Lexington, Kentucky- April 28, 2010 – Hagyard Equine Medical Institute unveiled their latest Sport Horse Program addition during their sneak preview tours from April 22 – 25, 2010. The innovative Sport Horse Soundness Facility features “state-of-the-art” diagnostic tools, along with quality veterinarians that will provide a dedicated environment within which Hagyard Veterinarians treat joint, muscle, and structural lameness issues in equine athletes. Hagyard is pleased to announce that it is now accepting new clients at the Sport Horse Soundness Facility.
Dr. Andrew Clark, CEO of Hagyard, was excited about the response to the tours of the new facility stating, “Our objective was to notify existing, as well as potential new clients electronically of the tours being offered to view the new addition to our Sport Horse program. This approach proved to be successful in that we hit the right target of people.”
The Hagyard Sport Horse Soundness Facility offers veterinarians the ability to examine and diagnose sport horses in a controlled environment. Diagnosing lameness issues can be a difficult task as the patient could require anything from a physical examination, to gait evaluation, to localization with nerve blocks, to diagnostic imaging. The new facility makes it easy for each of these tasks to be completed. Dr. Clark explained, “We have an 80′ x 160′ covered arena. Essentially it is a covered ring, but it has much different footing than a riding ring, it is much firmer because to look at subtle lameness you need to have very firm footing. We thought that we could have at least two or three horses being worked up in the ring safely at the same time.”
He continued, “We also have an area within the facility that allows for horse owners to have their own farrier come in and provide services. If they bring their horse in for a work up, there is place that their own farrier can back up her/his truck, open the doors, crosstie, and have their own area to work. That is nice because the client is not tied down to a specific farrier.”
The facility also features a climate controlled exam room, where clientele can bring horses to do blocks or other minor examinations that need to be performed for lameness issues. In addition to the climate controlled exam room, there are also five holding stalls that are available for temporary use after a horse has been blocked and the patient needs a few minutes for the blocks to take effect.
In January of this year, Fraley and Taydus Equine Podiatry began an affiliation with the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Dr. Bryan Fraley and Matt Taydus are the head veterinarians of Fraley and Taydus Equine Podiatry. Their practice will be located in the new facility. We enjoy working together. When we have podiatry work, we refer it to Dr Fraley. This relationship has been very important to us.”
With a controlled environment, top equine veterinarians, and a facility that is unmatched in the United States the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute is looking forward to the future of the facility. Dr. Clark explained, “Right now, everybody already has digital ultrasound and x-rays in their trucks, so it is not about having more imaging technology, it is about having a place to do the work. It is a huge difference from a generation ago when you had to go somewhere to get to an x-ray machine and now with the digital machines you do not need that, so this facility is really about a place to do the work and be much more efficient, I think that is the most important factor of this facility.”
Hagyard Equine Medical Institute was founded in 1876 and is located in Lexington, Kentucky. The practice located directly across from the Kentucky Horse Park is one of the oldest and largest equine veterinary practices in the world and is known for its excellence in veterinary medicine. The Hagyard Sport Horse Program, a specialized department at the practice, serves the nation’s top sport horse athletes and brings the same level of excellent care to high performance horses that the practice has provided for the race horse and breeding industries for decades.
The facility at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute offers 13 Digital Radiology systems, 1.5 Tesla Siemens Open MRI, Nuclear Scintigraphy, a high speed treadmill, an on-site laboratory, an on-site pharmacy, full surgical services, and Hyperbaric Medicine. Hagyard has practiced veterinary medicine for more than 133 years and is currently composed of over 60 experienced veterinarians, with 12 board certifications in specialty areas of Medicine, Surgery, Critical Care, and Theriogenology.
For more information on Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, please go to www.hagyard.com.
