West Metro Equine Practice, Veterinary Medical Center

06/22/2024

PHONES ARE BACK ONLINE!
PSA: our phone lines are currently down. If you need assistance, please email [email protected]. We are doing our best to monitor emails until the phones come back online. Facebook will not be monitored, so please do not message us here. Thanks for your patience!

04/27/2024

Today, April 27th is World Veterinary Day! World Veterinary Day was established by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000 to honor the veterinary profession and promote the lifesaving work they do. Tell your local vet that you are thankful for them, send them a card, or appreciate them silently however you please!

02/14/2024

Thank you for being a friend of the Veterinary Medical Center! We’re giving you a round of a-paws today for all the love you’ve shown us, and we’re barking it from the wooftops!

01/20/2024

It is your last chance to sign up for Dr. Durward-Akhurst's AHES presentation on horse cardiac arrhythmia. The presentation will cover this common issue and how it may impact your racehorse. It will be this Tuesday at 6 pm but you can sign up now: https://z.umn.edu/96xs

01/15/2024

Start the new year with our next AHES installment on Tuesday, January 23rd. Dr. Sian Durward-Akhurst's presentation, "Cardiac arrhythmias in horses - when should we be concerned?" will be at 6 pm and will cover the types, diagnosis, and the work the community is doing to understand these cardiac arrhythmias better. Sign up now: https://z.umn.edu/96xs

01/10/2024

Thank you Dr. Kelly Vineyard and Purina for hosting a Nutrition CE Event at Como Zoo. Our DVMs and CVTs from Piper and West Metro learned so much! (Also pictured: Dr. Hames from Mallo Equine)

12/13/2023

Saddle up for the National Day of the Horse! 🐴✨ Today we get to celebrate the majestic creatures who've galloped into our hearts and history. Here's to the companionship, grace, and strength they bring to our lives. 🌟🏇

12/12/2023

Thanks to Equina by Asto CT for highlighting the University of Mn Leatherdale Equine Center team's scan!

12/11/2023

Our Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center is looking for dogs with lameness to volunteer for their clinical trial. They will test the effectiveness of an oral therapeutic drug intended to relieve your dog's elbow or stifle osteoarthritis. For further details and the eligibility criteria, click here: https://z.umn.edu/dogOA

11/17/2023

Thank you to everyone for your generous gifts to the VMC's 2023 Give to the Max Day campaign! With your support, we were able to meet our gift goal and unlock $30,000 in funds towards critical equipment needs. Together, we raised nearly $19,000 yesterday! With the matching funds included, that's a total of almost $50,000!

Ensuring animals are their healthiest and happiest is truly a team effort. With your partnership, we can continue to serve the thousands of pets that come to our hospital seeking comprehensive, compassionate care spanning a broad range of service areas. We are so grateful to have you on our team - you’re making a difference in beloved animals' lives.

11/16/2023

We're nearly three-quarters of the way there! As of 2 pm CT, we have 62 gifts made towards our 100-gift goal. That means we've already unlocked $15,000 in matching funds! Will you help us secure the remaining $15,000? For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 in matching funds is unlocked up to $30,000.

Help us reach 100 gifts made and max our match now at z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

11/16/2023

On , a matching gift of $30,000 will be unlocked for critical hospital equipment needs once we reach 100 gifts! For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 will be unlocked - that means gifts of all sizes matter! Make your gift now! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

11/16/2023

It's Give to the Max Day!

Every year, the Veterinary Medical Center serves thousands of patients, large and small, who come to our hospitals with a variety of needs. On this Give to the Max day, you can be a partner in their care and help us improve patient treatment and health outcomes with a gift towards our critical equipment needs!

Your gift is amplified thanks to a generous $30,000 match provided by two donor families! For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 of the match will be unlocked!

Give now! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

11/14/2023

🚨 Match Alert🚨

Give to the Max Day is coming up, and the Veterinary Medical Center has a $30,000 match challenge! For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 in matching funds will be unlocked to support critical equipment needs across our small and large animal hospitals!

When you give, you help us purchase new, upgraded equipment that will serve thousands of pets over its lifetime and improve their care. Generous gifts made this Give to the Max Day will support our efforts to acquire a new Operating Scope used by our Ophthalmology Service. This specialty tool allows the surgeon to safely enter the eye with surgical instruments, remove a cataract, and position the artificial lens correctly, which increases positive patient outcomes. The new Operating Scope will provide better optics and technology to aid our clinicians during procedures.

Access to specialty equipment, like an Ophthalmology Scope, greatly impacts an animal’s care and quality of life. Give now to help us purchase this equipment that benefits our furry friends! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

Pictured: A cataract surgery being performed in October 2023 at the Veterinary Medical Center

11/10/2023

Make your love for animals heard this Give To The Max Day with a gift to the Veterinary Medical Center! When you give, you help us purchase cutting-edge equipment that serves thousands of animals and improves our patients' care.

Your gift will be amplified thanks to our $30,000 match generously provided by two donor families! For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 of the match will be unlocked to support our critical equipment needs!

Don't wait - make your gift early! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

11/04/2023

It's your last chance to register for our next AHES presentation! RSVPs close at 7am tomorrow. Join Doctors Granello and Young to explore the impacts and outcomes of colic surgery for you and your horse.
RSVP now: https://z.umn.edu/90p9

11/02/2023

🚨 Match Alert🚨

Did you know that the Veterinary Medical Center has a $30,000 match challenge this Give to the Max Day? For every 25 gifts we receive in any amount, $7,500 in matching funds will be unlocked to support critical equipment needs across our small and large animal hospitals!

When you give, you help us purchase new, upgraded equipment that will serve thousands of pets over its lifetime and improve their care. Generous gifts made this Give to the Max Day will support our efforts to purchase a new Coagulation Analyzer which helps clinicians evaluate the likelihood of bleeding or clotting in patients, reducing risks and improving health outcomes before, during, and after surgery. In emergency cases, this tool is required to assess a patient and provide immediate results for rapid treatment. A new analyzer will have decreased down time and greater technologies to help us improve patient care and research.

Make your gift early and help us purchase this specialty equipment that impacts our beloved pets! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023

10/29/2023

Our next AHES will be November 6th with Dr. Granello at 7pm. She will discuss post-operative care, complications, and returning to normal routines after colic surgery, including hospital and farm care, as well as an ongoing UMN research project to improve patient outcomes.
RSVP for this digital presentation here: https://z.umn.edu/90p6

10/27/2023

Most of us are familiar with ultrasounds and echo machines and their importance to a person's healthcare, but did you know they're just as critical to animal patients as human ones? These tools have state-of-the-art technology that helps clinicians better approach surgery and diagnose heart disease in our furry friends. This Give to the Max Day, you can be a partner in care by supporting our efforts to purchase a second machine that will allow us to take on more appointments and ultimately treat more patients. Make your gift now! z.umn.edu/VMC_GTMD2023 P.S. When you give, you help us unlock $30,000 in matching funds to put towards our critical equipment needs!

09/28/2023

The need for colic surgery is rare, and for the problem to persist? Even rarer. Doctors Jenna Young and Troy Trumble's work has been given grants to improve how we determine the need for that second surgery.
Read more: https://z.umn.edu/8w0h

09/19/2023

Veterinary Alert- West Nile virus reported in multiple counties

Three cases of West Nile virus (WNv) disease have been reported in horses in Rice, Winona, and Le Sueur counties since mid-August.

Vaccines for horses are widely available for WNv and have proven effective in preventing infection. Please talk with your clients and encourage vaccination to protect horses from serious illness.

WNv is spread by mosquitoes. Steps can also be taken to reduce infection risk by reducing mosquito populations:

Practices such as changing water in drinking troughs every week, mowing long grass, draining stagnant water puddles, and removing items such as old tires and tin cans may help to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds.
Horses and people can also be protected from mosquitoes by using repellents and placing screens over windows and stable doors.
Information on each case follows:

Rice County
In Mid-August, a veterinarian reported a positive case of WNv in a 2-year-old unvaccinated Quarter Horse mare in Rice County. The veterinarian said the trainer noted the horse was sensitive to touch and sound, became ataxic but was always able to rise on its own. The horse was treated and is recovering. All horses in the barn were given vaccination boosters for WNv.

Winona County
On Sept. 10, a veterinarian in Winona County reported a positive case of WNv in a 9-year-old Norwegian Fjord Horse gelding. The horse was seen on emergency the end of August, with signs of lethargy, anorexia, and acute ataxia. The owner noticed he was slightly off two days prior and called the veterinarian when the horse didn’t eat its grain, appeared uncoordinated, and had muscle fasciculations along its neck and shoulders. The horse has not been vaccinated in the last two years with the current owner, and prior vaccination history is unknown. The horse was treated and is recovering but remains ataxic at this time.

Le Sueur County
On Sept. 15, a veterinarian in Le Sueur County reported a positive case of WNv in a 2-year-old unvaccinated Arabian cross mare. The horse was ataxic but was able to rise on its own. It is being treated and is recovering

Positive test results for West Nile virus must be reported to the Board of Animal Health.

08/23/2023

This is a friendly reminder that although your cat can seem low maintenance, you should still be visiting the vet once a year! Check-ups, dental care, diet, and disease prevention are just some of the many reasons your feline should be seeing a veterinarian, but it's never too late to schedule an appointment 🐱
🩺

08/11/2023

Meet Hilary Baskin!

“I knew from high school that I wanted to work with animals as a vet tech. My uncle taught me how to ride horses, which eventually led me here [to the Leatherdale Equine Center]. I’m so proud of myself for making it here and earning my VTS in large animal internal medicine.

“The clients are laid back and great to work with, but they still fiercely love their animals. Goats, pigs, and sheep may be considered farm animals to a lot of people, but to a client that goat is everything.

“At Leatherdale, we work together as a team to deliver foals, treat illnesses, diagnose causes of lameness, help animals prepare for competitions, and more. My job is to provide the best care possible to the patients and their owners. A big part of this is putting both the animal and the owner at ease. Interpersonal skills are key–I ask general questions about a patient to get to know the animal and to help the owner relax as they talk about their pet. The better I know the patient, the better care I can provide.

“Someday I’d like to teach. I’m getting teaching experience by working at the University, and I would love to play an active part in training the next generation of vet techs. Plus, I want to increase interest in working with large animals. My advice for someone who’s considering this career path is to not give up. Set a goal, lean on the people who love you most, and work hard.

“Goats and horses are my favorite patients. They have big personalities.”—Hilary Baskin, Animal Care Tech Specialist, AFSCME Unit 7 - Technical

Want to join our team? Check out our job openings by clicking the link in our bio.

05/05/2023

A big cheer for the best month of the year! Throughout May, we celebrate our furry friends for . If you're looking for unique ways to celebrate, check out University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine's most recent post to see how you can donate to support needy pets.

04/27/2023

"CT has changed our lives tremendously; it's safer for our patients, less time-consuming for us, and less costly to the client." At the Leatherdale Equine Center, CT scans for horses were once risky and troublesome, but since Equina by Asto CT joined, our physicians have been able to transform care for our equine patients.
To hear more about how revolutionary this technology is, watch here:

The University of Minnesota, Piper Equine Hospital installed the Equina Standing CT back in 2019, since then they've scanned over 400 cases. Dr. Nicolas Erns...

04/21/2023

CVM researchers receive funding to develop genetic tools to support the health and performance of Standardbred racehorses

04/07/2023

April is celebrated as Animal Cruelty Awareness Month. Here in America, we are fortunate enough to have a wide array of legislation that protects all animals, but this issue is not solely the responsibility of law enforcement. We, as pet owners, must advocate for animals when we witness the inhumane treatment of animals. For more information and resources: https://z.umn.edu/8i7t

04/02/2023

It's not too late to register for April's AHES will be with Dr. Alex Bianco. The presentation will be on Tuesday, April 4th, discussing chronic pain with geriatric horses and when to decide if end-of-life treatment may be necessary. Sign up here: https://z.umn.edu/8hje

04/01/2023

April's AHES will be with Dr. Alex Bianco discussing chronic pain with geriatric horses and when to decide if end-of-life treatment may be necessary. The presentation will be on Tuesday, April 4th.
Sign up here: https://z.umn.edu/8hje

03/31/2023

“I am just so grateful for everything from the University and the equine team,” Bodin says. “I know their care and expertise was why she made it.” Bunny is one of many examples of how we care for our patients just as much as you love them. Bunny's success story relies on the trust of her owner Kati Bodin in our work and Bunny's resilient attitude.
To hear the rest of this uplifting recovery, read here: https://z.umn.edu/8fh4