Meadow Lane Equine Clinic New Rig!
When Dr. Robyn Kopala, founding veterinarian of Meadow Lane Equine Clinic, chose Bay Horse Innovations of New York to custom build the body for her truck she became the first veterinarian in the area to have an aluminum vet rig! The majority of Meadow Lane's business is ambulatory medicine so a well-equipped and organized veterinary truck is a must! The practice has a large focus on sport horse medicine but that is by no means all that they do. They also provide routine care and preventative medicine, breeding, manipulation therapy, acupuncture, and emergency services. Patients range from high level sport horses to backyard miniatures and everything else in between!
Says Dr. Kopala, “Several of the farriers in the area have aluminum farrier bodies for their trucks, and I liked that idea! When James Findler—one of the farriers that works on my personal horses—heard that I was looking to get a new vet rig, he recommended that I contact Gene Velten at Bay Horse Innovations of New York.
We told Gene the body style of the truck and sent sketches of how we wanted it laid out. Gene sent back photos as the body came together. It is an amazing truck to work out of, as it is well organized with everything having its own spot, which means no more puzzle piecing all the various pieces of heavy equipment in the back seat!
The rig also offers plenty of counter space to work off of and with the large overhead doors it offers great protection from the elements. With the lights, cold/hot water tanks, and the power inverter to plug in the equipment we can literally drive this rig out into the middle of the field in the dark if we need to and everything is at our finger tips to provide the best level of care possible to out patients”.
Most vet and farrier bodies that Bay Horse builds are installed in the Bay Horse shop, however in this case, the Bay Horse Innovations team fabricated the Meadow Lane body and then contracted a trucking company to ship it almost 3,000 miles to Surrey, British Columbia.
Meadow Lane Equine Clinic is a full-service equine only veterinary practice serving the greater Vancouver area in British Columbia Canada. After practicing in the lower mainland for 10 years, Dr. Kopala started Meadow Lane Equine Clinic in September of 2017. She graduated with distinction from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 and completed a 1 year internship in equine medicine and surgery at Okotoks Animal Hospital in Alberta. Prior to attending veterinary college, Dr. Kopala completed her Bachelor of Science degree at Simon Fraser University. In 2009 Dr. Kopala received advanced training in veterinary acupuncture at Colorado State University. In 2013 she studied manipulation therapy at Options for Animals in Kansas. In addition to her interest in complementary therapies, Dr. Kopala has a special interest in sport horse medicine. Her passion for the sport horse developed at a young age competing with quarter horses at the national level. She later moved into the hunter/jumper discipline, and is now an active competitor in show jumping on the A-circuit.
