(Fwd) News from Mich. State Univ. College Veterinary Medicine

["Judith Lessard" <lessardj@cvm.msu.edu>]

The following information is from the College of Veterinary Medicine 
at Michigan State University.


July 29, 1999
 
MSU Equine Performance Center to be
Named in Honor of Mary Anne McPhail

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State University's equine
performance center -- a state-of-the-art facility that will conduct
cutting edge research and provide high quality care for equine
athletes -- is being named in honor of Mary Anne McPhail, an MSU
graduate and long-time supporter of MSU's College of Veterinary
Medicine.

At its meeting on June 25, the Board approved naming the facility the
Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center.

McPhail is a 1955 graduate of MSU's College of Social Science and an
accomplished horsewoman and dressage judge.  Her husband, Walter, is
former chief executive officer of Lectron Products of Troy, Michigan.

Also Friday, the MSU Board approved the hiring of Avance
Construction, Inc., of Haslett, Michigan, to build the $2.5 million,
18,000-square-foot facility, which will expand the college's
facilities for clinical evaluations and research studies of equine
performance and lameness.

MSU's nationally renowned equine hospital is already equipped with a
wide range of diagnostic technology, including radiology, ultrasound,
scintigraphy, CT scanning, endoscopy and arthroscopy.

By combining these traditional techniques with cutting edge methods
such as computerized gait analysis, the center will become one of the
nation's foremost centers for diagnosis and treatment of performance
problems in sport horses.

"The specialized services provided by the center will further expand
our clinical, teaching and research capabilities, ensuring that the
MSU Equine Hospital will be unrivaled as the leading veterinary center
for the equine athlete in the country," said Dr. Frederik Derksen,
chairperson of MSU's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

"This building will have dual functions," said Dr. Hilary M. Clayton,
a professor of large animal clinical sciences who specializes in the
care of dressage horses.  "It will be used for clinical purposes as
well as for research and will allow these two functions to be fully
integrated."

"Working with sport and performance horses is becoming a professional
speciality in veterinary medicine," said Dr. Lonnie King, dean of the
veterinary college.  "The center will also serve as a unique teaching
center for our veterinary students, practicing veterinarians and horse
owners as we introduce them to the new techniques of this specialized
medical field."

Among the building's many features is a 70-foot by 130-foot indoor
riding arena.  This will allow veterinarians to assess horses as they
are being ridden or driven.

A lot of problems of athletic horses can be seen only while they are
performing," said Clayton.  "With race horses we can simulate what
they do during a race by having them trot, pace or gallop on our
high-speed treadmill.  However, we can't simulate jumping a fence or
performing a pirouette."

In addition to the riding arena, the center will house futuristic
diagnostic tools such as a video analysis system that will assist in
the study of lameness and locomotion, and a large force platform used
for computer-aided gait analysis -- a method that can determine if a
horse is on the verge of a leg injury.

Other features of the center include laboratories, offices, a
conference room, stables, treatment rooms and even a farrier shop.

The center will be located south of the Veterinary Medical Center on
Wilson Road on the MSU campus.

Construction began in late July, with completion expected by the end
of the year.

MSU has long been considered a leader in the care of racehorses and
horses that perform in other sports.  Ground breaking research has
been conducted in a number of areas, including lameness, respiratory
ailments, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease.

The McPhails are long-time supporters of the College of Veterinary
Medicine.  A gift from them established the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage
Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, a position that is held by Clayton.

Since the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine
was established two years ago, MSU has become a world leader in
studies of the sport of dressage.  Dressage horses perform intricate
figures and movements at various gaits, and the movements are often
choreographed to music.  The sport is becoming very popular in North
America and there is a need for a facility that can provide
specialized care for dressage horses.
                                                             --Tom Oswald
                                                             MSU Media Communications

                                                      ###



Judith Lessard
Editorial Assistant
Publications and Media Relations
College of Veterinary Medicine
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=