Welcome to MMDequine

Our equine veterinary practice was founded by Marco Müller-Dörr of Heidelberg on July 1, 2006. We operate strictly on an outpatient basis, traveling all over Europe to treat equine patients on-site. Our high international standards of orthopedics and sports medicine are virtually without par. Necessary surgeries are performed by first-rate guest surgeons in close cooperation with renowned medical centers.

You can count on us to deliver outstandingly competent, reliable and compassionate treatment and care for your horses, using state-of-the-art veterinary methods and equipment. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that your animals stay healthy and happy.

Please read the following pages to get acquainted with our uniquely high medical standards and range of services.

Our Philosophy

Our number one priority is making sure that your horse is healthy and contented, whether we’re talking about a world-class racehorse or a recreational mount. Whenever possible, we try to diagnose and treat problems during the same visit. Besides shortening the time that your horse is out of action, this lets us immediately intervene to halt inflammatory processes. We use state-of-the-art mobile x-ray and ultrasound equipment to identify problems fast.
Of course, as everybody knows an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (see the section on care and prevention for sport horses). The aim is to stop injuries from happening in the first place so horses won’t fall behind in their training schedule. This automatically improves your horse’s performance and prolongs his or her active career.

It’s a fact that too many injuries are still treated surgically. We do our utmost to take advantage of conservative therapies, and only operate if it is truly necessary. More than anything, this calls for highly precise diagnosis—while keeping in mind that the cause of pain can be located somewhere else. Palpation—carefully feeling the surface of the body with the hands to identify problems with underlying organs—therefore plays an important role. This highly standardized diagnostic procedure can minimize the use of equipment and thus reduce the risk of misinterpreting or reading too much into technical findings, a common issue when relying excessively on medical devices.

When additional studies or tests are required, we naturally can and do perform them. We then make sure to use only the very best equipment, exceeding the normal clinical standards. After successfully diagnosing a problem, we initiate a holistic therapy with the goal of lastingly healing the patient. One thing we greatly stress is appropriate shoeing (see the section on care and prevention for sport horses).

A crucial advantage of examining horses in your own stable is that they can stay in their accustomed surroundings and are spared the stress of being moved. Transporting a horse when it’s not absolutely essential can negatively impact its condition and performance, besides the risk of catching infections from other horses in a clinic environment. Most horses are on the road a lot in any case traveling to and from tournaments and shows, so it’s a good idea to avoid unnecessary trips.

We collaborate closely with Leichlingen Medical Clinic, where magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) tests are done on standing patients and any required surgeries performed by first-rate guest surgeons.

Team

Ärzte

Marco Müller-Dörr

Accredited Veterinarian
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Our practice is headed by Marco Müller-Dörr. A real “horse person”, he has owned and bred horses for most of his life and spent many years successfully riding in tournaments. Born and raised in Heidelberg, he studied veterinary medicine at the well-known Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, graduating with official accreditation in 2003. Early in his studies he began specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine, leading him to do residencies and internships at acclaimed orthopedic facilities that included the Dr. Cronau equine clinic in Bochum. Right after graduating, he spent time at a regional clinic to acquire a basic knowledge of general veterinary orthopedics. Müller-Dörr then received comprehensive training in orthopedics while working as a personal assistant to Dr. Hans-Georg Stihl at his renowned equine clinic in Ins, Switzerland. Since then, Müller-Dörr has regularly attended international congresses and courses held by prominent orthopedists to stay abreast of new advances in veterinary medicine.

Services

In everything from examinations across therapy to rehabilitation, we make sure your horse enjoys the benefits of complete, top-quality, state-of-the-art medical care.
Our practice focuses on orthopedics and sports medicine. Here is a partial list of the services and therapies we offer:

  • Lameness diagnosis and management
  • Mobile digital imaging (radiography and ultrasound)
  • Endoscopy for diagnosing and treating upper respiratory ailments
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the Leichlingen Medical Center
  • Patient-specific back treatments
  • Leading-edge therapies involving stem cells, IRAP (interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and growth factors (ultrasound-guided injections)
  • Extracorporeal shock-wave therapy (ESWT)
  • Sport horse management
  • Racehorse and trotter management
  • Mesotherapy
  • General surgery in cooperation with prominent guest surgeons
  • All laboratory services, including export examinations in cooperation with external labs
  • U.S.-compliant prepurchase exams with video documentation
  • Corrective farrier’s work in cooperation with your blacksmith or our partners
  • Expertises (for private or official use)

Sport Horse Care

Human athletes routinely undergo health checks, and we naturally offer to do the same for your horse. In keeping with the adage that “prevention is better than a cure”, this lets us detect incipient injuries and minor, unnoticed performance deficits at an early stage and begin therapy before they can cause greater harm.

At regular intervals, we carry out standardized tests while your horse is resting and moving. We document the findings to track any changes.

A very important aspect is proper shoeing. We’ve all heard the phrase “no hoof, no horse”. But in fact, we very often discover that horses are quite unhappy with their shoes but their riders, caretakers or owners fail to notice. The importance of appropriate shoeing becomes obvious if you consider that each season around two thirds of all sports horses develop problem with their muscles, and three fourths of these injuries are caused by an imbalance in their hoofs and/or bad shoeing. This also means that when a horse shows signs of lameness, the chances are three to one that it can improve or even recover completely by means of proper shoe management. Good farrier’s work is essential for keeping a horse healthy and able to perform well in the long term.

Thanks to this comprehensive care, physical weaknesses can be identified at an early stage and nipped in the bud before they lead to worse problems. Our overriding goal is to prevent injuries and loss of training time. This in turn improves performance and prolongs a horse’s sporting career.

New advances have made it possible to apply required therapies during an ongoing tournament season without breaking any rules.

Our goal is to enable your horse to continue performing well for many years to come.

GOOD BYE LOUIS

17. August 2018

Contact

MMDortho / MMDequine

MARCO MÜLLER-DÖRR
Sandwingert 59, D-69123 Heidelberg
T   +49 6202 4091444            M   +49 172 8230767
@ ortho@mmd.vet