SBS @ Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital

Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital was built by Drs. Jim Vasey & Angus McKinnon on an 85 acre irrigated farm in 1988 and is situated just north of S

hepparton. The hospital is in a unique position in central Victoria and routinely attracts cases from all around Victoria as well as other parts of Australia and New Zealand. Currently staffed by 9 veterinarians, supported by 10 full time and 3 part time staff, the hospital is a center for routine and specialist care as well as being a referral center for many veterinarians with difficult or unusual problems.

GVEH is divided into different areas of specialization that include reproduction, lameness, ambulatory services, medicine and surgery. In 2001, over 900 surgeries were performed under general anesthesia and over 1400 horses were radiographed. Reproductive services offered include evaluation and treatment of sub fertile stallions and broodmares, AI of fresh cooled & frozen semen, embryo transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), semen evaluation and, of course, semen freezing for domestic and international distribution. The hospital also has facilities for monitoring high-risk pregnancies and for performing reproductive surgeries. In all, the practice services around 1800 broodmares for routine work. In addition, frozen semen is held from over 100 stallions and over 150 Embryo transfers were performed in 2001/2002. Of particular note are the clinic's efforts in research. Maintaining a research/recipient herd of 150 mares the hospital did all of the original work on Ovuplant and produced the world's first foal (and second) from ICSI using eggs from a live mare. Client education rounds out the impressive resume of this hospital. The clinic presents a highly popular Advance Horse Breeding Management Short Course yearly.

	Dr. Angus McKinnon Angus graduated from Melbourne University in 1978. Also a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary Collage and Colorado State University. Dr. McKinnon provides the leadership for SBS Australasia. Based at Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital in Shepparton, Australia, Dr. McKinnon is developing the same kind of committed affiliate relationships throughout the Pacific Rim as now exists in the US and Europe. Angus breeds cattle and horses in his spare time.

	Dr. Lisa Maclellan Lisa has a PhD in reproductive physiology. Lisa is in charge of the laboratory for SBS Australasia and spends much of her time freezing semen and overseeing the quality control program. She has spent quite a few years at Colorado State University where she developed techniques for better freezing of horse embryos. Lisa has unique talents and was the person who first produced a foal from a mare that had died. To do this she had to be sent the ovaries and then incredibly, find and mature a tiny little immature oocyte (the female egg). Then she had to fertilise it and get the subsequent pregnancy to develop properly. Quite a feat!!!