Appeal for a new equine & farm animal surgical facility

This project is about building a ‘state of the art’ surgical facility for the treatment of sick horses and farm animals which will also provide adequate space for teaching advanced clinical techniques to an increasing number of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The Building

The proposed building will complete the development of the Bristol Equine Centre, which will provide the best possible medical and surgical treatment for all patients, as well as improving the training of veterinary and veterinary nursing undergraduates and postgraduates for generations to come.

It will be:

• linked to the equine diagnostic building & adjacent to the clinical stables.

It will have:

• two high specification operating theatres enabling higher levels of sterility
• orthopaedic suite
• general theatre for colic and other soft tissue surgery
• anaesthetic induction box and two recovery boxes
• stocks for standing surgeries
• an overhead rail system allowing complete flexibility of transfer of anaesthetized animals between theatres and induction and recovery boxes
• one way access to the theatres for surgeons and sterile instruments
• separate exit routes to the cleaning facilities for contaminated personnel and instruments
• instrument sterilization area
• staff and student changing facilities
• generous allowance for teaching space permitting maximum teaching and learning benefit from work performed in the building.

The purpose of the building

The investigation, diagnosis and treatment of patients at the Bristol Equine Centre has several important welfare considerations and the collective clinical expertise provides a central referral service to practitioners.

Clinical teaching is of immense value to veterinary students and clinical scholars who will subsequently take their training into the field in this country and abroad.  Information acquired from clinical cases is a source of research data for large animal welfare and disease prevention.  This information is made available to horse owners, farmers and veterinary practitioners by publication and conference presentations.

The proposed building will house surgical and treatment facilities that will be unique to  the region thus confirming Langford  as a centre of excellence for the treatment  and care of horses and farm animals, the training of undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary surgeons, and the development of welfare research.

In summary, the wider horse and farm animal population has much to gain from the development of clinical facilities and expertise at the Bristol Equine Centre.           

This is a joint appeal for the Vet School at Langford from both the Langford Trust for Animal Health and Welfare and the University of Bristol, Campaigns and Alumni Office.  The appeal is for £2.5 million