New Documentary Honors Her Life’s Work in Animal Welfare
From Karen Pickering, Northwest Horse Source Magazine Publisher
Recently I had the privilege to interview Temple Grandin, a professor of Animal Behavior/Science at Colorado State University (CSU). She is an inspiration to many for the work she’s done as an advocate for animal welfare, and for encouraging everyone to look past their disabilities and strive for whatever they dream of becoming. She believes in education and teaching for a better understanding of animal behavior and has personally paid several students’ tuition from the sale of her books.
It’s amazing how much Grandin has accomplished in her life despite her autism. She was diagnosed as a child, but her mother didn’t treat her as if she had a disability. Instead, she encouraged Temple to strive for whatever she wanted to become.
Temple has worked with companies such as Costco and McDonald’s to help them make their meat packing plants more efficient and humane for the animals. Because she is a visual thinker, she can imagine exactly how to make the plants more efficient. There’s a photo of her in the recently released documentary, “An Open Door,” where she’s lying in a chicken barn with all the chickens so she can see what they see. “An Open Door” is a tribute to her life’s work and truly is a must-see.
As we discussed horses (she has equine centers at two of the university’s campuses), she emphasized that they are sensory animals. As humans we tend to see them as we are, not as they are. We need to relate to them with this understanding. This is why she feels clicker training is such a good method. She has been involved in the Right Horse Program at the college as well.
I would encourage you to watch my interview on YouTube as we cover some tough topics. You can see the interview here. I would also encourage you to watch the documentary, “An Open Door,” now streaming worldwide on Amazon and Apple TV and also available to rent or buy.
Karen Pickering
A Tribute to Grandin
“An Open Door” is a powerful, award-winning new documentary celebrating the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr. Temple Grandin. The film chronicles Dr. Temple Grandin’s groundbreaking contributions as a champion of humane livestock treatment, autism advocacy, and neurodiversity. Through intimate reflections in her own words, alongside insights from colleagues, industry professionals, and those she has inspired, the film highlights her journey from a child who didn’t speak until age three-and-a-half to a world-renowned CSU professor, author, and innovator.
“An Open Door” is directed by award-winning filmmaker John Barnhardt and presented by Colorado State University. Executive Producer is John Festervand and the film is distributed by Good Deed Entertainment.
Says Barnhardt about the genesis of the idea for the documentary, “During the summer of 2020, I made a goal of spending time getting to know my neighbor, Dr. Temple Grandin. When we talked about her plans for the upcoming year Temple mentioned, ‘Well, I’m turning 75 next year and I’ve got a new book coming out that I’m excited about called “Visual Thinking”, and I think it’s really going help a lot of people.’ I left our time together with a sense that there was something exciting on the horizon for the both of us.”
About Temple Grandin
Though her talking was delayed, Dr. Grandin was fortunate to get early speech therapy. Her teachers also taught her how to wait and take turns when playing board games. She was mainstreamed into a normal kindergarten at age five.
Oliver Sacks wrote in the forward of “Thinking in Pictures” that Grandin’s first book, “Emergence: Labeled Autistic” was “unprecedented because there had never before been an inside narrative of autism.” Dr. Grandin became a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior.
When Grandin was young, she was considered weird and was teased and bullied in high school. The only place she had friends was activities where there was a shared interest such as horses, electronics, or model rockets. Mr. Carlock, her science teacher, was an important mentor who encouraged her interest in science. When she had a new goal of becoming a scientist, she had a reason for studying. Today half the cattle in the United States are handled in facilities she has designed.
Discover more on Temple’s Website
Visit agsci.colostate.edu/tgec for information about the Colorado State University Temple Grandin Equine Centers.
Watch the trailer for “An Open Door” here.
Documentary Website
See this article in the October 2025 Online Digital Edition:
October 2025
Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor.
Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United.
Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.
