Large Animal

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.

The California Wool Growers Association recently held its 106th Annual California Ram Sale in Tulare, and UC Davis livestock veterinarians and students were on hand to help facilitate the event. As they have done for more than 50 years, the school’s livestock team provided health checks on all 500 rams up for sale.

In 2016, then 4-year-old Mustang mare Magic was one of 279 wild horses rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) following the massive Soda Fire in Idaho, which destroyed more than 279,000 acres of their critical habitat. To prevent their starvation, BLM rescued the wild horses. Between 2016 and 2019, many of the horses, including Magic, were adopted out, and others were returned to the wild when their grazing area grew back.