OUR EQUINE SERVICES
King Animal Hospital (KAH) offers referral-only services for all horses with a focus on advanced diagnostics and elective specialized surgical procedures. Our locum veterinarians provide dentistry and ophthalmology assessments and procedures.
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Equine Operating Room
ELECTIVE SURGERY
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Orthopedic surgery, including arthroscopy and fracture repair (intraoperative fluoroscopy imaging available)
Upper airway procedures such as tie-backs, tie-forward, and sinus procedures
Soft tissue surgery, such as hernia repair, mass removal
Tooth repulsion under general anesthesia
Urogenital procedures, such as bladder stone removal, ovariectomy, closed and cryptorchid castration
Laparoscopy
Laser procedures
We work alongside your veterinarian with the mutual goal of returning your horse to health and performance.
If you would like to book surgery, diagnostic imaging or an appointment, or if you have any questions, please contact us. We would be happy to speak to you and your veterinarian to accommodate your request.
DIAGNOSTICS
King Animal Hospital provides referral imaging services that assist in diagnosis and treatment planning for various clinical conditions in the horse. Our imaging services include: high field MRI, standing robotic CT, scintigraphy, endoscopy, ultrasound, and digital radiography (x-ray).
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Equine Standing Robotic CT
High field (1.5 Tesla) MRI
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The high field MRI performs scans of the head or lower limbs of horses under general anesthesia, providing high quality and detailed images of both soft tissue and bone. These scans provide detailed information that often cannot be obtained with radiographs and ultrasound.
Standing Robotic CT
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The robotic arm operated CT scanner allows horses to receive CT scans of the head, neck, and lower limbs with heavy standing sedation, avoiding general anesthesia. CT scans provide 3D imaging of bone, but also provides some information on soft tissue structures. This can help determine fracture configuration and severity, bone infection, arthritis, as well as assist in evaluation of diseases of the head, including dental disorders, sinus disease and skull fractures.
Nuclear Scintigraphy
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Also called bone scan, nuclear scintigraphy is a sensitive diagnostic tool evaluating both soft tissue and boney structures. Horses are injected with a radioactive isotope (TC-99) and images are acquired with a gamma camera. The images captured give valuable information on bone activity and turnover, assisting in localization and identification of injury and disease. Patients are hospitalized for a minimum of 48 hours following the scan and confined to a stall to allow the radioisotope to decay. This ensures both patient and handler safety.
Endoscopy
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Two equine endoscopes (1.4 meter and 3.25meter) allow our team to offer a wide variety of endoscopic exams, including upper airway, stomach (gastroscopy), urinary tract/bladder.
Ultrasound
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Ultrasound enables detailed evaluation of primarily soft tissue and to some extent also bony structures. Uses include the evaluation of tendons, ligaments, musculature, joints, and other bony structures.
Digital Radiography (X-ray)
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Digital Radiography provides quick imaging of primarily boney structures, and is often used to assess joints, look for fractures or other suspected injuries.
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DENTISTRY
- Standing oral extractions
- Incisor extractions for EOTRH
- MITB (minimally invasive transbuccal) extractions of fractured teeth
- Consultation/management of dental malocclusions
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OPHTHALMOLOGY
- Ophthalmic exams
- Surgical ophthalmology services
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Standing Treatment
OUR DOCTORS
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DR DARRYL BONDER
DVM
Chief Medical Officer (Equine Division)
Dr. Darryl Bonder is a distinguished pioneer in equine healthcare, renowned for his expertise and contributions to the field. Graduating with honors from the University of Guelph in 1977, Dr. Bonder quickly established himself as a leader in equine medicine and surgery, earning the prestigious Fowler Award for highest proficiency in equine medicine and surgery.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Bonder has accumulated a wealth of experience across various domains of equine practice. From racetrack practice to ambulatory farm practice, and from full surgical hospital facilities to equine nuclear medicine, his expertise spans the breadth of the industry.
Dr. Bonder’s dedication to advancing equine healthcare is evident through his extensive involvement in professional associations and committees. He has served as the President of the Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners and as a member of the Federal Drug Advisory Committee to Racetracks Canada. Additionally, he has contributed his expertise to organizations such as Equine Guelph Research Committee and the Grayson Foundation Jockey Club Research Advisory Committee.
With over four decades of experience, Dr. Bonder continues to shape the future of equine medicine. Dr. Bonder’s commitment to innovation and compassionate care has earned him the respect and admiration of colleagues and clients alike, solidifying his reputation as a true pioneer in equine healthcare. As the Owner and Medical Director of Ontario Equine Hospital from 2019 to 2023, he led with distinction, and continues setting the standard for excellence in equine care now as CMO at King Animal Hospital.
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DR. ORLAITH CLEARY
MVB, DACVS-LA
Board-Certified Equine Surgeon
Dr. Cleary graduated with a veterinary degree from University College Dublin, Ireland, in June 2003. She then completed a Large Animal Medicine and Surgery internship at the University of Georgia, followed by an Equine Medicine and Surgery internship at the Equine Medical Center of Ocala, Florida. In the summer of 2005, she lectured at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin and traveled to observe equine surgery in Sweden. She then worked as a resident veterinarian at Adena Springs South in Williston, Florida, until July 2006. In July 2009, Dr. Cleary completed a 3-year residency in Large Animal Surgery at the University of Florida in Gainesville with surgical externships in private practices in Florida, Kentucky, and New Jersey. This was followed by a clinical instructorship at the University of Florida. She moved to Ontario to join the teams at Milton Equine Hospital and Allen Equine services in July 2010.
From 2017-2018 she worked doing elective and emergency large animal surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. She joined the Ontario Equine Hospital team in April 2019. Dr. Cleary’s special interests are in advanced imaging (MRI, CT, scintigraphy), as well as all aspects of soft tissue and orthopedic surgery.
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DR. NATHALIE CÔTÉ
DVM, DVSC, DACVS-LA
Board-Certified Equine Surgeon
Dr. Côté graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Université de Montréal in 1988. Subsequently, she completed an internship and a year of surgical residency at the same institution. She continued her training at the University of Guelph where she obtained a DVSc in Large Animal Surgery. She remained there as a clinician and faculty member until 2003.
Dr. Côté then joined a reference centre in equine surgery and opened her own establishment in partnership with another veterinarian in 2007. During this time, she continued to teach in the VSTEP program, a program that helps graduates from foreign countries take the Canadian Veterinary Entrance Examination. Since February 2017, she has held a faculty position at the University of Guelph. Dr. Côté has been certified and diplomatic with the ACVS since 1997.
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DR. JORGE CRUZ
DVM
Anesthetist
Dr. Cruz received his veterinary degree from the National University of Cajamarca, in Peru, in 1995. In 2000, he moved to Kentucky and worked first at Woodford Equine Hospital; then at Davidson Surgery Center (Hagyard Equine Medical Institute) for four years where he was a primary anesthetist. He has since been living in Ontario since 2012, working at different equine hospital facilities including Ontario Equine Hospital where his main occupation is anesthesia under the hospital setting.
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DR. JACKIE KAUFMAN
DVM, MSC, DACVS-LA
Board-Certified Equine Surgeon
Dr. Kaufman grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario and graduated with her DVM from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2016. She then moved east to PEI, where she trained at the Atlantic Veterinary College to complete a 1-year Large Animal Internship and 3-year Large Animal Surgery Residency. She obtained her board certification with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and completed a Master of Science degree with a focus on equine pain. After her residency, Jackie worked as an equine surgeon in Winnipeg, MB, where she focused on surgery and sports medicine, and also worked in all facets of equine medicine, emergency, and primary care.
Dr. Kaufman enjoys all areas of large animal veterinary medicine with a special interest in lameness evaluation and especially enjoys her time in the operating room. Working as a team with clients and seeing her patients’ lives improve is the most rewarding part of Dr. Kaufman’s work.
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