The Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences recently opened the Gaylord Center for Excellence in Equine Health. The center, which will offer horse owners more options, was made possible by a $1 million lead gift from the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation. “This new facility greatly enhances our ability to provide premier health care for horses of all ages and disciplines,” said Todd Holbrook, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM (large animal), Dipl. ACVSMR), equine section chief. “We are excited to offer these services to horse owners everywhere.” The new space has created an outpatient service area for equine athletes while a separate overhead door entrance allows sport horses to enter the temperature controlled Gaylord Equine Performance Suite directly from the outside rather than going through the hospital’s large animal clinic entrance. In addition, specialty equipment for regenerative medicine is now centrally located adjacent to the exam area. The Gaylord Equine Neonatal Care Wing has three enlarged stalls with space for a mare and foal. Each stall is equipped with a half-Dutch door to allow care of critically ill foals while still giving the mare access over the top half of the stall, the university noted. The isolation area was also improved adding a hoist system to manage horses with infectious neurologic conditions or horses that need full sling support or require assistance standing. The HVAC system was replaced with a system that manages the airspace with negative pressure and specialized filters to safely isolate horses with airborne infectious conditions, according to the university.
