Large Animal

All's Well That Ends Well

Surgical and medical treatment for sand accumulations in horses is likely to end well. Radiography is one of the only ways to objectively measure the condition.

Harnessing Hope and Healing

For more than 50 years, Michael Muir (yes, the great-grandson of conservationist John Muir) has been breeding horses with the help of the UC Davis veterinary hospital’s Equine Field Service and Equine Reproduction Service. His unique breed of the Stonewall Sporthorse wins national and international competitions--as well as the hearts of those who find a new lease on life from the therapy they provide.

Field Service Treats Retired Police Horse

Have you ever wondered where police horses end up when they retire? Most are adopted out to private sanctuaries or rescue organizations, often times being visited by their former partners. The T.S. & K.D. Glide Foundation on the outskirts of Davis houses eight of them.

Q&A with Dr. Susan Stover

Dr. Susan Stover has been funded frequently by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. Her goal in recent research is the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries in equine athletes.

Mutation Behind Immune-Mediated Myositis in Horses Identified

A somewhat mysterious, sometimes fatal muscle-related disease in Quarter Horses is getting a little clearer. Researchers recently determined that immune-mediated myositis (IMM) is due to a genetic mutation encoding a protein that’s expressed in adult equine muscle.

Lord Nelson (PICSI)

At midnight on a warm summer evening in the barns at the UC Davis veterinary hospital, a first in equine medicine at UC Davis occurred. As Dr. Bruce Christensen, chief of the hospital’s Equine Reproduction Service, watched on, a mare gave birth to the first foal ever born at UC Davis by in-vitro fertilization. Through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), an in-vitro process of impregnating a mare was successful at the renowned veterinary school. This story’s origins, however, go back almost a quarter of a century.

Fish-skin Dressings Used on Acid-attack Pony in Pioneering Surgery

A pony which was left with extensive facial burns in a suspected acid attack has undergone pioneering surgery at a Yorkshire horse hospital. Now, in a world first on a horse, vets have applied dressings made from the skin of tilapia fish to the wounds. Tilapia dressings were first used on human patients last year by doctors in Brazil looking for cost-effective methods of treating burns and California vet Jamie Peyton, of the University of California Davis, had adapted the process for animals.