Dr. Woodrow Friend was born on K. I. Sawyer Air Force base and was raised along Lake Superior in the upper peninsula of Michigan. While growing up, he spent his summers at his grandparent’s beef cattle farm in Nicholasville, KY. His introduction to horses was during his first job raising and prepping yearlings at the prestigious Castleton farms in Lexington, KY. While working at Castleton, he got his introduction to veterinary medicine. With his newfound appreciation, he took a job at Hagyard Davidson and McGee Equine hospital as a technician, and there, his love for equine veterinary medicine flourished.

Dr. Friend attended Michigan State University in 1994 and earned his Bachelor of Animal Science degree, completing his doctorate in 2002. Dr. Friend then completed an in-house internship at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in 2003, staying on as an associate. He spent his first three years at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital working at Taylor Made Farm.

Dr. Friend’s practice includes sport horse medicine, advanced theriogenology techniques and complementary therapies. To serve his sport horse clientele better. In 2015, he became certified in chiropractic through the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA) at Options for Animals.

In 2023, Dr. Friend succeeded Dr. Tom Riddle as the Director of Marketing.

Dr. Friend and his wife, Michelle, CEO of Rancho De Amigo, raise four free-range children on the family farm in Nicholasville. He enjoys horseback riding, spartan races and watching his children and trees grow.