Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital sits on 24 acres on Georgetown Road, in northwest Lexington, Kentucky. The hospital's main building houses administrative offices, pharmacy, ambulatory garage, laboratory, radiology, surgery, special procedures room, treatment areas, and employee and client lounges.

In the interior of the property there are 9 barns with 140 stalls, including the neonatal intensive care unit, 2 isolation barns, an admission office, outpatient surgery facility, clinician offices, nuclear scintigraphy unit, and additional treatment areas. The Diagnostic Imaging building includes the MRI unit, high-speed treadmill, and procedures area for ultrasound exams. Additionally, the clinic has 16 covered pens to house outpatients. The Ambulatory/Reproduction/Podiatry Center at the rear of the property.

Both individual and group tours are welcome, but are scheduled by appointment only on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. If you would like to visit the hospital, you may contact Marie Cobb at (859) 233-0371.

The primary surgery facility is located in the core of the main building and consists of 3 operating rooms, 2 transfer areas, a sterile supply room, central supply area and 5 recovery stalls. In addition, there are 2 special procedures rooms for standing surgeries. There is also an outpatient surgery unit with 3 recovery stalls.

Rood & Riddle performs approximately 4,500 general anesthesia surgeries each year. The surgical suites, general anesthesia rooms, treatment rooms and recovery stalls are fully equipped with the most advanced technology available. There are 5 Board Certified surgeons on staff, who perform orthopedic, soft tissue and emergency surgery. Each surgeon is skilled in multiple disciplines and is specialized in one or more areas, which gives our clients access to a high degree of proficiency in a wide range of surgical services. Every case is handled by a surgical team headed by the chief surgeon, who is assisted by a team of interns and a technical support staff that is responsible for monitoring every case from pre-op through follow-up care.

The core of the internal medicine department is its intensive care and neonate unit, which is outfitted with the most advanced equipment for providing diagnosis and supportive care. The ICU and Neonatal unit is designed for around-the-clock observation and treatment of critical patients and equipped to provide respiratory and parenteral support to critical care neonates. The isolation facility is also staffed and equipped to meet the challenges of infectious disease and support critically ill patients.

The Internal Medicine department is supported by 5 internal medicine clinicians. In addition to Board Certification in internal medicine and cardiology, our clinicians have focused areas of interest in ultrasonography, neonatology, neurology and respiratory therapy.

The Podiatry Center is dedicated to the successful treatment of a variety of foot conditions with medical therapy, as well as corrective shoeing and maintenance. The center has a large open treatment area, 3 holding stalls, dark room for processing radiographs, and a fully outfitted farrier shop. The treatment area is also equipped with hoists to support laminitis cases in a sling, when necessary.

The Podiatry Center is headed by Dr. Scott Morrison, a graduate of the Eastern School of Farriery and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. This unique combination of Farrier/Veterinarian enables Dr. Morrison to approach every foot problem with a thorough understanding of the mechanics and the medical physiology of the equine foot. The farrier shop provides Dr. Morrison with immediate customization of shoes to begin treating diagnosed problems on an individual basis. In addition to his own forging skills, Dr. Morrison is assisted by several Certified Journeyman Farriers.

The Therio Center is designed to provide specialized services in reproduction. The facility has 2 treatment areas, breeding shed, stallion laboratory and mare laboratory, as well as offices and a reception area and waiting room for clients.

The success of our clients' breeding programs is a primary focus at Rood & Riddle. The reproductive center was specially designed in response to a growing demand for specialized reproductive services in our area. The center is staffed by two Board Certified Theriogenologists, who provide comprehensive services for both stallions and mares. Services for mares include uterine biopsy interpretation, fertility evaluation, embryo transfer, and specialized care for late-term high risk pregnancies. Stallion services include fertility examinations, insurance exams, semen analysis, and assistance with cooling, freezing and shipping semen.

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING

Rood & Riddle offers computed radiology (CR), which provides advanced technology in equine digital radiographic imaging. The x-ray is taken using a specialized cassette containing an image plate (IP) that captures the image. The cassette is inserted into a CR reader that takes the image from the IP, erases the IP for future use, and transmits the image to a computer workstation. Images can be viewed on the workstation in less than 1 minute, and can then be adjusted for brightness and contrast. It can also be magnified, rotated, reversed to a negative image and adjusted for detail. The images can be viewed on screen but are typically printed on film. Images are also burned to CD to keep on file in our radiology archives.

Portable Direct Digital Radiography

Rood and Riddle can also provide the benefits of digital radiography to our ambulatory clients with two Eklin portable units in the field. These units consist of a preliminary storage and viewing unit, a digital plate to capture the image, and a modified x-ray machine. The plate collects the image which is then immediately transferred to the storage and viewing unit via a fiber optic cable. The veterinarian can then examine, manipulate, and optimize the image, sometimes allowing preliminary diagnoses to be made stall-side. This system also significantly reduces the number of retakes, as the radiograph quality can be assessed at the time of the initial examination. The images are then brought back to the hospital where they are uploaded onto a central server for storage. Workstations with high resolution monitors and image viewing software are used to make final diagnoses. The advent of portable digital radiography has also allowed us to radiograph areas of the body such as the thorax, proximal limb, and cervical spine that were previously impractical to attempt to obtain high quality images in the field.

Additionally, conventional radiography is also available. Portable radiograph units are routinely used in the field by ambulatory practitioners to bring radiology services to the client.

This modality allows changes in metabolic activity of soft tissue or bone to be visualized. A radioactive marker is injected and images are taken using a gamma camera. Areas of increased metabolic activity in different tissues (e.g., bone remodeling or soft tissue inflammation) preferentially take up or attract the radioactive marker and therefore appear "hotter" on the gamma camera images. The tissue of interest can be selected by selecting the appropriate marker. The most commonly used marker is Technitium 99 tagged to phosphorous which images bone. The process takes only a few hours. The radioactive marker is 97% decayed in 30 hours.

Nuclear Scintigraphy, also referred to as bone scan, can detect problem areas that may not be readily apparent on radiographs (e.g., stress fractures, ligament injuries). It can also assist in diagnosis of horses with multiple sites of soreness. Once the sites of remodeling are identified, other diagnostics can be used to image the precise lesion(s). Scintigraphy does not replace other diagnostic tools such as radiographs or ultrasound but can provide additional valuable information as it looks at metabolic activity rather than anatomy.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses a combination of a magnetic field and radio frequency pulses to produce an image of bone and soft tissue. This imaging technique is useful for equine limbs only if the source of lameness has been isolated to a specific area by use of perineural and/or intra-articular anesthesia (nerve blocks). Usually horses that are referred for MRI have lamenesses that have shown few or no abnormalities with radiographs (x-rays), ultrasound, nuclear scintigraphy (bone scan) or even CT. Unlike radiographs (x-rays), which produce a one-dimensional image of bone, MR is capable of sectioning the limb in three planes and in many slices. It is also an excellent tool for viewing soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments. This allows the diagnostician to view all tissues of the limb from numerous angles in order to precisely locate the problem.

Rood & Riddle MRI unit has a 1.5 Tesla magnet. The doughnut shaped magnet enables imaging in large horses up to the knee and hock, the head, and portions of the neck; in foals, weanlings and miniature horses, the recumbent unit additionally may afford imaging of the entire neck, thorax, abdomen, and stifles. Because of the 1.5 Tesla's precision imaging, horses must be anesthetized during the procedure to prevent artifacts caused by the horse's subtle movement. Rood  & Riddle is one of a handful of private equine hospitals in the country with this level of MRI technology.

 

Ultrasound

Hospital clinicians and ambulatory practitioners are equipped with ultrasound machines to assist in the diagnosis of various conditions as well as routine application for monitoring reproductive cycles and pregnancy in the broodmare. Ultrasound is a valuable imaging tool for evaluating and diagnosing many different conditions and monitoring healing progress. Ultrasound is used to evaluate pneumonia, abdominal pain, cardiac disease, umbilical infection, anatomical sites with a mass or swelling, late term pregnancy, as well as joint, tendon, and ligament injuries.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy allows the clinician to visualize anatomical structures in the horse and is a key diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of many conditions. Both portable fiber optic endoscopy and videoendoscopy are available at Rood & Riddle, and commonly used to examine and evaluate the upper respiratory tract, upper gastrointestinal tract, urethra and bladder, as well as the uterus in the mare. The videoendoscope is equipped with a monitor that allows the client to see these anatomical structures during the exam, which helps to strengthen the client's understanding of the nature of their horse's condition. Videoendoscopy also has recording capabilities providing video image copies for medical records, clients, referring veterinarians, or for outside consultations, when requested.

Treadmill Endoscopy

Problems involving the upper airway are a common cause of decreased athletic performance.  The treadmill allows the clinician to examine the upper airway of an equine athlete while it is exercising at high speed.  This type of dynamic evaluation is very useful in determining if the horse has an upper airway abnormality affecting performance.  There are certain abnormalities of the upper airway that only become evident during exercise and will not be seen during a resting endoscopic evaluation.  The examination is tailored to the type of work and the level of fitness for each horse, mimicking the speed and distance that the horse typically works.  The endoscopic examination is video taped and evaluated in slow motion so that subtle abnormalities are identified.  

 

Case selection includes horses that have exhibited exercise intolerance or poor performance, horses that make abnormal respiratory noise during exercise but have a normal endoscopic evaluation at rest, and to assess the effect of an abnormal endoscopic finding at rest during high-speed exercise.

 

Evaluation for possible cardiac abnormalities during high-speed exercise is also available.
Click here to view a video of an Treadmill Endoscopy exam in action.

 

AMBULATORY SERVICE

Our ambulatory veterinarians have long-tem relationships with a host of breeding and performance horse farms in the area, as well as individual horse owners. The many services provided include reproductive management, including special techniques such as fetal sexing, primary and preventative health care, lameness evaluation, pre-purchase evaluation, and 24 hour emergency coverage. We have practitioners specifically skilled in endoscopic evaluations, radiology, orthopedics, and acupuncture. In addition to farm services, our ambulatory veterinarians provide services at numerous area horse sales and equine events.

LABORATORY

The 24-hour availability of comprehensive, reliable test results is a vital function of the continuous care provided at Rood & Riddle. Our laboratory services include hematology, blood gases, serology, serum chemistry, bacteriology, mycology, cytology, parasitology and Equine Infectious Anemia (Coggins) testing. In addition to supporting the Rood & Riddle's hospital and ambulatory service, our laboratory provides services for a large number of area veterinarians who utilize our laboratory facility.

ROOD & RIDDLE VETERINARY PHARMACY

Rood  & Riddle expanded its services in 2007 by opening a retail veterinary pharmacy. The Rood & Riddle Veterinary Pharmacy is currently located at 1517 Bull Lea Road in Lexington until a new structure is built on the hospital campus to house the facility.

The pharmacy is headed by Anne Lane Gresham, RPh, a third generation pharmacist with 35 years of experience in equine compounding. Gresham and her staff work closely with veterinarians to provide the best pharmaceuticals with the most effective dosage, the most convenient dosage form, and the greatest benefit for the horse being treated.

For Pharmaceutical inquiries, call (859) 246-0112 or (800) 728-1654, and visit www.roodandriddlevetpharm.com.