Hello,

I have a story of gratitude I would like to share. I have a 14-year-old Trakehner mare named Hurricane Hannah. For years, she was intermittently lame, varying in severity, and it seemed to shift locations, sometimes front, sometimes back. She also would regularly have episodes of colic, which if you know horses, causes extreme discomfort. Hurricane Hannah had colic about 13 times over a four-year period. She spent over a week at the UC Davis’s William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital on one of those occasions. 

I sought veterinary care, but as it turns out, Hurricane Hannah’s case was a complex one. Throughout those years, she had her hocks and coffin bones injected, an anti-inflammatory treatment injected in her right stifle several times, she received shockwave treatments, and acupuncture. Nothing really fixed the problem. 

In 2023, I decided to switch Hurricane Hannah’s primary veterinary care to UC Davis. Once we started visiting the primary care team there, Hurricane Hannah was diagnosed with Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID). PPID is a hormonal disease caused by an enlarged pituitary gland. 

Since her diagnosis, Hurricane Hannah has been under the excellent care of the equine veterinary team at UC Davis, and I have a completely different horse. 

She is sound and moving like never before. She no longer has episodes of colic, and after having a chronically lame and sick horse for five years, I am a little intense about her medical condition. When we visit UC Davis, the team answers all of my questions with patience, and prepares me metabolic reports on a regular basis. And, whenever the team comes out to check on Hurricane Hannah, they are fully prepared to discuss the bloodwork and her history and presentation over time, charting and monitoring her illness with detail. 

I finally feel like my horse has a veterinary team in her corner taking care of her for the long haul. 

Thank you to UC Davis for their extraordinary veterinary care!

- Diana