New England Equine, founded by Drs. Joseph Heissan and Ronald Rosen, has been serving regional horsemen since 1970. Initially it was an ambulatory practice, but with the hiring of Dr. William Bradley in 1976, and the need for a surgical facility, the practice moved to a leased facility in Ridgefield, CT in 1978. Shortly after their move, the practice suffered the unexpected passing of Dr. Rosen. Anxious to have a larger hospital with more services, Drs. Bradley and Heissan created a 3000 square foot facility with an 8 stall barn including outdoor turnout and a riding ring. Soon after, a 900 square foot wing, nuclear scintigraphy service and 6 additional stalls were added.

In 1986, Dr. Heissan retired and Dr. Bradley with associates kept the business growing, always planning for the ultimate home for New England Equine Practice. In 1998, Dr. Gabriel Cook, a 1992 Cornell graduate, joined the practice. He shared Dr. Bradley’s dream and in 2007 New England Equine Practice moved to a 33 acre, 29,000 square foot hospital providing a wide range of services including medicine, surgery, critical care, MRI, nuclear scintigraphy, lameness and prepurchase examinations. The surgical suite and recovery facilities allow for convenient and safe patient management during the anesthetic induction, surgery and recovery phases. The hospital includes an isolation ward and indoor riding ring. Dr. Heissan’s death in 2007 was a shock to our doctors and the horse community he served so faithfully. He had an opportunity to visit the new clinic and was proud to see the result of the business he started 37 years previously. In January 2008, Dr. Cook became a full partner with Dr. Bradley. Currently New England Equine Practice P.C. employs 3 associate veterinarians, an intern as well as 25 lay employees and specializes in providing comprehensive horse care both in the hospital and on the farm. The hospital facility offers a full range of services including surgery, internal medicine, infectious disease and isolation facilities and advanced diagnostic imaging. The practice offers ambulatory services for routine care and preventive medicine. Lameness and prepurchase examinations, as well as pre or post-natal reproductive care can be handled at the stable and are known as Dutchess County Equine Vet.

Pre-purchase examinations should be an integral part of the well informed decision when buying a horse. While most examinations are performed by the ambulatory service, complex lameness examinations requiring multiple attempts at diagnostic anesthesia to further define the lameness and specific diagnostic imaging are performed in the hospital. Additionally, some pre-purchase exams are electively performed in the hospital in order to facilitate scheduling or if image results are needed immediately. The indoor ring provides a convenient place for us to examine horses in motion.