PrintBrendan Furlong spent five years earning his veterinary degree, but that certificate on his wall has little to do with what’s made him the respected veterinarian he is today.
“He’s a vet second; he’s a horse-person first. Lots of people went to school and became a vet, but Brendan really understands horses,” said international eventer Buck Davidson.
That depth of understanding has given Furlong the opportunity to travel the world as the U.S. Equestrian Federation team veterinarian for the three-day eventing and combined driving teams. He’s served the USEF for more than 15 years and at three World Equestrian Games and four Olympic Games.
“I think everyone respects him, not only top riders and people on the team, but also horsemen all around the world,” Davidson said. “He is in a league of his own as far as soundness. He’s on the cutting edge of everything, and he’s right there in the middle of it. He works on the best horses from all the disciplines. He’s seen it all.”
Furlong’s first experience as USEF team veterinarian was for the pair driving team at the World Championships in Austria in 1991, where they won the gold medal. He's taken care of U.S. horses at international championships every two or three years since. He’ll be the veterinarian for the U.S. three-day event and driving teams at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (Ky.) in September and October.
“It doesn’t get any better,” Furlong, 57, said of his role. “I’m kind of a frustrated competitor myself, so short of being able to compete internationally, the next best thing is being part of the support crew. You get to be on the inside of the competition, you get to take care of these amazing athletes, and you get to be a part of the team that tries to get them through the competition healthy and happy to go again.”
Layers Of Knowledge
Being a team veterinarian doesn’t mean Furlong just shows up at the championship venue and starts caring for the horses. It’s an extended process, which starts as soon as a horse is named to a short list or is in contention for a team.
“In eventing, for every competition that is either a selection trial or an observation trial for that particular year’s championship, we get a list of horses from the selectors, with some input from the veterinary panel. We observe them during the competition and examine them post-competition,” Furlong said.
Furlong said they build on that knowledge about those horses every year. “We collect as much information as we can possibly get on the horses, with a view toward helping them as opposed to excluding them or hindering them,” he said. “The database that we build is a positive one; we look at it as a tool to help these horses get through these championships.”
One of the most important pieces of the puzzle is establishing a relationship with each horse’s usual treating veterinarian, if it’s not one of Furlong’s clients. “I work hard on developing a good rapport with their primary veterinarian, so we’re all working together toward a common goal, rather than being at cross-purposes. We try very diligently to make sure that relationship works,” Furlong said.
