honor thesis project studying the effects of maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on weanling (horse) behavior and learning. She graduated in 2011 with a double-major in Animal Sciences (magna cum laude) and Mathematics (cum laude). 

Tayler obtained her Master’s in Animal Science at the University of Kentucky in 2014 under the guidance of Dr. Laurie Lawrence. As a master’s student, Tayler explored her passion for horse nutrition and her talent for mathematical modeling by developing an equation to predict the digestibility of forages based on their chemical composition. Additionally, she studied the rate of passage for different types of fibers in horse diets. It was in Lexington, Kentucky where Tayler met her life partner, Scott, and it was also where she was reunited with her heart horse, Nina, who was one of the weanlings on her honor’s thesis project. She also adopted her dog, Lexie, from the Lexington Humane Society. 

Following her Master’s degree, she moved back to Florida with Scott, Nina, and Lexie to pursue her doctorate degree at her alma mater under her mentor, Dr. Lori Warren. She graduated in 2019 with a Ph.D. in Animal Science. Her doctorate research also combined her love of mathematics and horses to develop mathematical models describing how horses digest fiber. She shared many laughs and long days with her fellow graduate students and was always there to offer support, whether it be physical, emotional, or intellectual. 

Tayler was always increasing the size of her comfort zone by pushing herself outside of it. One of her favorite quotes was, “Be brave, not perfect.” So after completing two advanced degrees in equine nutrition, she accepted a post-doctoral position in a different field (working on a dairy cow model) in a state far from home at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. As an inquisitive and strategic analyst, Tayler’s post-doctoral research really opened her eyes to how academic inputs could be utilized by industry to push animal health and well-being forward. With that in mind, she set her sights on finding a stand-out company that could support her life-long mission (and horse habit).

Tayler started at Trouw Nutrition as Companion Animal Nutritionist in 2021, and it quickly became clear to her that she had found a dream job that offered both career growth opportunities and a work-life balance. From day one, she felt right at home at Trouw and sincerely valued her entire team both professionally and personally. Due to her leadership skills, dedication, and ability to consistently deliver outstanding results, she was swiftly promoted to Formulation Manager. 

Tayler thrived as a mentor and leader, mostly because of her magnetic and humble nature, but also due to her passion for lifelong learning and constant improvement. She served in many leadership positions, including the UF Equestrian Club, UK Animal and Food Science Graduate Student Association, Equine Science Society, American Association of Animal Science, and the American Feed Industry Association. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she also founded Wine-ing Writers, a casual weekly virtual discussion with her friends from around the country dedicated to improving their scientific writing, communication, and leadership skills. Tayler had a natural gift to connect diverse people together for a common purpose. She encouraged the best parts of everyone to shine and was the cause of many life-long friendships. 

Throughout her academic studies and career, Tayler’s kindness, brilliance, leadership and problem-solving skills, work-ethic, humor, and flexibility resulted in life-long friendships with fellow students, mentors, and colleagues alike. Tayler was well-loved and will be deeply missed by her friends and family, two-legged and four-legged. Those of us fortunate enough to know Tayler have felt the positive impact she made on our lives and the world around her. She will always be cherished and remembered for her kind heart, profound mind and brave spirit which will forever resonate within our own. 

A memorial gathering will be held Wed., Nov. 27th, 5-8pm at The Brewhouse Gallery in Lake Park, FL. A future kayak trip is being planned for May at Ichetucknee Springs, FL and “Tay Talk” memorial in late July 2025 at Cuba Lake, NY. Donations in Tayler’s memory may be made to Girls Who Code, St. Louis Zoo, or the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. 

“There is no time at all like the present. Live right now. Love right now. Believe right now.”
 

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Dr. Tayler Laine Hansen, please visit our Tree Store.