Internships at Blue Ridge Equine Clinic

The Internship experience at Blue Ridge Equine Clinic provides comprehensive exposure to all aspects of a top quality practice. The individual will receive training and mentoring from five experienced clinicians, a board certified internist and two board certified surgeons, each with expertise in different areas of equine medicine or surgery. Support staff includes three licensed veterinary technicians, and two veterinary assistants. The clinic is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The practice encompasses a diverse caseload ranging from advanced diagnostic, medical, and surgical procedures, to routine preventive medicine.  Close proximity to a world class event facilty, the Virginia Horse Center, provides additional opportunities for our doctors. Certainly one of the strengths of our program lies in the opportunity to experience both ambulatory and hospital practice situations.

We believe the practice can serve as an excellent starting point for both those new graduates desiring to pursue residency training and those individuals planning to jump straight into practice. The range of clinical skills acquired by the intern would be an appropriate foundation for either specialty training or practice. As such, we believe that this internship is particularly well suited for those individuals unsure as yet which path they wish to pursue. Hospital cases provide in-depth training with constant oversight. Field cases provide opportunities for independent decision making and honing of client relation skills. The growth of the individual, as a clinician and as a person, is enhanced by these complementary experiences.

Our facility includes a 15-stall main barn, 5-stall isolation barn,complete surgical suite, and a lameness arena. Advanced equipment on hand includes digital ultrasonography, digital radiography, video endoscopy and gastroscopy, diode laser, laparoscopy, arthroscopy, full ASIF instrumentation, a 300 mA radiology unit, automated hematology and chemistry machines, and an Equistand nuclear scintigraphy unit. We see predominantly sport horses: foxhunters, hunters/jumpers, dressage and eventers and provide services for several Thoroughbred training facilities. Our patient population also includes Western performance horses and about 100 broodmares. The approximate caseload breakdown is 30% surgery, 25% medicine, 35% lameness, and 10% production medicine.