If you bring your horse to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, you will likely have the opportunity to meet one of our two outstanding interns in equine medicine and surgery. Our interns are graduate veterinarians who are gaining advanced specialty training in equine medicine and surgery for one year under the mentoring guidance of our faculty’s senior clinicians. Clinical internships in equine medicine and surgery are offered at select universities and private practices across the United States and Canada and, as such, are highly competitive. Our WSU equine interns are chosen for their outstanding skills, abilities, and knowledge. They are involved in nearly every case that comes through our doors and are crucial to the hospital’s operation.

Dr. Matthew Barber – Dr. Barber graduated with his DVM degree from Michigan State University in May 2004, and earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Niagara University in New York in 2000. His major area of interest is in large animal internal medicine.

Dr. Barber grew up in Niagara Falls, New York with limited exposure to horses. But during veterinary college, he developed a great interest in equine medicine and gained a lot of hands-on experience with horses through volunteer work in the MSU equine clinic. His clinical rotations there also gave him exposure to many aspects of veterinary medicine, but he says his interests always gravitated toward equine medicine. "I cannot imagine doing anything else at this time," he says.

Dr. Barber views his internship at WSU as a way to sharpen his skills and experiences with horses before entering into a private equine practice. "Not only will I be seeing and doing, but I also will be helping to teach veterinary students, and therefore will develop a great knowledge base and understanding of various diseases, management and treatments," he said.

Dr. Macarena Sanz – Dr. Sanz earned her DVM degree from the National University of La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2000. She has a wide variety of clinical experience that includes an internship in 2001 on Haras La Madrugada, one of Argentina’s largest thoroughbred farms. Dr. Sanz also served as an extern in equine medicine, surgery and theriogenology at North Carolina State University in 2003, and worked as a field veterinarian at a large swine operation in North Carolina before coming to WSU this year.

Dr. Sanz’ primary interest at WSU is in equine internal medicine. "I look forward to the unique experience of working in an academic environment, with cutting edge technology and novel therapeutics," she says about her internship at WSU. After her internship, Dr. Sanz plans to obtain a residency position in equine medicine and become a board certified specialist. From there, she would like to secure a university faculty position that encompasses research, teaching and clinical work.