Large Animal

Two livestock professors at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine are taking leadership roles on the Board of Regents of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Dr. Munashe Chigerwe is the current ACVIM President. As President, Dr. Chigerwe serves a one-year term that is the second year of a four-year leadership commitment, extending from initial election as President-Elect, and, upon conclusion of service as President, to Chair and Immediate Past Chair.

The American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) annual convention was held recently in Indianapolis, and Dr. Fauna Smith was recognized with the inaugural Innovation in ADGA Leadership Award.

The new award celebrates vision, dedication, and innovation. It recognizes ADGA members ages 25–49 who demonstrate leadership early in their dairy goat careers through service to the ADGA, participation in its programs, and meaningful contributions to education, outreach, or mentorship.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. John E. Madigan has released a new book, Awakening at Birth: What the Newborn Foal Revealed About Birth, Consciousness, and Neurodevelopment. With a foreword by renowned animal behaviorist Temple Grandin, PhD, Awakening at Birth tells a medical mystery story that extends well beyond veterinary medicine: a veterinarian investigating newborn foals discovers biological signals that may change how we understand the transition to consciousness at birth, with potential implications for infant care and neurodevelopment.

Dave Aguilar took precautions and tried to be fool proof by foaling out his mare Sierra (Cajos Wild Angel) at his primary veterinarian’s clinic. Sierra had multiple healthy foals in prior years and usually foaled near the same number of gestation days each time. However, this year she gave birth to Banks (MP My Goodbye Banks) about three weeks early.

On Saturday, August 1, a call came in from the Tevis Cup: a rider had been separated from her horse, and the horse was now somewhere deep in the Granite Chief Wilderness at 7,200 feet — no road, no trail, no way in on foot or by vehicle.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office helicopter launched with North Valley Animal Disaster Group technical animal rescue members Susan Marshall and Norm Rosene aboard, and flew to those coordinates. Overhead, we confirmed it: the horse was there, and still standing.

For Stephanie Hibbits, DVM, Diplomate ACVS, supporting students who are tracking to become large animal veterinarians is her way of helping to ease some of the stressors that those who choose this profession may experience. 

California and much of the nation face a growing shortage of large animal veterinarians, particularly in rural communities where livestock producers depend on timely veterinary care.

Thanks to the team approach to patient care at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), Lucy survived a rare pregnancy complication. The 18-year-old American Quarter Horse mare was discovered to have a non-viable fetus and was treated for a potentially fatal infection and escaped development of life-threatening complications.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of Synergy magazine

Researchers at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine, led by Dr. Carrie Finno and graduate student Briana Brown, have reported the genetic cause of a fatal neurologic disease, equine juvenile spinocerebellar ataxia (EJSCA), in American Quarter Horse foals. A genetic test is available through the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL).

A gate swings wide at the auction ring at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. A group of goats and sheep hesitate, then shuffle through. They move as a group; their bodies pressed against each other. Beneath it all is their ruminant instinct of wanting to return from where they came. Rancher Nathan Medlar, with NM Ranch in Auburn, has arranged these gates to accommodate that instinct.