Experienced Team of Veterinarians Brings Highly Specialized Care to Horses in the Region

Tennessee Equine Hospital (TEH), in Thompson’s Station, is behind the formation of one of the largest specialty teams of equine veterinarians in the Southeast. Highly regarded in their respective fields, Fairfield Bain, DVM, MBA, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVP, ACVECC; Alvaro Bonilla, LV, MS, Dipl. ACVS; Christine Cocquyt, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM; Colton McInturff, DVM; and Allison Stewart, DVM, bring decades of wide-ranging experience to TEH’s diverse caseload.

While specialized care has always been at the forefront of TEH’s services, this newly formed team’s vast knowledge in the areas of internal medicine, pathology, emergency/critical care, surgery, and sports medicine provides a heightened level of expertise for equine patients.

“From Lexington, Kentucky, to West Palm Beach, Florida, we have become one of the largest equine specialty teams at a privately owned hospital in the southeast,” said Monty McInturff, DVM, co-owner and President of Tennessee Equine Hospital. “We are proud to provide this level of care to our patients and referring veterinarians throughout the region.”

Bain is an equine internal medicine specialist with more than four decades of experience. After obtaining his DVM from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he completed a residency in large animal internal medicine at the University of Florida and a residency in veterinary anatomic pathology at Kansas State University. Bain is known for his work in diagnostic ultrasound, perinatology, neonatal intensive care, equine pathology and cytology and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine has recognized Dr. Bain with the JT Vaughan Equine Excellence Award (2022) and the Wilford S. Bailey Distinguished Alumni Award (2023).

Bonilla is an equine surgeon specialized in standing arthroscopy and standing surgery, in general. Following his completion of his DVM at University of Córdoba in Spain, Bonilla completed three internships, an orthopedic research fellowship at University of Pennsylvania and an equine surgical residency at The Ohio State University as he earned a Master of Science focused on the stifle and subchondral cystic lesions. Bonilla has completed locums at universities throughout the world, and in 2015, he became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Dr. Bonilla’s fields of interest include standing arthroscopy and standing surgery in general, subchondral cystic lesions in the stifle, orthopedic and arthroscopic surgery, sinoscopy and sinus surgery, and minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopy. Bonilla commonly lectures at national and international conferences and regularly publishes scientific articles. He will be participating at the World Equine Veterinary Association Conference in Chile in November.

Cocquyt is an equine internal medicine specialist and serves as hospital director at Tennessee Equine Hospital. Prior to joining the TEH team, Cocquyt received her DVM at Kansas State University, completed an internship at Blue Ridge Equine Clinic, in Virginia, and a residency at University of Tennessee. In 2015 she became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Her specialties and interests consist of neonatology, gastrointestinal disease, respiratory disease, and advanced diagnostic imaging.

McInturff is a sports medicine specialist. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2017, he underwent a one-year internship in advanced musculoskeletal diagnostic imaging at Colorado State University. Following his internship, he completed a residency in equine sports medicine and rehabilitation at Colorado State University in partnership with Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation LLC. During this time, he spent nearly half of each year traveling to provide veterinary care at equine competitions across the United States. His concentrated skills within the practice cater primarily to caring for performance horses and athletes of all disciplines, with a focus on lameness diagnostics and localization, treatment, and rehabilitation. McInturff has a specific interest in the application of a multimodal approach to treating lameness through the utilization of orthobiologic (regenerative) therapies and other intra-articular and focused orthopedic treatment modalities.

Stewart is an equine surgeon. After graduating from Oklahoma State University with her DVM, she completed an internship in equine medicine and surgery at Kansas State University, a residency in large animal surgery at Cornell University, and a master’s degree studying the use of bone-marrow-derived stem cells to treat cartilage defects in horses. During her career she has researched and published several clinical studies. Recently, while sitting on the Scientific Chair for National Meetings including the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Orthopedic Society, Stewart spoke on subjects ranging from her research in stem cell therapy on tendon healing to how to treat life-threatening synovial infections and wounds in horses with aggressive local antibiotic therapy in addition to systemic therapy.

If you would like to make an appointment with a member of the TEH Specialty Team or any of our gifted associates, please call (615) 591-1232 or visit tnequinehospital.com.