As open land disappears and development sprawls, horse owners are having to confine their equine activities to smaller and more urban spaces. With this comes a host of challenges. Neighbors in luxury condos or cozy subdivisions aren’t as fond of the smells of hay and horse manure as horse people are. Busy roads can render riding out dangerous, and snarled traffic can make it difficult for veterinarians to get to their patients in a timely manner.

Emily Olson, DVM, and Kelly Zeytoonian, DVM, are well-accustomed to the challenges urban horse owners handle in their day to day. Olson oversees B.W. Furlong and Associates’ ambulatory practice on densely populated Long Island, and Zeytoonian operates an ambulatory practice for Starwood Equine Veterinary Services, in Woodside, California, with many of her clients located in the traffic-riddled San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Even though they’re separated by nearly 3,000 miles of highway, these practitioners’ clients—and those of urban-dwelling veterinarians nationwide—face similar problems with managing horses amidst the commotion of the city. 

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