Equine Hospital Recommendations Northeast Area

[hj.eq.xc]

Hey so my year is off to a fun start if you have read the title. A short backstory, my horse had some funky abscess things going on with his left hind since September that developed into a bump near his coronet band and long story short, my vet showed pics and details to a surgeon and the opinion of the surgeon was that we should proceed with a debridement for assumed quittor. I posted a thread on the horse care category if you want more specific details. Anyway, this my first plunge into anything of this sort and I would really really appreciate info on what the best hospitals/vet clinics/surgeons are in my area are. I am located in Newbury, MA. I am aware of Tufts, Myhre Equine Clinic, and New England Equine. I have heard mixed things about Myhre from people I know having gone there but online obviously you hear mixes of everything. If you don’t want to post in public, feel free to just PM me please, I really want to hear the good bad and ugly. The horse community gate keeps horror stories until you have one to share yourself it seems and I really am trying to avoid that.

Also, I plan on visiting the facility and talking with the surgeon in person and seeing the facility completely before I decided where to take my boy. My standard vet clinic does seem to work with one hospital in particular, but I want to explore all the options and make the decisions that feel right to me not just the ones I am “supposed” to make.

Any specific etiquette that is expected or anything I should make sure to ask beforehand as this is my first experience with this I would appreciate some guidance and things you wished you knew going into it. My horse is uninsured FWIW

[NaturallyHappy]

I am of the opinion all hospitals have good and better surgeons. I would ask how many of this type of procedure has the individual done and w what success. I would also ask about aftercare…who oversees it, etc. I would look for the most experienced individual I could find. I’m sure others will offer great advice.

[cayuse]

My pony has had surgery at both New England Equine and Tufts. And I had a mare have eye surgery at New England Equine. New England would be my choice. Tufts was not the best of experiences. PM me if you want.

[GreyDes]

Amesbury Animal Hospital in Amesbury, MA has an equine surgery center as well. They’re not equine specialists but wanted to mention it as an option. They’re my primary vet and my one experience with their surgery center (tooth extraction) was good.

What about Parrot Equine in Hamilton?

[hj.eq.xc]

thank you! These are great questions and super valuable in determining the best place/people to work with beyond “X is a great option” because there is so much variety in even just one practice

[hj.eq.xc]

thank you, I didn’t think Parrott Equine did surgery like this and I think with this it might be general anesthesia too, hopefully local, but I will check though

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Definitely do not recommend Tufts. My experience there was abysmal and we wound up pulling my horse out of there early because things were that bad and I didn’t trust them one bit. This was about 20 years ago, so I cannot speak to their current practice, but I’d try to get to Cornell. Never heard anyone have a bad story about going there.

[wanderlust]

I like Mike Davis/New England Equine. The other option I’d use is Omar Maher, but I believe he’s in Wellington for the season.

[gotanda2]

I had a positive experience at New England equine, whose ophthalmologist performed an eye surgery on my horse who had a rare, auto immune disease. The staff was also warm and welcoming. My experience at Tufts with the same horse was not at all similar. The specialists seemed more interested in instructing students than speaking with me and they did not offer the surgery.

[giddybiddy]

My former lease horse had a few teeth pulled by Dr. Davis and I couldn’t recommend him more. The removal went a bit sideways and they handled it perfectly. Echo what most are saying about Tufts.

[hj.eq.xc]

when was the tooth extraction if you don’t mind sharing?

[hj.eq.xc]

Cornell is a bit too far unfortunately, it’s interesting to see how many people are not a fan of Tufts though, it does keep coming up. Not much Myhre feedback at this point though, I am really looking between those two and then New England

[TooManyTBs]

I’ve had a few friends send their horses to Tufts in the last few years and all have had very negative experiences. I will not send my horse there despite it being the closest hospital. Friends have have good experiences at Myhre and New England Equine recently. I’ve also heard nothing but positive feedback for Ocean State Equine in Rhode Island specifically for lameness issues.

[Pezanos]

Just to balance things out, 3 people from my barn had to use Tufts extensively over the past year and all three had exceptionally good experiences. I’m sorry for those who had a bad time- that is not helpful when your horse needs help.

[touchstone]

It’s been a few years since I’ve used either place, but I have nothing but good things to say about NEE/Dr. Davis, and I had one not-great experience with Myhre, where they recommended a surgery that it turned out my horse didn’t need. But I also know a lot of friends who had great experiences with Dr. Mhyre, too.

I think your best choice might depend on your horse’s specific need.

[giddybiddy]

It was in 2021! He needed a few top ones removed due to EOTRH. Unfortunately, we’d had a fall a few months prior that dislodged a few of them (wear your helmet, friends!) so it made the surgery much trickier. My barn has gone for NEE for quite a while even though Tufts is significantly closer. Happy to DM if you want!