Large Animal

This article first appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of Synergy magazine

Researchers at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, led by Dr. Carrie Finno and graduate student Briana Brown, have reported the genetic cause of a fatal neurologic disease, equine juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia (EJSCA), in American Quarter Horse foals. A genetic test is available through the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL).

A gate swings wide at the auction ring at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. A group of goats and sheep hesitate, then shuffle through. They move as a group; their bodies pressed against each other. Beneath it all is their ruminant instinct of wanting to return from where they came. Rancher Nathan Medlar, with NM Ranch in Auburn, has arranged these gates to accommodate that instinct.

The California Wool Growers Association recently held its 106th Annual California Ram Sale in Tulare, and UC Davis livestock veterinarians and students were on hand to help facilitate the event. As they have done for more than 50 years, the school’s livestock team provided health checks on all 500 rams up for sale.

In 2016, then 4-year-old Mustang mare Magic was one of 279 wild horses rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) following the massive Soda Fire in Idaho, which destroyed more than 279,000 acres of their critical habitat. To prevent their starvation, BLM rescued the wild horses. Between 2016 and 2019, many of the horses, including Magic, were adopted out, and others were returned to the wild when their grazing area grew back.

“I call them my Geriatric Club,” joked horse owner Laura Croyle, referring to her three horses – Big Chief and Little Cloud, both 20-year-old miniatures, and Dex, a 30-year-old mustang.

The three “brothers” have been herd mates for 10 years and are inseparable. So, it’s understandable when Dex and Little Cloud put up a fuss when Big Chief was taken to UC Davis for five days. The miniature gelding developed a case of colic and was writhing in pain when Laura and her husband Warren found him one morning four months ago.

The UC Davis Equine Reproduction Service was well represented at a recent international breeders’ veterinary conference in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, held during the KWPN Stallion Show. The conference attracted leaders in the field to share insights on showjumping breeding and equine reproduction in general.

Two years ago, Brandon and Lisa Bacon were looking to purchase a horse for their 12-year-old son Jackson. Through their contacts as the owners of a horse supply company in Northern California, they discovered Ricky, a then 13-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding.

“Jackson has big ‘Gold Buckle’ dreams,” Lisa said. “We’re so proud of how hard he works at this, and we were thrilled to find Ricky, who was already an experienced roping horse.”

An extremely specialized equine surgery performed by only about a dozen veterinarians nationwide is now available at UC Davis. Thanks to the addition of Dr. Carter Judy to the faculty, as well as a dedicated large bore equine CT scanner, the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) now offers foraminotomy surgery for horses with cervical foraminal stenosis—a narrowing of an intervertebral opening where the limb nerve root exits the spinal column.