MU VHC Equine Hospital

Home
MU VHC Equine Hospital

MU VHC Equine Hospital The University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center Equine Hospital is a 24 hour/day 7 day a week equine hospital.

We accept emergencies every day, including all holidays. We have appointments Monday-Friday for a wide variety of services. The equine faculty include many board-certified specialists including: internal medicine, surgery, theriogenology (reproductive and breeding), ophthalmology (eye), cardiology, dermatology and much more. We are extremely well equipped with endoscopy, laparoscopy, bone scan, CT

machine, digital radiology, high resolution ultrasound and much more. We offer extensive lameness examinations and performance horse examinations using the Equinosis Lameness Locator (developed at MU). We can perform a wide range of surgeries from emergency colic and fracture repair to elective minimally invasive arthroscopy, laser surgery and laparoscopy. We have fully equipped ambulatory truck seeing patients on farms in the Columbia and Central Missouri area.

15/08/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Colic Surgery
Horses may need surgery for a variety of gastrointestinal problems. Colic surgery is an emergency life saving procedure and early intervention is important to a good outcome. At University of Missouri Equine Hospital, colic cases are initially evaluated by our Internal Medicine or Emergency and Critical Care Services. Not every colic that comes to us needs surgery and prompt medical intervention can avoid surgery in some cases. For those horses, where surgery is determined to be the best option, we have teams available to perform emergency general anesthesia and emergency surgery 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

13/08/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Hoof Cast
Did you know that casts can be used to help wounds heal? By preventing movement at the wound they enable more rapid healing. They are especially useful with heel bulb lacerations. Every time a horse puts their foot on the ground, the heel bulb expands. The hoof cast limits that expansion enabling rapid healing. After only two weeks in a cast many heel bulb lacerations are healed often with minimal to no scar.

12/08/2025

The MU equine field service offers students an opportunity to take an extra elective rotation on the trucks, giving them more time to learn ambulatory medicine. As part of the elective, we ask our students to create an informational equine-oriented social media post.

Thank you to April Bean Davis, a senior veterinary student, for this post on heat stress in horses.

08/08/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight - Equine Melanomas
Melanomas are neoplasias or cancer of the equine skin. Unlike in people they are very rarely metastatic. Horse with genes that make them gray in color are predisposed to developing melanomas. One study showed that only 16% of gray horses will not develop a melanoma in their lifetime. Horses from breeds that have been bred for gray color are more genetically predisposed to developing melanomas. The most effective treatment is surgical removal. While the removed melanoma does not reoccur, genetically predisposed horses are likely to generate new melanomas. Monitoring and removing melanomas while they are small and before they cause issues due to compression of adjacent vital structures is important. The veterinary exam during your horse's annual check up is a critical way for your veterinarian to diagnose melanomas early and develop an effective treatment and management plan to keep your horse comfortable and happy.

06/08/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Temporohyoid Osteoarthropathy (THO)
This is a Standing CT image of a horse with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy. The hyoid apparatus connects the tongue and larynx to the skull. There is a joint where the bone of the hyoid apparatus (called the stylohyoid) articulates with the skull. A normal TH joint is indicated by the orange arrow. In some horses severe inflammation and proliferation can occur at this joint. The joint indicated by the blue arrow is an example of this.

This joint is very close to places in the skull where important nerves such as the facial nerve which innervates the muscles of the nose, ear, and eyelid and the vestibulochochlear nerve which plays an important role in balance emerge from the brain. Severe proliferation in this joint can result in pain and discomfort every time the horse chews or swallows. It can also result in compression and damage to surrounding nerves resulting in facial paralysis and balance problems. Standing CT is an important way to diagnose this lesion. Treatment involves disarticulating the hyoid apparatus from the tongue and larynx. This stops the pressure and movement bringing pain relief and diminishing or removing nerve compression.

04/08/2025

Please join us in welcoming back Dr. Sam McClanahan as our new Equine Surgery Resident at the MU VHC Equine Hospital.

Dr. McClanahan first joined us as a 2024–2025 Equine Rotating Intern and quickly impressed us with his strong work ethic, clinical skills, and dedication to equine surgery. Originally from Denton, Texas, he completed both his undergraduate and veterinary training at Texas A&M University, earning his DVM in 2023. He went on to complete internships at Texas Equine Hospital and here at Mizzou before matching into our surgical residency program.

Outside of the hospital, Dr. McClanahan enjoys spending time with his wife and new baby girl, getting outdoors, playing games with friends and family, and knocking out items on his wife’s honey-do list. He’s also known around the hospital for his top-tier (and frequent) dad jokes.

We’re excited to have him back for the next phase of his training. Welcome, Dr. McClanahan!

02/08/2025

Congratulations to our Equine Emergency Clinician Dr. Hannah Leventhal for completing the San Francisco Marathon. After completing several half marathons, this is Dr. Leventhal's first full marathon. She said that the weather was a cool break from mid Missouri but the hills were tough. Congratulations and well done!!!

01/08/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Equine MRI
At the MU Equine Hospital we are privileged to have multiple advanced imaging options for horses including Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI. We have a 3 Tesla magnet that can be used for diagnostic imaging in horses. This large magnet provides high quality detailed images, but does require general anesthesia. MRI is especially useful in diagnosing soft tissue injuries in the horse. It is the modality that provides the most soft tissue detail. MRI is also able to detect bone edema or bruising. In the horse, MRI is especially helpful in the diagnosis of soft tissue lesion within the foot. The first images shows our licensed veterinary technician Joyce Guthrie monitoring a horse under general anesthesia during an MRI exam. The second image shows an MRI image of an injury to the collateral ligament of the coffin joint. The third images shows a deep digital flexor tendon injury within the hoof.

30/07/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Bladder Stone
These are endoscopic images of a urolith (or bladder stone) in a horse's bladder. Uroliths are a common cause of blood in the urine especially if the blood is noticed after exercise. Some horses may also have pain or straining during urination. It is important to have your horse evaluated by a veterinarian if you notice any of these signs. Uroliths may be suspected during an initial exam on the farm where your veterinarian may feel the stone when palpating the bladder during a re**al exam. Uroliths are definitively diagnosed through urinary endoscopy where a small camera is passed up the urethra to evaluate the urinary system. Movement of the urolith in the bladder causes irritation and it is typical for the bladder wall to be thickened and inflamed. The rough appearance of the stones in these images is typical of equine uroliths. Blood work to evaluate kidney function and an ultrasound to look for uroliths in the kidneys are also part of the evaluation. Fortunately uroliths can be removed surgically to restore your horse's comfort.

28/07/2025

Equine Veterinary Insight: Complete Blood Count (CBC)
One common blood test that your veterinarian may recommend for your horse is a Complete Blood Count or CBC. This test looks at red blood cell numbers and characteristics as well as white blood cell numbers and characteristics. It is used to identify problems such as anemia, inflammation, and infection. This test involves analysis by specialized machinery as well as a the creation of a blood smear from the sample which is evaluated by a clinical pathologist (veterinary specialist in diagnosing disease through the evaluation of blood, fluid, and tissue samples) evaluating a blood smear. This is an image of an equine blood smear that contains red blood cells and a neutrophil. Neutrophils are the most common type of white blood cell in the horse. Their numbers can rapidly decrease with severe acute infection and can increase with ore chronic infection. Their appearance can also change when fighting infection. The CBC is an important tool in helping to diagnose and treat your horse.

26/07/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Ovarian Tumors
One common type of neoplasia or cancer that horses can develop is an ovarian granulosa thecal cell tumor. This tumor can cause behavior changes including causing a mare to display stallion like behavior. Diagnosis is through blood work, palpation, and ultrasound. The good news is that the tumor is localized to the o***y and removal of the affected o***y is curative. If the tumor is not too large, then it can be removed through a standing flank laparoscopic surgery. This minimally invasive surgery involves making small incisions in the flank to insert a small camera and surgical instruments. The first photo is a laparoscopic image of an ovarian tumor. The second shows the use of the LIgasure. This instrument seals and then cuts tissue and blood vessels. The images shows one of the final cuts of the Liagsure before the o***y is removed through a small flank incision.

22/07/2025

Mizzou Veterinary Insight: Superficial Digital Flexor Tendonitis
This horse has visible tendon enlargement and associated lameness. Limb palpation revealed enlargement and soreness of the superficial digital flexor tendon. Ultrasound revealed enlargement of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and significant disruption of the tendon fiber pattern. These findings are all consistent with tendonitis. Often referred to as a "bowed tendon" due to the bowed out appearance of the back of the limb, tendonitis of the SDFT is a common injury in horses. Treatment initially involves measures to decrease inflammation and swelling including cold therapy and compression. After the acute injury a carefully controlled rest and rehabilitation plan with repeated lameness and ultrasound rechecks is needed to enable the best outcome for your horse. Additional therapies such as injection with biologic therapies (such as Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) or stem cells), shock wave therapy, or surgery can help to return your horse to their best athletic potential and prevent re-injury. If you have questions about options for tendon and ligament injury please contact us at 573-882-3513.

Address

Telephone

+15738823513

Website

http://vhc.missouri.edu/equine-hospital/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when MU VHC Equine Hospital posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to MU VHC Equine Hospital:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Alerts
Contact The Business
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?

Country:

City: