The Sport Horse Program at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute of Lexington, Ky., specializes in the care and maintenance of show horse athletes. Hagyard is building a new Sport Horse facility where the veterinarians can work with clients to focus on their horse's health and wellness, nutrition, training program design and monitoring, incident treatment, and disease care.

The facility, which will be completed in 2010, will provide new options for diagnostics, treatments, and therapies. There will be an area to jog, longe, and ride horses, as well as a treatment area. Farrier bays and a forge onsite will allow the vets work closely with farriers.

The program started in 2006 and is led by Duncan Peters, DVM, MS, Holly Schmitt, DVM, Jorge Gomez, MVZ, MS, Dipl. ACVS, Fernando Garcia-Seeber, MV, and intern Heather Woodruff, DVM. The program is also affiliated with Bryan Fraley, DVM, Equine Podiatry/P3 Inc., whose business will be housed in the new facility.

"Our program is tailored specifically to the individual horse and the sport that they do. All of the disciplines have different stresses on a horse's body," Schmitt explained. "It's a complete package, more so than just injecting and sending them on their way. We look for a long-term solution