Profiles

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Veterinarians

Melissa McKee, DVM

Dr. McKee grew up in the local horse industry. As well as coaching, training horses, and competing in many disciplines, she also worked in a saddlery and apprenticed with a local farrier. She competed to advanced level in 3-day eventing throughout the United States prior to attending veterinary school.

After graduating, she traveled to New Jersey to work in a large equine referral hospital that provided surgical care, lameness, medicine, emergency, and ambulatory practice, and also worked in equine practice in Alberta before returning to Ontario. She also writes the popular "Ask the Vet" column on the EMG forums at equiman.com

Dr. McKee’s interests include lameness, diagnostic imaging, MRI, chiropractic, racehorse practice, and writing on veterinary topics.

Mike Pownall, DVM

Prior to becoming a veterinarian Dr. Pownall was a farrier for 7 years. Dr. Pownall worked with a farrier/veterinarian in the US with special interests in lameness and hoof disorders. Upon returning to Canada he started his own business with a clientele consisting of Jumpers, 3-Day Eventers, Dressage, Pleasure Horses and hoof related lameness cases. He also passed the Certified Farrier test of the American Farriers Association.

After over 10 years of practicing in the field with a focus on lameness, podiatry and dentistry, Dr. Pownall now consults with the veterinarians of McKee-Pownall on lameness and podiatry cases. A major part of his role now includes managing the practices. Dr. Pownall also speaks internationally on social media and practice management for veterinarians.

Maggie Turner, DVM

Following graduation from the Ontario Veterinary College Dr. Turner completed an internship at an ambulatory equine practice in New York State.

Maggie has been an active 3-day event rider for many years and also enjoys dressage.

In the field of veterinary medicine, Maggie enjoys lameness, acupuncture, dentistry and preventative medicine.

Michelle Courtemanche, DVM

Michelle graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College and completed an internship in upstate New York. She joined MPES in June of 2006 and is based out of the Campbellville location. Michelle values the opportunity to develop relationships with MPES clients and their Equine companions while helping them achieve their individual goals.

Michelle has been involved with horses for over 20 years competing in the disciplines of Dressage and Eventing. Currently she competes primarily in Pleasure and Combined Driving in Ontario and the US with her Miniature Horse, Erick while her riding horse, Dream enjoys his retirement. Michelle lives in Milton with her long time partner, Marc, and their 3 cats. In her spare time she likes to play hockey, go to the gym, draw and read.

Want a peek into the life of Dr. Courtemanche on the road? Follow her on twitter!

Although she has a special interest in dentistry Michelle also enjoys preventative care, emergency care and sport horse medicine. She also likes to take part in client education and spend time with upcoming vet students.

Watch this video to learn more about Dr. Courtemanche:

Kathryn Surasky, DVM

Kathryn graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon. She grew up greatly involved with the horse industry in Manitoba competing in the hunter/jumpers and eventing as well as spending time at the Thoroughbred racetrack, Assiniboia Downs.

After school Kathryn completed a 13 month internship at the Wisconsin Equine Clinic and Hospital rotating through surgery/lameness, medicine, field service and reproduction. She continues to maintain a strong interest in lameness and sport horse medicine.

Kathryn has also completed an animal chiropractic course of over 220 hours of supervised instruction and is certified to perform chiropractic care for a variety of different cases. She is excited to add this non-invasive option to optimize performance and improve quality of life in her patients.

Outside of veterinary medicine, she is retraining her off the track thoroughbred mare to event and enjoys outdoor time with her dog.

Melanie Barham, DVM

Dr. Melanie Barham practices out of the Campbellville location, and has a strong interest in equine lameness, acupuncture, dentistry and sports medicine. Melanie grew up in the Ottawa area, riding and competing on the eventing circuit. Upon graduation from the Ontario Veterinary College, Melanie completed an internship in southern California, focusing on sports medicine and surgery, traveling to many horse shows. Within McKee-Pownall Equine Services, Melanie enjoys working on all types of horses and medicine cases, as well as mentoring students. Treating back pain is a special interest, along with the challenge of lameness diagnosis and treatment. Melanie has also completed training in acupuncture at the Chi Institute in Florida. Currently, Melanie lives in Guelph with her husband Tim, and dog Cali. She enjoys running, hiking, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. Melanie is also the current president of the Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners.

Watch this video to learn more about Dr. Barham:

Tovah Caldwell, DVM

Dr. Tovah Caldwell is originally from Bowmanville, Dr. Caldwell and her family relocated to Nova Scotia where she grew up showing Hunter/Jumpers. Dr. Caldwell is a graduate of the Atlantic Veterinary College. After graduation she went on to complete an internship at the Littleton Equine Medical Clinic in Colorado. Within veterinary medicine she has developed a strong interest in Sport Horse Medicine, Lameness and Dentistry.

Jordan Cook, DVM

Dr. Jordan Cook is a member of the McKee-Pownall team and is a graduate from the Ontario Veterinary College. She has completed an internship in Equine Medicine and Surgery Internship at Moore Equine Veterinary Center in Calgary before joining us at the Niagara location in August 2011. Jordan grew up in Oakville, Ontario riding both jumpers and dressage horses. She has spent many years from high school through vet school working at a therapeutic riding center and has also spent time working at a thoroughbred breeding farm in England. Dr. Cook’s interests lie in Lameness, Sport Horse Medicine, Dentistry and Emergency Care

To learn more about Dr. Cook, watch her Meet the Vet video:

Jim Welsh, DVM

Dr. Jim Welsh joined our Newmarket location in the beginning of 2012. Dr. Welsh is from Petrolia, ON where his family breeds and raises Clydesdales. He is a graduate of OVC. After graduation, he completed an internship at San Luis Rey Equine Hospital in California where he gained experience in lameness, surgery, reproduction, and internal medicine.

Watch this video to learn more about Dr. Welsh: