Volume 22, Number 4, 2002 169

Los Caballos Veterinary HospitalWhen you've had a career as

illustrious as that of Dr. Willard Ommert, of Temecula, California, you can bask in the glow of success. Today, Dr. Ommert's unique equine hospital sits virtually empty, and the sign out front says "Retired, almost." At 85 years young he lives like most of us hope to after retirement.

Dr. Ommert built this well-equiped equine hospital in 1969 and for 25 years conducted an enviable practice. He was a pioneer in development of a functional gas anesthetic machine for horses. The machine he designed and built himself is shown below. His surgery room is still state-of-the-art.

One of the first veterinarians to do arthroscopic surgery on a horse, Dr. Ommert was featured on the cover of the 5th issue of JEVS, in 1981. That cover photo shows him doing an arthrotomy (shown below). He was invited a year later to present his arthroscopic technique at the annual convention of the American Associa-tion of Equine Practitioners.

His curosity and inventiveness have been a hallmark of his career. The design of his equine hospital showed his creativity and ability to anticipate future needs. After more than 30 years the hospital shows very few signs of age or wear, despite several hundred surgeries each year when the practice was booming. He designed a unique floor covering in his surgery room that is as flexible as a cushion, yet so durable that it has no dents or scratches to this day. He also designed a surgery table that is stored in the floor of the surgery room and comes up to the level desired with a hydraulic lift.

It is hard to imagine such a wonderful facility sitting empty these days. Dr. Ommert is not aggressively trying to sell the building, but it is for sale or lease. As you can see on the cover the building and grounds are well taken care of (the photo was

taken this month).The Los Caballos Veterinary Hos-

pital is located somewhat out of the way southeast of Temecula, California. However it is in the heart of southern California's horse country and is situated just across the road from Galway Downs, a training center and horse show facility.

Pictured above in the left column (top to bottom is treatment room, private office, and his unique anesthetic machine. In the right hand column is the clinical lab and drug room, the surgery room, and the cover photo from JEVS, Vol. 1, No. 5, Sept/Oct, 1981. Published in that issue is his paper, "Equine Arthroscopic Surgery."