The Case for the Equine Veterinary Medical/Sports Medicine Complex

What are the critical concerns for Equine Clinical Medicine and Equine Sports Medicine?

Equine Emergency
  • Recently introduced programs and services – including nuclear sintigraphy, endoscopy, computed tomography, advanced dentistry, orthopaedic surgery, ultrasound, and others – require dedicated space for faculty, staff, students, patients, and equipment. Teaching programs also continue to expand.
  • Separate isolation and ICU areas are required to care for critically ill horses and protect others from transmissible infectious diseases. Additionally, because of the physical connection between the equine and agricultural animal services, biosecurity concerns are paramount.
  • Patient stall space is limited and problematic: Stalls offer nose-to-nose contact, increasing possibility of transmission of disease; a narrow walkway also offers contact opportunities; number of holding stalls for outpatients is insufficient, anesthesia recovery stalls are insufficient for assisted recoveries, and exam space is inadequate.
  • There is no dedicated space for patient diagnostics, treatment, and holding areas in equine sports medicine, a rapidly growing specialty at the hospital.

The existing facilities for Equine Clinical Medicine and Equine Sports Medicine are inadequate.

Equine Sports

The current equine medicine facilities were built at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital in the late 1970s. At that time, the hospital had 50 stalls, three surgical suites, an outpatient area, and a small isolation building. The equine hospital, updated in recent years with a covered outpatient area and intensive care unit, is directly attached to the agricultural animal hospital. Designated space for equine sports medicine does not exist in the current square-footage available.

Today, the equine program has grown to include six specialists in equine surgery and three specialists in equine medicine, one specialist in theriogenology, three ambulatory clinicians, three surgery residents, two medicine residents, and eight certified veterinary nurses. The program trains approximately 130-135 Professional Veterinary Medical students annually in equine veterinary health care.

What are the solutions to these challenges?

  • The existing Agricultural Animal/Ambulatory areas will be demolished and reconstructed at a new location to make room for new equine facilities. Existing agricultural animal paddocks also will be relocated.
  • A separate Equine Isolation/Critical Care Unit building (Building 4 on the Long-Range Site Plan) will be constructed just east and north of the present Equine Medicine barn area. The barn area will be remodeled to meet current and future functional needs.
  • The new facility will incorporate dedicated space for equine teaching laboratories for veterinary students and for equine continuing education programs for practicing veterinarians.
  • A new addition to the Equine Medicine building will house Equine Sports Medicine (Building 5 on the Long-Range Site Plan) and allow for shared trailer parking and adjacent paddock courtyards.

What is the estimated construction cost of new facilities for Equine Clinical Medicine and Equine Sports Medicine?

The estimated cost of the Equine Veterinary Medical/Sports Medicine Complex is $11.1 million. The majority of this funding is expected to come from private donors, as state and federal dollars are unavailable for these capital construction projects.

What can I do?

We need your help. Your gift will support the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences as we reach for The Hope, The Care, and The Cures. For additional information, contact:

The Hope, The Care, and The Cures
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Web Site: click on Development at www.cvmbs.colostate.edu
E-mail: Paul Maffey, Director of Development, at rpmaffey@colostate.edu
Phone: (970) 491-3932
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