OklahomaHorses Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

November/December 2020 • OklahomaHorses 11 T hanks to a $1 million lead gift from the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, the Gaylord Center for Excellence in Equine Health was established in 2015 at Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Housed inside the equine section of the college’s Veterinary Medical Hospital, the Gaylord Center offers more options for owners when it comes to treating their horses. The Gaylord Equine Performance Suite includes an equine sports medicine outpatient diagnostic and treatment area. Horses can enter the suite through a covered overhead door, which is a separate entrance to the diagnostic area and, therefore, avoid coming through the large animal hospital entrance. Separate, specialized heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems make the diagnostic area comfortable. In addition, specialty equipment for rehabilitation and regenerative medicine is now centrally located adjacent to the exam area. Large overhead monitors allow visual observation of ultrasound exams or other procedures in real time, which is great for owners and for teaching veterinary students. In the Gaylord Neonatal Wing, six stalls were remodeled, forming three enlarged stalls for mare and foal hospitalization. Swinging stall partitions with Dutch doors accommodate mares while allowing the management of critically ill foals in the adjacent partitioned stall with separate access for veterinary medical staff. The stall partitions can also be positioned to provide full 12 feet by 24 feet stalls for the hospitalization of larger breed horses, such as draft horses and warmbloods. Finally, the Gaylord Isolation Unit offers a bio-secure area to care for critically ill horses with infectious respiratory diseases. A new ventilation system manages this airspace with negative pressure and specialized filters to safely isolate horses with airborne infectious diseases. Should a horse require assistance standing or need full sling support, the isolation unit is also equipped with a hoist system. The hospital’s equine veterinary specialists offer horse owners a variety of services, including pre-purchase and lameness exams as well as evaluations of the poorly performing athlete. Internal medicine specialists utilize echocardiography, electrocardiography and other advanced diagnostic tools to evaluate the horse’s heart and lung function. In equine sports medicine, OSU’s veterinary experts realize that all systems must be functioning at a high level for the equine athlete to perform at its best. With the help of a portable dynamic endoscope, specialists can evaluate the upper airway of horses during exercise. Joint injections and shock wave therapy are other therapeutic options that can help bring a horse to its peak performance level. OSU’s equine medicine and surgery team includes: • Daniel Burba, DVM, DACVS, Veterinary Clinical Sciences department head, professor of equine surgery and the McCasland Professor in Biomedical Laser Surgery • Michael Davis, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, DACVSMR, professor, Oxley Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, and director of the Comparative Exercise Physiology Lab • Lyndi Gilliam, DVM, DACVIM, Ph.D., associate professor of equine internal medicine • Todd Holbrook, DVM, DACVIM, DACVSMR, professor of equine internal medicine and June Jacobs Endowed Chair in Equine Medicine • Mike Schoonover, DVM, DACVS, DACVSMR, associate professor of equine surgery and sports medicine • Megan Williams, DVM, DACVS, assistant professor of equine surgery With the addition of the Gaylord Center of Excellence in Equine Health, the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Medical Hospital is ready to provide the latest in healthcare for horses of all ages and disciplines. For more information, visit vetmed.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000, ext. 4. WRITTEN BY: Derinda Blakeney Gaylord Center for Excellence in Equine Health Providing the latest in equine healthcare Drs. Lyndi Gilliam and Todd Holbrook performing an ultrasound on a horse in the Gaylord Performance Suite. COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE