“There’s a woman coming in with a horse that went down in her horse trailer. She says the horse is really bleeding and they’re driving in from Lincoln,” Christie, my receptionist, stated.

Dr. Laura Levengood and I exchanged a glance and started organizing the tools and medications we might possibly need to deal with a traumatic equine emergency.

I checked the weather: heavy dark clouds promised rain. While rain in August is always a welcome event, I crossed my fingers and hoped it would hold off for an hour or two.

I thought about the land my husband, Derek Brown, and I just purchased to build a new companion animal practice on and reflected that in less than one year the weather will matter little when we need to treat equine emergencies.

Our new clinic, which will continue to offer full Western and integrative veterinary care for companion animals, will be near the airport.

Our plan is to build an environmentally friendly clinic while expanding to have room to care for critically ill horses. There will be a grassy area outside near a small creek where acupuncture and chiropractic veterinary care may be provided when the weather permits. We are planning to incorporate wind and solar energy as well as using local resources for the building materials.

The arrival of the horse burst my reverie; Laura, Derek, and I met them in back of our current clinic. The wind blew and chilly bits of rain hit our faces … I imagined the comforts my new clinic would offer.

When the mare was unloaded, we carefully assessed her injuries. She had gotten her foot wedged between the pipe and sheet metal of the trailer divider.

From the smeared bloody marks on the divider and the trailer walls it was easy to visualize her panicked struggle to free herself.

“She was upside down when I finally got the trailer stopped,” said Terri, the owner. “She had knocked down another horse while she struggled. I didn’t know how we were going to get her standing again.”

She took a deep, ragged breath: “Then, once she did get up, I wasn’t sure if we could get to the vet in time. Dear Lord! She was bleeding so bad!”

Terri still isn’t quite sure how the young roan mare untangled herself, but she managed to kick free of the trailer divider and scramble to her feet, then the other horse got to his feet as well.

Terri unloaded the horses on the roadside and bandaged the injured mare to staunch the blood spurting from several lacerations on her hind legs, then loaded the horses again and started driving to Helena. She tried calling several times before her cell phone had service to let us know she was bringing in the injured horse. She prayed the mare would still be alive when she got to the clinic.

We quickly sedated the pretty little roan, removed the lifesaving, makeshift bandages, and started cleaning up and assessing her wounds.

I was relieved to see she hadn’t fractured any bones. The bleeding had largely stopped, but the gaping wounds and deep tissue trauma and damage made me opt to put the mare under general anesthesia to repair her injuries.

A tarp was held up to offer meager protection from the rain, which settled into a steady drizzle and I quietly and deeply longed for my new facility.

“If we were in the new clinic,” said Derek, as if reading my mind, “it would be warm and dry.”

I nodded in agreement, the new clinic will be so nice.

What wounds I could suture were quickly closed, bandages applied over open gashes, antibiotics and pain medications administered.

Soon the young roan was on her feet and moving well. I believe she will be fine. The relief on Terri’s face and her grateful tears gave me a warm feeling that even the cold rain and wind could not dampen.

I absolutely love my work and look forward to welcoming clients and patients into our new clinic.

Watch this column for updates as we start the permitting and building process. We hope to be open for business in our new location by March 2009.