The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
Issue link: http://thewrangler.uberflip.com/i/880673
4 The Wrangler, Horse and Rodeo News • October 5-19, 2017 By Lincoln Rogers, 2017 Dr. Ted Vlahos (of Yellowstone Equine Hospital in Cody, WY) is the only board certified equine specialist in the state of Wyoming, and is recognized as a world leader in the development of amputation and prosthetic limbs for severely injured horses. In addition, Dr. Vlahos serves as an Equine Regent for the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP)and is a member of the American Association of Equine Professional's Practitioners (AAEP) Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee. Before becoming an accomplished veterinarian, he was just a boy growing up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, the first in his family with an interest in horses. After purchasing his first horse at the age of ten, using paper route money, the young Vlahos volunteered extensively in veterinary clinics and became heavily involved with show horses, competing in two World Championship Morgan Horse shows before finishing high school. Recently, Dr. Vlahos took time from his schedule to talk with Lincoln Rogers for The Wrangler magazine. (Note: Questions and answers have been edited for length) Lincoln: What made you want a horse when you were young? Dr. Vlahos: I just have always had this connection with a horse and had to follow it. It has been a part of my life since I was a small child. It is absolutely a calling and absolutely just a joy. Lincoln: What started your interest in becoming a veterinarian? Dr. Vlahos: I always loved medicine. My dad is a podiatrist, (so) I knew I wanted to do medicine and it was just a natural thing to be a horse doctor. I have never worked on anything but horses. Lincoln: How did you start specializing in lameness and catastrophic failures of the equine limb, including amputation and prosthetic limbs? Dr. Vlahos: When I moved to Wyoming twenty years ago – I fell in love with Wyoming and the west in the early 1990's – I was the only board certified equine specialist in the state. Around the year 2000, I had a case in our Sheridan clinic of a horse that was in need of either an amputation and prosthesis or euthanasia. I was mentored by two veterinarians who had done them before (Dr. Ric Redden and Dr. Barrie Grant); they really walked me through my first procedure. We had a good relationship with Hanger Prosthetics in Sheridan and were able to come up with a neat design for the horse that had never been done. I actually adapted some of their procedures to come up with my own procedure. Shortly after that, we were featured in a big segment of Good Morning America and we started getting quite a few cases after that. At this point, I am confident that I have done more (equine) amputations and prosthetics than anybody in the world. Lincoln: How gratifying is it for you to be at the forefront and leading the way in equine amputations and prosthetics? Dr. Vlahos: It is very gratifying, Dr. Ted Vlahos a conversation with cutting-edge equine veterinarian dr. ted vlahos