Hello from Equine Analysis Systems!

Hey everybody!

I have just finished up my first few weeks at  Equine Analysis Systems (EAS) and can't wait to tell you all what I've been up to. My summer experience will be slightly different than my fellow students' as EAS is more of a research based company and doesn't practice clinical equine medicine. EAS focuses on optimizing the individual racing performance of racing thoroughbreds and does so with a variety of technologies they have developed.  These technologies include a heart scan, conformational analysis, a wind test, motion test, and metabolic analysis. If you would like to learn more about these specific technologies please visit their website at www.equineanalysis.com.

EAS has a team of 4 veterinarians, 4 techs, and a few other staff members. It is a very close knit company and everybody has made me feel very welcomed and has helped to integrate me into the company. They have even created a special project just for me focusing on upper airway pathology. I will be comparing the pathology of sound with visual pathology at rest. To do this, I will be working most with the wind test, which records the horse's breathing while they run, and analyzing that data for any upper airway pathology. This test can pick up and record noises produced by pathology before we can audibly detect them. Then after the horse works, we will use video endoscopy to see if we can visually detect any pathology of the upper airways. We have had a few issues with getting our scope working so stay tuned to see what we find this summer!

On a typical day of track testing, we drive to Churchill Downs, and get started on getting all of our equipment on the horses that will be working that day. It has been an amazing experience to get to work on the backside of Churchill Downs and such a privilege to be able to collect data on these supreme equine athletes. I have never seen horses so fit and clean in my entire life! After the data is collected we head back to the office and analyze the data. I usually help run the blood work and am still learning how to analyze the sound files from the wind test. One of the coolest parts is getting to watch the GoPro videos that the jockeys wear. The jockeys wear the video as they work the horse and watching them is like riding around the Churchill track yourself!

On days that we aren't track testing, I am either analyzing data, prepping for the next track test, or learning about the other technologies they use. I am learning so much about equine physiology and how all of their systems work together to produce this extreme athlete. I have also gotten to practice some clinical skills on the veterinarians' own horses. Whenever they have vet work that needs to be done on their horses, I am always welcome to come help out. So far I have been able to practice drawing blood, giving vaccines, and trans-cervically infusing a mare with antibiotics.

Also, Lexington is just beautiful in the summer time! My drive to work is through the backroads surrounded by green pastures and lined with trees. It is such welcome site after being stuck in classroom all year. It is definitely a wonderful place to spend your summer! It has also been great to be exposed to another field of equine medicine that I wasn't aware of before. You still get plenty of hands-on time with horses but have more regular hours. It could be a great career choice for those that love equine medicine but don't relish the emergency/ on-call lifestyle. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share by my next post. Once our scope starts working, I might even have a few cool shots of the larynx!