Purdue gets to work on new equine center

West Lafayette, Ind.

— The Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine is moving forward with plans to build a new, $2.7 million regional equine diagnostic and surgical center near the Indiana Downs racetrack.

Internal planning for the project is well underway, and Purdue has purchased a 71-acre site for the facility. Only 20 acres will be needed for the planned 18,000-square-foot facility, according to the school, but the remainder of the land will be retained for possible future development. The parcel will be owned by the Purdue Research Foundation and loaned to the university.

Purdue has raised $3 million for the project, but hopes to collect the entire $12 million needed to support the facility through donations.

The Purdue Equine Sports Medicine Center, once completed, will provide research and training opportunities for veterinary and veterinary technology students at Purdue, according to a statement from Willie Reed, Purdue’s veterinary school dean. The facility will offer horse owners services like advanced diagnostic imaging including MRI, advanced shockwave therapy, video-endoscopy, ultrasound imaging, specialized equine surgery, lameness evaluations and emergency care. A rehabilitation center, lameness and nutrition center, and theriogenology center could be added to the complex in the future, says Purdue. An opening date for the sports medicine center has not been set.