EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State University's equine performance center - a state-of-the-art facility that will conduct cutting edge research and provide high quality care for equine athletes - is being named in honor of Mary Anne McPhail, an MSU graduate and long-time supporter of MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.
At its meeting on Friday, the Board approved naming the facility the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center.
McPhail is a 1955 graduate of MSU's College of Social Science, an accomplished horsewoman and an international dressage judge. Her husband, Walter, is former chief executive officer of Lectron Products of Troy, Mich.
Also Friday, the MSU Board approved the hiring of Avance Construction Inc., of Haslett, Mich., to build the $2.5 million, 18,000-square-foot facility, which will expand the college's facilities for clinical evaluations and research studies of equine performance and lameness.
MSU's nationally renowned equine hospital is already equipped with a wide range of diagnostic technology, including radiology, ultrasound, scintigraphy, CT scanning, endoscopy and arthroscopy.
By combining these traditional techniques with cutting edge methods such as computerized gait analysis, the center will become one of the nation's foremost centers for diagnosis and treatment of performance problems in sport horses.
"The specialized services provided by the center will further expand our clinical, teaching and research capabilities, ensuring that the MSU Equine Hospital will be unrivaled as the leading veterinary center for the equine athlete in the country," said Fredrik Derksen, chairperson of MSU's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.
"This building will have dual functions," said Hilary M. Clayton, a professor of large animal clinical sciences who specializes in the care of dressage horses. "It will be used for clinical purposes as well as for research and will allow these two functions to be fully integrated."
"Working with sport and performance horses is becoming a professional specialty in veterinary medicine," said Lonnie King, dean of the veterinary college. "The center will also serve as a unique teaching center for our veterinary students, practicing veterinarians and horse owners as we introduce them to the new techniques of this specialized medical field."
Among the building's many features is a 70-foot by 130-foot indoor riding arena. This will allow veterinarians to assess horses as they are being ridden or driven.
"A lot of problems of athletic horses can be seen only while they are performing," said Clayton. "With race horses we can simulate what they do during a race by having them trot, pace or gallop on our high-speed treadmill. However, we can't simulate jumping a fence or performing a pirouette."
In addition to the riding arena, the center will house futuristic diagnostic tools such as a video analysis system that will assist in the study of lameness and locomotion, and a large force platform used for computer-aided gait analysis - a method that can determine if a horse is on the verge of a leg injury.
Other features of the center include laboratories, offices, a conference room, stables, treatment rooms and even a blacksmith shop.
The center will be located south of the Veterinary Medical Center on Wilson Road on the MSU campus.
Officials hope to begin construction in July, with completion prior to the end of the year.
MSU has long been considered a leader in the care of racehorses and horses that perform in other sports. Ground breaking research has been conducted in a number of areas, including lameness, respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease.
The McPhails are long-time supporters of the College of Veterinary Medicine. A gift from them established the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, a position that is held by Clayton.
Since the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine was established two years ago, MSU has become a world leader in studies of the sport of dressage. Dressage horses perform intricate figures and movements at various gaits, and the movements are often choreographed to music. The sport is becoming very popular in North America and there is a need for a facility that can provide specialized care for dressage horses.