Equine Continuing Education Lecture Series 2025
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2025
8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia and the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia are co-hosting this series for the third year. Attendance options include virtual and in-person at both EMC and VMCVM.
The series is free and 6 hours of CE credit (via email) will be provided to participants.
8:30-9:00 a.m. - Registration and Breakfast
9:00-9:50 a.m.
Gustavo M. Zanotto, MV, MS, PhD, DACVSMR
Clinical Assistant Professor, Equine Sports Medicine and Lameness
Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center
"Current Joint Therapy Usage in Equine Practice"
Credentials:
- Board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR)
- Completed an internship in equine musculoskeletal imaging, a residency in equine sports medicine and rehabilitation and a PhD at Colorado State University
- Master’s Degree in Veterinary Surgery from São Paulo University
- DVM degree from Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
Dr. Gustavo Zanotto is originally from Curitiba, Brazil, where he received his DVM from Universidade Federal do Paraná in 2007.
Zanotto then moved to São Paulo where he completed a residency in large animal internal medicine and surgery, and received a master’s degree in veterinary surgery at São Paulo University.
Zanotto moved to Colorado in August 2013 where he completed an internship in equine musculoskeletal imaging and residency in equine sport medicine and rehabilitation.
While at Colorado State University, Zanotto completed his PhD under Dr. David Frisbie studying enzymatic pre-treatment combined with growth-factor functionalized self-assembling peptide hydrogel for integrative cartilage repair.
Dr. Zanotto was most recently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Lameness Diagnosis and Imaging at Texas A&M University.
Gustavo's research interests are tissue engineering for cartilage regeneration, tendon and joint pathophysiology, and biological therapies for musculoskeletal injuries.
10:00-10:50 a.m.
Lauren Trager DVM '14, MS '19, DACVSMR–Equine
Clinical Assistant Professor, Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation;
Veterinary Teaching Hospital
"What’s New In Equine Rehabilitation"
Dr. Lauren Trager is a Clinical Assistant Professor of equine sports medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her DVM from VMCVM and completed a sports medicine and imaging internship at Virginia Equine Imaging in Middleburg, VA followed by a residency in sports medicine and rehabilitation. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Trager enjoys working on challenging lameness and poor performance cases, diagnosing and treating neck and back pain and anything that involves advanced imaging.
11:00 a.m.-11:50 p.m.
Emily Schaefer, VMD, DACVIM (LAIM)
Clinical Assistant Professor, Equine Emergency and Critical Care
Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center
"A Case-based Approach to Diagnostics"
Emily Schaefer graduated cum laude from Saint Joseph’s University with a B.S. in Biology, before earning her DVM from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. She then completed an internship at Ohio State University.
A Pennsylvania native, she returned to a large equine practice in southeastern Pennsylvania for three years before advancing her training with a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine at the University of California at Davis. During this time, her research on equine coronavirus was recognized by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) with the 2017 Resident Research Award.
Schaefer has recently completed a three-year fellowship in equine emergency and critical care at The Ohio State University and will be joining Dukti in one of two faculty positions at the Equine Medical Center focusing exclusively on emergency and critical care.
12:00-1:00 p.m. - Lunch
1:00-1:50 p.m.
Amy Santonastaso MS'16, VMD, DABVP (Equine)
Clinical Assistant Professor, Equine Field Service
Veterinary Teaching Hospital - Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
"Venography and Deep Digital Flexor Tenotomy in the Treatment of Acute Laminitis"
Dr. Amy Santonastaso is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Equine Field Service at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM). She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania and then completed a large animal rotating internship at Texas A&M’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She received her residency training at the VMCVM in Equine Field Service and earned her board certification in equine practice through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2016. Following her residency, she worked in private practice in Pennsylvania for several years before returning to academic practice at the VMCVM. Her clinical and research interests include all aspects of equine podiatry as well as equine field medicine and surgery.
2:00-2:50 p.m.
Travis Burns, MSc, CJF, TE, EE, FWCF
Associate Professor of Practice, Chief of Farrier Services
Veterinary Teaching Hospital - Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
"Derotational Trimming/Shoeing for Laminitis"
Travis Burns is an Associate Professor of Practice in the department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. Travis is a Certified Journeyman Farrier with Therapeutic and Educator Endorsements from the American Farrier’s Association. He is also a Fellow in the Worshipful Company of Farriers from the United Kingdom.
He attended farrier school at the North Carolina School of Horseshoeing. He received a bachelor of science degree from North Carolina State University and a master of science degree from the Royal Veterinary College. Burns worked at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine before entering into a one-year internship program at Forging Ahead, an elite multi-farrier practice in Northern Virginia. Upon completion of the internship program, he was retained at Forging Ahead as an associate farrier until joining the college in 2010.
Since becoming a faculty member at the VMCVM he has given more than 200 presentations to professional and lay groups nationally and internationally. His clinical and research interests include laminar morphology and hoof crack repair materials.
3:00-3:50 p.m.
Krista E. Estell DVM '09, DACVIM (LAIM)
Clinical Associate Professor, Equine Medicine
Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center
"Triage of the Newborn Foal for the Field Veterinarian"
Dr. Krista Estell graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelor of Science in biology from Frostburg State University in Maryland before earning her doctor of veterinary medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. She then completed an internship at the Equine Medical Center of Ocala in Florida and a residency in large animal internal medicine at University of California at Davis.
Before joining the EMC, Dr. Estell worked as an equine internal medicine clinical faculty member at University of California at Davis. She served as primary investigator and collaborator in multiple research projects in addition to a high clinical commitment, and worked closely with the small animal oncology department to provide cutting-edge chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments to equine oncology cases. She earned her Diplomate status with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2014.
When she is not working, Dr. Estell enjoys local music and craft IPAs, hiking, wake boarding, camping, and riding hunter jumpers.