Published: March 27, 2008 02:13 pm            

Equine Center built with community in mind

Originally published in the March 21, 2008, print edition.

Horse owners in Minnesota are a special breed of people — the care and concern that they foster for their horses made the University of Minnesota Leatherdale Equine Center possible.

Stephanie Valberg, a veterinarian and director of the center, said the center was “built by the community for the community.”

The $14.3 million facility is the first of its kind in the nation in the education, care and research for horses. The center is 60,000 square feet but it’s what is going on inside that is truly revolutionary in the equine industry. According to Valberg there are four components to the center.

• “Home for the equine community in the state,” she said.

The center features a conference center and arena that can be used by horse groups. There are also horse owner days which feature educational events. The center is home to “We Can Ride,” a therapeutic riding program for children and adults living with disabilities. The University of Minnesota police patrol horses also call the center home.

• Enhancing teaching programs

There is an undergraduate equine option and students can do labs at the center. The center also works with Extension and forage groups.

• Research

Research being done at the center includes lameness, nutrition, neuromuscular diagnosis and equine genetics.

• Piper Performance Clinic

This clinic, housed at the center, works to “help restore horses to soundness,” Valberg said. There is an underwater treadmill for rehabilitation along with stem cell therapy, rehabilitation specialists and an MRI designed to work on horses.

The center has stalls for 33 horses, but many of the horses seen at the clinic are done so on an outpatient basis. According to Valberg, in many cases a diagnosis is sought at the clinic and the veterinarian back home may then be able to administer the treatment.

The veterinarians at the center are the largest number of board-certified veterinarians in Minnesota. Those veterinarians include ophthalmologists, radiologists and anesthesiologists. “They offer a team approach to advanced diagnostics,” Valberg said.

Most horses that are seen at the center come from the Upper Midwest. Having a veterinary school and the center in an urban area sets the U of M apart from most schools. Veterinary schools are often found in rural or small town settings.

According to Valberg, the horse owners who bring their horses to the center demand the best. The center offers reasonable prices and 24-hour availability.

The most common emergency treatment at the center is for colic, in addition to their share of wounds and fractures. According to Valberg, the condition seen the most in the center during clinic hours is lameness.

The center offers a detailed examination to determine the cause of the lameness. This includes a 100-foot by 200-foot arena so that the veterinarian can check for lameness while the horse is in motion. There is also gait analysis that uses high-speed cameras, and measures the angles of the limbs and the force of the limbs. This gives the veterinarian an image that can then be used for diagnosis.

When checking for lameness in horses, the appointment may take several hours. For the comfort of the waiting horse owner, the center has a spacious waiting room with comfortable leather couches and wireless internet access.

The center was truly built with the horse and its owner in mind. According to Valberg, the biggest request from horse owners was that there needs to be an easy way to drop the horses off. With a wide door and easy access, the center took the request to heart.

Walking down the hall at the center you quickly notice the little things that were done to make the horses more comfortable. Things like moving the drains to the side of the floor, rather than in the center so the horses don’t have to walk on them. Smooth corners of walls also avoid injury.

Valberg said that they wanted the exam room area to be a quiet area. This is vital when doing intricate procedures.

While they have a pharmacist on staff, there is also an automated pharmacist that dispenses what is needed and automatically bills for that medicine.

According to Valberg, the surgeries that are done are not behind closed doors, rather there are windows for people to view the surgery. There is a hoist that puts the horse on the surgery table and the table is then brought into the surgery suite. After the surgery is completed the horse is then placed in a padded room with a 3-foot high air mattress on the floor.

The inflated air mattress is there for when the horse awakens from anesthesia but is not stable enough to stand. The horse cannot stand as long as the mattress is inflated, their weight would make it impossible. Once the horse wakes up enough, staff can deflate the mattress and the horse can then stand.

The center also has “The most powerful MRI in the country,” Valberg said. Along with sophisticated X-ray equipment and ultrasound.

While the center offers so many components to equine care, they want to offer more. Phase two will allow the center “to be able to do all our internal medicine cases here,” Valberg said. Building an intensive care facility and being one of the top three equine programs in the country round out phase two plans.

“All of the stars are now aligned for our equine program,” Valberg said. With the new facility and state-of-the-art equipment comes interest from veterinarians from all over to come work at the center. “We have been able to attract the best of the best to work here.”

With horse owners in Minnesota embracing the center and the strengthening of the equine program, the future looks bright for horses in the state.

If you are interested in learning more about the Equine Center or would like to make an appointment to have your horse seen by one of the veterinarians call (612) 625-6700 or log on to www.cvm.umn.edu/umec.

        

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