EAST LANSING, Mich. - Health care for the nation's horse population entered a new era June 7 when the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center officially opened at Michigan State University.

Occupying more than 18,000 square feet of space, the center expands the College of Veterinary Medicine's facilities for clinical evaluations and research studies of equine health problems.

By combining such traditional diagnostic techniques as radiology, ultrasound and arthoscopy with cutting-edge methods such as computerized gait analysis, the building is one of the nation's foremost centers for diagnosis and treatment of performance problems in sport horses.

"The facility will have two functions," said Hilary M. Clayton, who holds the McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine. "It will be used for clinical purposes as well as for research and will allow these two functions to be fully integrated."

While the center will attract elite equine athletes from around the nation, its services will be available to all horses, Clayton said.

"While we are interested in high-level athletes, we will be seeing a wide range of horses, from pleasure horses and trail horses to Olympic-quality horses," she said.

Among the building's many features is a 70-foot by 130-foot indoor riding arena that will allow veterinarians to assess horses as the horses 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 also 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 help predict 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 a blacksmith shop.

"Working with sport and performance horses is becoming a professional specialty in veterinary medicine," said Lonnie J. King, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. "The center also will 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."

MSU has long been considered a leader in the care of racehorses and other equine athletes. Ground-breaking research has been conducted in areas such as lameness, respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease.

Mary Anne and Walter McPhail 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 held by Clayton.

Since the chair was created in 1997, 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.

Dressage is an Olympic sport. A dressage horse owned by Mary Anne McPhail - "Lectron" - won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

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

THE MARY ANNE MCPHAIL EQUINE PERFORMANCE CENTER COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
FACT SHEET

• Construction of the state-of-the-art facility began in July 1999. The building was dedicated and officially opened on June 7, 2000.
• The 18,000-square-foot building is located south of the Veterinary Medical Center on Wilson Road in the southeast corner of the MSU campus.
• The center combines traditional diagnostic technology - radiology, ultrasound, etc. - with cutting edge methods such as computerized gait analysis to create one of the nation's foremost centers for equine care.
• The center will combine and expand the College of Veterinary Medicine's clinical, teaching and research capabilities.
• One of the center's major features is a 70- by 130-foot riding arena which will allow veterinarians to assess horses as the horses are being ridden or driven.
• The center also houses 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 helps determine if a horse is on the verge of a leg injury.
• Other facility features include stalls, a treatment room, a farrier center, a research suite, a conference room and office space.
• MSU has long been considered a leader in the care of equine athletes. Ground-breaking research has been conducted in areas such as lameness, respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease.
• The cost of the center is $2.5 million, all of which is paid for by private donations.
• The Center is named in honor of Mary Anne McPhail, a 1955 graduate of MSU, long-time supporter of the College of Veterinary Medicine and an accomplished horsewoman and dressage judge.
• She and her husband Walter, retired chief executive officer of Lectron Products of Troy, also provided funding for the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, the first chair of its kind in the world. The position is held by Dr. Hilary Clayton.