Center for Equine Health

Winter 2020

Year in Review

UC Davis Performs First PET Scans Designed for Racehorses

UC Davis veterinary researchers are helping the horse racing industry to better detect and understand injuries, with the ultimate goal of preventing catastrophic breakdowns. In collaboration with LONGMILE Veterinary PET Imaging, UC Davis researchers performed the first PET scan of a horse fetlock without the need for general anesthesia.

Equine Therapy Helps Dementia Patients

The Center for Equine Health collaborated with the UC Davis School of Medicine and The Connected Horse on a pioneering research program that examined a role for equine therapy for patients diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers. Media outlets recently featured the program.

Dr. Gregory Ferraro appointed to California Horse Racing Board

California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Center for Equine Health Emeritus Director Dr. Gregory Ferraro to the California Horse Racing Board. Ferraro brings more than 25 years of racetrack veterinary experience to his new role, along with a well-established record of successful private practice and university service.

Fragile Foal Syndrome Is Not Associated With Catastrophic Breakdown in Thoroughbreds

UC Davis researchers published the results of a study that investigated the frequency of the Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS) mutation in Thoroughbreds. The study demonstrated that the WFFS mutation is not a genetic risk factor for catastrophic breakdown and is only present at a very low frequency in this breed.

Sarah Shaffer Awarded Louis R. Rowan Fellowship

The California Thoroughbred Foundation announced that the 2019 Louis R. Rowan Fellowship was awarded to UC Davis graduate student Sarah Shaffer, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering. Shaffer conducts her research at the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedics Research Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Susan Stover. The goal of Shaffer’s research is to create a mathematical model that will predict fracture risk based on the training program in racehorses.

2019 ACVCP/AAVPT Research Award presented to equine pharmacology graduate student Sophie Gretler

The American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AAVPT) recently announced that the 2019 Resident/Graduate Student Research Award was presented to UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine master’s student Sophie Gretler. Gretler is a graduate student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate group, working under the guidance of Dr. Heather Knych at the K.L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory.

Equine Clinical Successes of 2019

First-Ever Image-Guided Equine Sinus Tumor Removal

Honesto, a 6-year-old Lusitano-Arabian gelding, had a massive sinus tumor below his right eye. To prevent the tumor from growing larger and injuring the eye and brain, equine surgeons used an image-guided navigation system to operate on the tumor while identifying the precise position of their instruments, an approach that has never before been used to remove a tumor in a horse’s sinus.

Novel Surgery Successful for Former Event Horse

Goose, a 20-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, came into the UC Davis veterinary hospital for fever and inappetence. He was diagnosed with a stone in his urinary tract that was obstructing his ureter and causing a kidney infection. Clinicians with the Equine Surgery and Lameness Service performed a flank laparotomy to remove the stone, a procedure that previously had only been reported in the veterinary literature in two other horses.

Taking Equine Critical Care to New Heights

Easy, a 19-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter gelding, was found down and rolling in his pasture. After being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, he underwent emergency surgery that uncovered a lipoma (fatty lump) that was strangulating the upper part of his small intestine.

Racehorse Returns to Victory after Innovative Treatments

Irish Streetsinger, a 3-year-old Thoroughbred mare, was brought to the UC Davis veterinary hospital for a lameness evaluation. She was deemed a good candidate for a positron emission tomography (PET) scan to pinpoint her injuries. She was subsequently enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating the use of stem cells to assist with joint injury.

Three-Day Event Horse Returns to Training Following Colic Surgery

Monty, a 6-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, presented to the UC Davis veterinary hospital for emergency colic surgery. Fifteen feet of irreversibly damaged small intestine was removed and the remaining small intestine was reattached to empty into the cecum, the first section of the large intestine.

Dr. Mathieu Spriet Founding Member of Equine Imaging Specialty

Dr. Mathieu Spriet, an associate professor in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, recently passed boarding examinations to become a founding member of the American College of Veterinary Radiology’s new subspecialty of Equine Diagnostic Imaging. Only ten radiologists nationwide currently hold this new credential.

Mare Nurses Foal While Battling Life Threatening Injury

Meringue, a 23-year-old Davenport Arabian mare, was found with her head stuck in her stall door and collapsed after being freed. She was diagnosed with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy, a disease that was exacerbated by her recent trauma and caused her neurological issues. Her 10-week-old foal stayed with her during her treatment and recovery.

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