Internship - Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital

INTERNSHIPS

Accepting Applications

2025-2026 Ambulatory Internships in Saratoga

2025-2026 Internships in Wellington

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital offers four distinct internship programs. The Lexington hospital internship was established in 1986, shortly after the Lexington hospital opened. Our Lexington ambulatory internship program began in 1998. Our Saratoga Springs practice started an internship program in 2014, and our Wellington practice started an internship program in 2016. The Lexington practice currently offers nine hospital and five ambulatory internship positions. Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga offers four hospital-focused internship positions, and Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington offers three hospital-focused internship positions.

Upon completion, the internship positions are intended to provide each intern with the Foundation they need to enter private practice confidently or pursue further training in a residency program. Veterinarians who have completed an internship at our practice have forged careers in various fields within veterinary medicine.

In addition to the wealth of clinical opportunities at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, interns are encouraged to participate in retrospective studies based on the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital caseload. Many interns have presented the results of these studies at the AAEP, ACVS, ACVIM and SFT symposiums and other national meetings.

Those who have completed our internship program are welcomed back to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital to fulfill parts of their specialty board requirements if needed. In the surgery and diagnostic imaging departments, this is an opportunity only offered to former Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital interns. Additionally, over the past ten years, our surgery and medicine residency positions have been filled by individuals who have completed our internship program.

Lexington Hospital Internship

The Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington employs clinicians specializing in many disciplines. This includes board-certified specialists in surgery (seven), internal medicine (five), theriogenology (four), anesthesia (one), ophthalmology (one) and dentistry (one). The hospital also employs four podiatrists. The number of clinicians with focused specialties provides a diverse mentorship and a unique internship experience not available elsewhere. Moreover, the practice’s location in central Kentucky fosters a robust caseload and ample exposure to neonatal and juvenile foals, weanlings, yearlings, broodmares, racehorses and sport and show horses. This region’s high population of horses lends itself to a busy caseload, especially during the spring and early summer.

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington offers a 53-week in-hospital internship with a primary focus on surgery (upper airway, gastrointestinal, orthopedic, urogenital), lameness, emergency medicine, internal medicine and anesthesia. Interns rotate evenly between the different services from July through December, then decide amongst themselves which surgery, medicine and anesthesia services they want to be involved in from January to May. Our hospital clinicians share emergency duties. During emergencies, interns assist the responding clinician in diagnosing and treating these cases. This includes hands-on experience with ultrasonography, endoscopy, radiography and surgery. Interns also provide after-hours anesthesia and technician support for surgical cases.

Our technical staff is responsible for all treatments and daily patient monitoring, including after-hours and on holidays, allowing interns to focus on case management skills. Patients are hospitalized across nine barns (160 stalls), including a colic barn, a neonatal intensive care unit, a high-risk pregnancy barn and an isolation barn.

The imaging modalities in our hospital include high-field MRI, standing and general anesthesia CT, nuclear scintigraphy, PET, digital radiography and ultrasonography. A board-certified surgeon or internist interprets the images. Other specialty therapies and facilities include an on-site stem cell lab, IRAP, shockwave, echocardiography and Holter electrocardiography.

Lexington Ambulatory Internship

The ambulatory interns work primarily with a senior ambulatory mentor but assist and shadow other practitioners. There are currently 27 ambulatory clinicians, including four board-certified theriogenologists and an equine dentist. The ambulatory interns provide herd health care to our ambulatory clients as well as help with reproductive evaluations and treatments, neonatal and foal evaluation and treatment, lameness and pre-purchase exams, sales radiographs and evaluations.

Interns are involved with our emergency service and rotate on emergency duty for the ambulatory practice. The ambulatory internship exposes the intern to a large and variable caseload to establish solid diagnostic skills and critical thinking in a field setting. Exposure to a large group of experienced clinicians in all equine disciplines facilitates a broader knowledge base and serves as a resource and referral base in the future. Opportunities to follow field cases in the hospital are always available, and interns are encouraged to work with clinicians in their areas of interest.

*Due to difficulties with immigration services and the inability to guarantee the obtaining of a suitable visa to allow work within the United States, positions can only be offered to citizens of the United States or candidates with pre-existing immigration clearance for the United States at this time.

** Must have graduated from an AVMA-accredited school to be eligible.

Saratoga Hospital Internship

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga is located in historic Saratoga Springs, New York. Numerous thoroughbred breeding farms and sport horse barns surround it. The practice stands adjacent to the historic Saratoga Race Course, the site of the oldest major thoroughbred horse race in America, The Travers. Our location allows us to see a varied population of horses and disciplines. We have served as the official equine hospital for the Vermont Summer Festival, Lake Placid Horse Shows, HITS Saugerties Series and many other local events.

The Saratoga hospital includes 24 stalls, an isolation ward, a laboratory, two surgical suites and three anesthesia induction and recovery stalls. Our staff includes two board-certified equine surgeons, a board-certified internal medicine specialist, six ambulatory doctors and 23 veterinary technicians and assistants. Imaging capabilities include digital radiography, nuclear scintigraphy and ultrasound. A standing and general anesthesia CT was added in Fall 2022.

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga offers a 53-week internship focusing on surgery, lameness, internal medicine, ambulatory medicine, emergency medicine and anesthesia.

Interns are a very important and valued part of our team and are essential to the high standard of care and treatment we provide our patients. Interns rotate in two-week blocks through surgery, internal medicine, ambulatory medicine and emergency/anesthesia. Internship duties include daily evaluation of hospitalized patients, performing diagnostics and treatments on hospitalized and outpatient cases with the senior clinicians, assisting in surgery and assisting with anesthesia and emergency duties. The intern with the responding clinician will assist in assessing, diagnosing and managing these cases. After-hours emergency duty is shared among our clinicians. Our technical staff is responsible for all treatments and daily patient monitoring, including after-hours and holidays, allowing interns to focus on assessing and managing cases.

We strive to provide a hands-on internship experience and mentorship to provide new veterinarians with the knowledge and experience necessary to enter private practice or pursue further training in a residency program.

Saratoga Ambulatory Internship

The ambulatory interns work primarily with a senior ambulatory mentor but assist and shadow other practitioners. There are currently five ambulatory clinicians. The ambulatory interns provide herd health care to our ambulatory clients as well as help with reproductive evaluations and treatments, neonatal and foal evaluation and treatment, lameness and pre-purchase exams, sales radiographs and evaluations.

Interns are involved with our emergency service and rotate on emergency duty for the ambulatory practice. The ambulatory internship exposes the intern to a large and variable caseload to establish solid diagnostic skills and critical thinking in a field setting. Exposure to a large group of experienced clinicians in all equine disciplines facilitates a broader knowledge base and serves as a resource and referral base in the future. Opportunities to follow field cases in the hospital are always available, and interns are encouraged to work with clinicians in their areas of interest.

Wellington Internship

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington offers a 53-week in-hospital internship with a focus on surgery, medicine, lameness, emergency medicine and anesthesia services. The interns’ responsibilities vary between the services and the amount of seasonal work. Primary responsibilities will include care of hospital patients, emergency duty, assisting with surgery, anesthesia, medicine procedures, imaging, lameness and theriogenology exams.

During the busy season, the workday is routinely 12-13 hours long plus emergencies, but off-season workdays can be much shorter. Each day, those interns with in-hospital patients assess and are responsible for basic care and perform minor treatments and bandage changes before morning rounds. After rounds, more extensive examinations and procedures are done with the clinician including lameness, endoscopic, ultrasound, radiographic exams and more. Most interns’ time is spent in the hospital, but occasionally they may go on farm calls.

Emergency duty is a significant part of the internship experience. Our internship allows for a great deal of mentorship and hands-on experience. Outgoing and incoming interns are staggered to provide overlap and experience as the incoming class gets settled and trained.

Worldwide Recognition

Since the internship program commenced in Lexington, 390 veterinarians have completed a Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital internship at one of our hospitals as of June 2022, with 23 veterinarians completing two internships. Over 250 veterinarians completed the Lexington hospital internship, and over 100 veterinarians completed the Lexington ambulatory internship.

Five veterinarians have completed a podiatry fellowship, and 14 have completed a medicine fellowship at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. In addition, six veterinarians have completed a surgical residency, and two have completed a medicine residency.

Our interns have been diverse, having come from nearly every veterinary school in the United States, five veterinary schools in Canada, the Caribbean and 13 other foreign veterinary schools. Following the Rood & Riddle experience, our interns have contributed to equine veterinary medicine by filling positions in private practice, universities, industry, public policy and the military.

Many interns have pursued residency training and become board-certified specialists. As of February 2023, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital intern alums have earned diplomate status from 11 AVMA specialty colleges and one European specialty college. A total of 121 previous interns have passed a specialty board exam, with 19 passing more than one exam. This includes the following specialty colleges with the number of board-certified intern alums:

ACVS – 72
ACVIM – 24
ACVSMR – 10
ACVECC – 7
ACT – 7
ACVR – 5

ACVAA – 4
ABVP – 3
ACVO – 3
AVDC-EQ – 1
ABVT – 1
ECVS – 3

Recommended by Our Past Interns

When asked if they would recommend the internship to others with similar career goals, 90% of our former interns in a recent survey listed a positive or strongly positive response. When asked whether the internship was consistent with its description on the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital website, a 96% positive or strongly positive response was received.

The results of this survey support the goals and intent of our internship programs. The experiences gained during the first year out of school provide an important foundation upon which to build your career. Contact information for our past interns can be provided upon request.

Benefits

• Health and Vision Insurance offered through a preferred provider with a company premium share – available on the start date

• Long Term Disability and Term Life Insurance provided at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital expense (after 90 days)

• Dental, Life, Short Term Disability, Cancer and Accident Insurance available at employee expense – available on the start date

• Professional dues/licensing fees

• CE stipend for a national meeting, including travel, meals and registration fees

• 1-week vacation, taken during the slower months in cooperation with your intern mates

For specific details on salary, benefits and additional information, please contact Alanna Mathes, intern coordinator, at [email protected] or see our internship program listing posted in Avenues on the American Association of Equine Practitioners website www.aaep.org.

How To Apply

Internships are for one year and run from June to June. Applications are accepted starting June 1 of each year. The application deadline falls in October for internships beginning the following summer. Please contact Alanna Mathes for the exact deadline date for each year.

Notification of acceptance is on or before October 31.