University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital
Davis, CA
Jamie Textor, DVM, PhD
Vet Camp mentor and noted veterinarian Jamie Textor, DVM, PhD, developed the BAE Vet Camp curriculum in collaboration with the BAE Club Board and will spend several days with the students, between the Bay Area Equestrian Club Stables and the UC Davis School of Veterinary
Medicine, the top ranked U.S. veterinary school.
At UC Davis, Dr. Textor will offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital and will discuss equine anatomy, dentistry, and nutrition, as well as how young people can work with horses and what it takes to become a veterinarian. Students will learn about equine diagnostic imaging, oncology, dermatology, and regenerative medicine using stem cells.
Students will visit the Materials Testing Laboratory of Susan Stover, DVM, PhD, where limbs, horseshoes, and track surfaces are mechanically tested for physical properties—demonstrating the interface between veterinary medicine and biomedical engineering. They will also visit the Clinical Pathology Department, where they will view from an observation platform a post-mortem exam (optional) and study plastination exhibits (preserved equine body parts that reveal inner anatomical structures).
Students will tour the teaching hospital’s equine “Receiving” area and recovery barn; meet equine blood donors, learn about transfusion medicine, visit the blood bank, and handle a unit of packed red blood cells. They will visit the equine surgical suites and learn about the anesthetic machine and the process of anesthesia.
For more about the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Medicine Teaching
Hospital, visit www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu.
Bay Area Equestrian Club Stables
Walnut Creek, CA
Jamie Textor, DVM, PhD
Background: In regeneration, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a collection of molecules secreted by cells that provides support to surrounding cells. Two options in regenerative medicine are 1) the use of a substitute extracellular matrix and 2) reconstituting the body’s own ECM.
At the Bay Area Equestrian Club Stables, Dr. Textor will create a temporary wet lab, sponsored by Vetrix (a leader in biological regenerative veterinary medicine), discuss aspects and challenges of tissue healing, and demonstrate the use of Vetrix regenerative products.
Sherman Ranch, Breeders of Champion Arabians
Pleasanton, CA
Jill Sherman, champion equestrian and breeder of champion Arabians
Nick LaDuke, champion saddle bronc specialist
Jill Sherman, a multi-national champion equestrian, breeds champion Arabians on the magnificent 200-acre Sherman Ranch in the lush Tassajara Valley (Pleasanton, CA). The ranch has been breeding champion Arabians since 1975.
Jill will host the students as they tour the ranch and meet newborn Arabians foals of champion bloodlines, rescue donkeys, and prized stallions and broodmares in the Sherman Ranch breeding program.
Students will learn about:
• the history of Sherman Ranch breeding, how breeds develop, choosing breeding stock, and
costs related to breeding
• breeding, pregnancy, delivery, and birth
• lineage
• strategies of selective breeding to produce specifically desired Arabian characteristics
• modern breeding management and advanced reproductive technologies to increase the rate
of conception, healthy pregnancies, and successful foaling
Students will also meet Nick LaDuke, a Livermore-based professional cowboy, champion saddle bronc specialist, and member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Nick is also head trainer and co-owner of L and B Western Enterprises, a business specializing in breaking colts and schooling problem horses.
Currently ranked in the top 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding, Nick has won more than twenty professional competitions. He’s a three-time college national finals qualifier and has ridden in the California and Texas rodeo circuit finals. Nick’s specialty, saddle bronc riding, is considered by many to be the most classic and technical rodeo event, requiring riders to stay atop a bucking horse for eight seconds, using only one hand to hold a simple rein.
Nick will talk about his life as a saddle bronc rider and what it’s like to break colts. We’re hoping he’ll even demonstrate breaking a colt during our visit.
For more about Sherman Ranch, visit www.theshermanranch.com.
* Please note that BAE Vet Camp mentors, workshops, and activities are subject to change.