John Steiner, DVM, Dipl. ACT, passed away Monday, May 26, at the Albany Medical Center. He had sustained severe head injuries in an accident the previous Tuesday, and his condition worsened despite the most aggressive medical care and the prayers, love and support of so many in the equine and veterinary community.

Dr. Steiner was originally from Putnam County, N.Y., where he was raised on a small family farm with horses and cattle. He attended the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University and graduated from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell in 1968. From 1968 to 1970, Dr. Steiner was an associate in a predominantly bovine and equine practice in Newton, N.J. In 1970 he struck out on his own, founding an equine practice in Mahopac, N.Y., serving lower Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties and Western Connecticut. In 1989, he sold his practice to his associate, and started a new equine practice at a Thoroughbred farm in Lexington, Ky. In 1992, Dr Steiner joined Hagyard, Davidson, and McGee in Lexington, the oldest and largest equine practice in the United States. He began and directed the practice’s Equine Fertility Unity, where he specialized in both stallion and mare reproductive problems, equine embryo transfer, semen freezing, and other assisted reproductive techniques.

Dr. Steiner authored numerous scientific papers and book chapters on a variety of equine reproductive topics and was a sought after speaker at national and international veterinary meetings. He was a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists, serving as the group’s President in 2005-2006.

Dr. Steiner joined Rhinebeck Equine in 2008. He had recently moved back to New York to develop the next stage of his career while enjoying life at his family’s farm in Red Hook, something he had longed to do for many years. As a member of the veterinary team at Rhinebeck Equine, Dr. Steiner was offering his expertise for reproductive treatment of mares and stallions.

“Dr. John Steiner was one of the most knowledgeable, kind and approachable veterinarians in all the world,” said Amy Grice, VMD, of Rhinebeck Equine. “I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with him. I learned so much from John in a short time, and perhaps the most important lesson was to find joy in every day. Every morning he had a big smile, and was one of the happiest people in his work that I have ever known.”

“The equine and veterinary community has lost one of their brightest stars,” Grice said.

Two memorial services have been planned to celebrate John’s life.

In New York:

Wednesday, May 28, at 2 p.m.

Dapson Chestney Funeral Home

51 West Market Street

Rhinebeck, N.Y. 12572

845/876-6000

In Kentucky:

Saturday, June 7, at 5 p.m.

Parkerview Farm

Pisgah Pike

Versailles, Ky.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that anyone wishing to make a gift in honor of Dr. Steiner do so to the joint AAEP/SFT/ACT Memorial Fund that has been established through the AAEP Foundation. Funds will be used to establish a scholarship in his name. Donations can be sent in Dr. Steiner’s name to the AAEP Foundation at 4075 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 or online at AAEP.org/foundation_make_gift.htm.  

Cards and messages for the family can be sent to Family of John Steiner, Rhinebeck Equine LLP, 26 Losee Lane, Rhinebeck, N.Y., 12572.