By Kim J. Harmon

Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown has taken another step forward in its treatment of horses … and is looking to take many more.

The company was founded in 1989 and has developed a reputation as one of the finest equine medical facilities in the world while it has served the United States Equestrian team at international events – including the Olympics – for the past 14 years.

“Our business is very unique,” said Mark Baus, DVM and managing partner at Fairfield Equine Associates, “and a lot of people in town may not even know we’re here.”

In 2000, Fairfield Equine opened its 14,000 square foot facility on Barnabas Road in Newtown and since then has continued to make strides in the treatment of horses. Last fall, the hospital took another step forward in that treatment with the addition of a new MRI machine.

“The concept of acquiring an MRI (for horses) came over two years ago,” said Dr Baus, “and when we saw it we knew it was a must have. Where we had thought we had a good grasp on (ailments of) the foot, this has changed all of our pre-conceived ideas.”

The MRI – or magnetic resonance imaging – provides the veterinarians the most advanced form of diagnostic tool available to identify the causes of lameness in horses. It is in addition to imaging tools such as X-ray, ultrasound and nuclear bone scans, which offer different perspectives of an equine limb.

The MRI installed at the Fairfield Equine Associates hospital is one of a half dozen operating in the United States (practices in Brewster and New Jersey also feature MRIs).

To install the machine (the magnet itself weighs about 2,000 pounds) took a fair amount of engineering. The new MRI room – temperature controlled and shielded – was constructed where the hospital’s carport once stood and features extra wide doors to accommodate anesthetized horses.

“MRI has significantly expanded our ability to more accurately diagnose conditions in the horse resulting in lameness, especially those conditions of the foot,” said Dr. Richard Mitchell, a partner at Fairfield Equine who heads the MRI department and interprets images acquired from each horse.

Recently, a horse treated at Fairfield Equine Associates was diagnosed with a lesion on its deep flexor tendon – a diagnosis that would not have been possible without an MRI and a diagnosis that allowed the veterinarians to property treat the problem.

What makes the new technology (MRI has been used on horses in a very limited capacity for about 10 years) more important is that, in the past, previous systems have required general anesthesia and that added a degree of risk and expense.

But the Hallmarq MRI can provide a useful image while the horse is alert and standing (providing it can stay still for about a minute).

These types of diagnostic tools will be at the heart of Fairfield Equine Associates’ Ultrasonographic & Radiographic Anatomy of the Joints of the Equine Limb seminar on Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9.

The second seminar hosted by Fairfield Equine will focus on ultrasound examination of the joints and the featured speaker will be Dr Jean-Marie Denoix of France.

Dr Mitchell and Dr Ryland Edwards, currently at the University of Wisconsin’s College of Veterinary Medicine, will also be presented at the seminar.

Lameness conditions in the horse are a common and debilitating problem for the equine athlete and ultrasound is a unique tool for diagnostic purposes since it presents no risk to the horse or the doctor.

Fairfield Equine Associates uses a LOGIQ 9 ultrasound machine.

Although ultrasound has been used for many years to identify problems in the tendons and ligaments of horses, Dr Denoix has been able to expand the use of ultrasound by investigating problems of the horse’s joints and his techniques have significantly expanded the diagnostic abilities of equine veterinarians in their quest to determine the many causes of lameness in horses.

The seminar will be conducted in two locations – lectures and discussions at the Dolce Conference Center in Southbury and demonstrations at the Fairfield Equine Associates hospital on Barnabas Road,

More than 30 veterinarians from around the country are expected to attend.

While Dr Edwards will be presenting at the seminar, in August he will become a resident surgeon at Fairfield Equine Associates.

His education began at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, where he graduated in 1990. Dr Edwards then undertook an internship and residency at Cornell University, where he earned his Masters of Science.

Since then, he has achieved diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1996 while working at Belmont and Aqueduct racetracks in New York City.

Currently, he is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he completed his PhD.

Dr Edwards had been actively involved in research in the areas of upper airway disorders in horses, fracture healing, and the management of cartilage injury.

“Several of the doctors, myself included, worked closely with Dr Edwards during his time at Cornell University,” said Dr Baus. “We were very impressed with his veterinary skills as well as his communication skills while he attended to the horses that we referred to Cornell. There was no doubt in our minds that he would be a tremendous addition to our veterinary staff.”

Along with this new addition to the staff, Fairfield Equine also looks forward to its continued association with Dr Wayne McIlwraith and Dr Alan Nixon, who have performed advanced orthopedic procedures at the hospital.

And even with all that diagnostic equipment at their disposal, the Fairfield Equine Associates veterinarians still perform as much as 70% of their work on the road, at the barn.

“Once the horse gets here,” said Dr Baus, “this is the best can they can receive.”