Big changes are coming in the very near future in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center’s Large Animal Hospital.
Equine patients and clients will experience even greater medical care thanks to increased space to provide physical rehabilitation services, an ICU as well as equine reproductive services.
A variety of different equine cases will provide veterinary students more experiences than they currently have.
And clinicians in the Large Animal Hospital will continue to advance their profession by performing research in the areas of medicine, surgery, theriogenology and equine rehabilitation.
Big changes are happening because of a $14.1 million addition to the Large Animal Hospital. Construction is underway on the 21,400-square-foot expansion, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The expansion involves the construction of several key areas that will dramatically extend the hospital’s services and capabilities to support equine clients including:
- Increasing available intensive care areas to accommodate critically ill patients, including mares and foals
- Adding space for equine reproductive services
- Adding area to grow equine rehabilitation services
- Adding laboratory space for advanced reproductive technologies such as embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization
While each area is critical for the equine program’s growth, Dr. David Wong, chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and equine medicine clinician, says both the rehabilitation and reproductive areas are essential.
“In the equine reproductive services area, our current facility has been deficit in a stallion specific area, so this expansion will allow us to collect and house stallions much safer and effectively,” Wong said. “There are not many equine specific collection facilities in Iowa and this expansion will allow us to collect and process semen for shipping or long-term freezing.”
The advanced reproductive technologies laboratory will open up the opportunity for Iowa State to offer the most advanced reproduction techniques, including in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer to both equine and food animal clients.
The new laboratory will also provide increased outreach including training programs for private practitioners.
Wong says the new space for equine rehabilitation services is just as critical. Iowa State will become a regional facility to help provide physical rehabilitation services to horses with orthopedic, musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries.
“We all know that when we have a shoulder injury or get a knee or hip replacement, we go to physical rehab for several months to regain our range of motion and strength,” Wong said. “The same is true for horses and currently there are not many options for horses to receive the same sort of conditioning after an injury or surgery.
“Our goal is to provide this service to horses under the guidance of board-certified equine specialists.”
The expansion in this area will include additional stall space to allow for longer-term care required for rehab patients and increased space for advanced care equipment such as an underwater treadmill.
“I feel that we can really make an impact on the horse’s health and recovery from their injuries,” Wong said.
The final area of expansion in the Large Animal Hospital will be additional intensive care stalls to manage critically sick patients. These specially designed stalls will allow for more effective management of pregnant mares with high-risk pregnancies and mare and foal pairs where either (or both) require intensive care.
Wong says the additional stalls are needed due to the demand the Large Animal Hospital receives throughout the year.
“In the past we have had to move horses and foals out of the ICU into the general wards earlier than we would like to, to free up space for more critical cases,” he said. “We have never turned patients away, but we have had to do some creative ‘musical chairs’ to find space for critical patients.”
Individuals who wish to support the Equine Hospital Expansion project can contact the College of Veterinary Medicine fundraising team at vetmeddev@iastate.edu or give online.
January 2026