MU VHC Equine Hospital

MU VHC Equine Hospital MU VHC Equine Hospital The University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center Equine Hospital is a 24 hour/day 7 day a week equine hospital.

We accept emergencies every day, including all holidays. We have appointments Monday-Friday for a wide variety of services. The equine faculty include many board-certified specialists including: internal medicine, surgery, theriogenology (reproductive and breeding), ophthalmology (eye), cardiology, dermatology and much more. We are extremely well equipped with endoscopy, laparoscopy, bone scan, CT

machine, digital radiology, high resolution ultrasound and much more. We offer extensive lameness examinations and performance horse examinations using the Equinosis Lameness Locator (developed at MU). We can perform a wide range of surgeries from emergency colic and fracture repair to elective minimally invasive arthroscopy, laser surgery and laparoscopy. We have fully equipped ambulatory truck seeing patients on farms in the Columbia and Central Missouri area.

Getting Ready for Colic Surgery - Prepping the AbdomenIt is extremely important to clean the horse's skin to remove dirt...
10/20/2025

Getting Ready for Colic Surgery - Prepping the Abdomen
It is extremely important to clean the horse's skin to remove dirt and bacteria before surgery. This is especially important in colic surgery where the horse has often been down and rolling due to discomfort from their colic. At the University of Missouri Equine Hospital we do two scrubs. The first is a rough scrub. This is used to remove the initial dirt and bacteria. It is performed for minimum of 7 minutes or until the soap suds are clean. The second scrub is a sterile scrub. It is performed with sterile gauze and the person performing the scrub wears sterile gloves. Here Taylor Pierce a VM3 Veterinary Student and previous Veterinary Assistant performs a rough and a sterile scrub. Our MU Equine Clinic veterinarians are always available to help your horse in an emergency.

Our 2025 Horse Owner Seminar is well underway! It's the perfect event for a gloomy day. 😊 Things started with Dr. Kile T...
10/18/2025

Our 2025 Horse Owner Seminar is well underway! It's the perfect event for a gloomy day. 😊 Things started with Dr. Kile Townsend speaking about genetic disorders in Quarter Horses, followed by many other great presentations by our veterinarian interns.

Thank you to our generous sponsors: Missouri Horse Council and Zoetis

Mizzou Equine Veterinarians and Students Making a Difference - Retired Racehorse ProjectLast week was the Retired Raceho...
10/17/2025

Mizzou Equine Veterinarians and Students Making a Difference - Retired Racehorse Project
Last week was the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover - A weeklong international horse show with 10 disciplines for recently transitioned racehorses. A team of 13 veterinarians and 25 students check in approximately 350 horses over 2 days for the most rigorous veterinary arrival examination in the country. The exam includes a thorough physical exam, body condition scoring, and soundness examination.

We had great MU representation from MU veterinarians and students past and present including:
Dr. Martha Scharf - Current MU Equine Ambulatory Clinician
Emily Helmick and Molly Menne Pigg - Current MU third year veterinary students
Dr. Shannon Reed - Former MU Equine Surgeon who is the chief veterinarian at the event and a current Farm Animal Surgeon at Texas A&M
Dr. Jael Lanham (Pitts) - Previous MU Equine Surgery Resident and current surgeon at MidRivers Equine
Dr. Kristen McCurdy - Previous MU Equine Surgery Resident and current faculty member at the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Johanna Klein - Previous MU Equine Rotating Intern and current equine veterinarian at Colorado Equine Veterinary Services
Dr. Natalie Simmons- MU CVM Class of 2013 and current staff equine veterinarian at the University of Findlay

Mizzou Veterinary Insight - Large Colon ImpactionThis is a horse in colic surgery with a large pelvic flexure impaction....
10/15/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight - Large Colon Impaction
This is a horse in colic surgery with a large pelvic flexure impaction. The pelvic flexure is the U-shaped turn at the bottom of the picture. Notice how full it in in this picture. The impaction has backed up into the ventral colon (on the right side of the image). Notice how the colon downstream from the impaction (on the left) is empty). The equine large colon has multiple bends and twists which are great places for feed to get stuck and form an impaction. It is also only attached to the body wall in one place. This means it can also displace and twist on itself. It also means that it can be gently lifted from the abdomen and placed on a colon tray like in this picture. It can then be safely opened and emptied without contaminating the rest of the abdomen. The procedure where the large colon is emptied of impacted feed is called a pelvic flexure enterotomy.

Colic surgeries like this one require an expert team of highly trained individuals to be available around the clock. At the University of Missouri Equine Hospital, we are proud to have always have a surgical team available to provide life saving care to your horse.

Dear MU Equine Community,This October, let's come together to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Our team of veterin...
10/14/2025

Dear MU Equine Community,

This October, let's come together to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Our team of veterinarians and students are committed to not only caring for our horses but also extending that care and compassion to our community. We encourage you to wear pink and help raise awareness about the importance of early detection.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer. Thank you for your support! 🎗🎀🌸💗

🌟 Vet Tech Appreciation Week 🌟This week, we’re giving a HUGE shoutout to the unsung heroes of the MU VHC Equine Hospital...
10/13/2025

🌟 Vet Tech Appreciation Week 🌟

This week, we’re giving a HUGE shoutout to the unsung heroes of the MU VHC Equine Hospital — our Equine Veterinary Technicians! 🐎💉💪

From routine appointments to late-night emergencies, our vet techs are there every step of the way — handling nervous horses, assisting in procedures, monitoring anesthesia — all while helping our doctors and students function at the highest level.

It is an understatement to say that they are a fundamental part of our patient care. Their knowledge, compassion, and grit are the backbone of our practice.

To all the equine vet techs out there, and especially the ones that we work with every day, THANK YOU for everything you do. Your dedication makes a world of difference to our patients, our clients, and our entire veterinary team. 🐴❤️

Getting Ready for Colic Surgery - ClippingThe first step in preparing the ventral abdomen for colic surgery is clipping....
10/10/2025

Getting Ready for Colic Surgery - Clipping
The first step in preparing the ventral abdomen for colic surgery is clipping. This prevents hair from contaminating the surgery site and enables better cleaning of the skin. Here Dr. Hannah Eggert one of our Equine Rotating Interns clips and abdomen. Our equine veterinarians and surgeons are available around the clock 365 days a year to help your horse in an emergency

Teaching the Next Generation of Equine VeterinariansLast week Dr. Kevin Keegan one of the Equine Surgeons at the Univers...
10/08/2025

Teaching the Next Generation of Equine Veterinarians

Last week Dr. Kevin Keegan one of the Equine Surgeons at the University of Missouri Equine Hospital taught veterinary students in the Advanced Lameness course. In this lab, students learned about subjective and objective lameness identification and evaluation. Hands on courses like these help prepare our students to be practice ready.

Mizzou Veterinary Insight - Why Standing CT?Standing CT provides more detailed imaging which helps our veterinarians bet...
10/06/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight - Why Standing CT?
Standing CT provides more detailed imaging which helps our veterinarians better treat your horse. Both of these horses have cystic lesions in their navicular bones which look very similar on radiographs (X-rays).

In the first horse the cyst is in the center of the bone. It communicates with the coffin joint. The flexor surface as seen in the CT 3D Reconstruction is smooth. This horse is most likely to benefit from a coffin joint injection.

The second horse has a navicular cyst on the flexor surface of the bone. This cyst has resulted in a irregular flexor surface of the navicular bone as you can see in the CT 3D Reconstruction. This surface is within the navicular bursa and rubbing agains the deep digital flexor tendon. This horse will likely need navicular bursa injections to maintain comfort and is more likely to have concurrent damage to the deep digital flexor tendon requiring corrective shoeing and a specialized rest and rehabilitation plan.

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900 East Campus Drive
Columbia, MO
65211

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+15738823513

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