PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH HAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Despite the clinic experience, in many ways Troy was a typical small-town kid. As a teen he donned cleats and pads each fall, proudly wearing a pirate jersey as quarterback of Santa Ynez High’s football team. Win or lose on Friday night, Saturday morning he was at his dad’s side, observing a colic surgery or a lameness exam, or riding in Dr. Herthel’s right seat as they answered a farm call. His early veterinary education also quietly included advice and observations of such Alamo Pintado Equine stalwarts as Drs. Mark Rick, Carter Judy, Ed Hamer and Greg Parks. After high school, Troy studied at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, then went on to veterinary school at Oklahoma State University. Always appreciative of his dad’s tutelage, Troy would earn his own way, prove himself and ensure that he would become a veterinarian based on his own merits and not on the coattails of his celebrated last name. Earning his DVM in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the newly minted Dr. Troy Herthel migrated south to Texas where he trained at Weatherford Equine Medical Center under a top-tier team that includes Dr. Jeff Foland, who as a recent veterinary school graduate in the late 1980s, became an intern veterinarian at Alamo Pintado Equine. There was little sleep and a high caseload, two things that the young Dr. Herthel embraced as he cut his teeth. In addition, he reached out to some of the best in the business, including legendary practitioners like Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, a pioneer in equine arthroscopic surgery and regenerative equine orthopaedic research at Colorado State University, Dr. Larry Bramlage, a famed surgeon and lameness guru at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dr. Cliff Honnas, a tenured Texas A&M University veterinary professor for 19 years, who opened Texas Equine Hospital in Bryan, Texas in 2009.

Dr. Troy Herthel studied at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, then went on to veterinary school at Oklahoma State University. In 2011, he made his way home to Los Olivos, CA, to work alongside his father at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center.

With time and experience behind him, Troy followed his heart back to Los Olivos in 2011. There was never a question as to where he belonged. “My dream was to come home and practice with my dad, learn from my dad and train under him,” affirms Troy. The pair reunited and had the opportunity to practice alongside one another and the team that had long since become family. Troy pursued a residency in equine surgery under the guidance of Dr. Carter Judy, an internationally-celebrated, board-certified equine surgeon at Alamo Pintado. There, they spent three years side-by-side with Troy gleaning all he could from Dr. Judy and the clinic’s talented team of surgeons. The elder Dr. Herthel was a proud and unwaveringly supportive dad. He was a fixture in the surgical suite, sometimes showing up unannounced after midnight, watching Troy’s talents evolve and offering wisdom and quiet counsel when asked but somehow never forcing his knowledge or style onto his son.

As in life, change happens and new chapters are written to beloved old stories. The elder Dr. Herthel was very suddenly taken by Lewy Body Dementia in 2018, followed closely by the passing of his wife Sue who, together with her husband, built Alamo Pintado Equine and brought its vision to life. They left behind a rich story of tremendous impact on the horses they cared for so deeply and with such fervor.

The comfort in such a profound loss was, of course, that Alamo Pintado Equine was right there, as strong as it ever was, being led on by a steady team, including the since board-certified surgeon, Dr. Troy Herthel. The clinic was firm in its future mission; it would honor the great Dr. Doug Herthel’s legacy by continuing to challenge the impossible using the most advanced diagnostic tools, imaging modalities, therapeutic nutrition and technology it could bring together.

Dr. Doug Herthel’s presence is still very much felt within these walls. He lives on in the team of veterinarians that worked so tirelessly beside him for so long and also in Dr. Troy Herthel. The two share many traits: a soft-spoken nature, a firm commitment to the horse and an unshakable dedication to how and why Alamo Pintado Equine practices veterinary medicine. “As a veterinarian and a surgeon, I’m just in awe all the time seeing what these animals can do and the bond between them and their rider,” says Troy.

Today, he scrubs up and heads into the surgical suite next to Dr. Wade Walker, a fellow board-certified surgeon who came to Alamo Pintado in 2019 to help further evolve the clinic’s capabilities. Drs. Erin Byrne and Carolina Lopez will be waiting to take over post-operative care, likely walking the halls late into the night to ensure patients receive every possible advantage, as is their usual routine. Dr. Lisa Teske’s vet truck rolls past the gates en route to an emergency call, while Drs. Ed Hamer and Greg Parks have been across town at respective Thoroughbred farms checking mares since early morning. There’s a lameness exam happening out front where Dr. Tyler Stevenson flexes a towering bay gelding before observing as he sends him off for another jog. Dr. Judy sits behind a collection of screens, reading images in real time as a 17-hand Warmblood lays anesthetized in the high field (1.5 tesla) magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, machine. He studies images while discussing the case. This horse is a star in the hunter ring who carries numerous kids to the ribbons they’ve worked so hard for. You can hear the determination in his voice and almost sense the cogs turning. This horse is in the best of hands. Meanwhile, the newest member of the team, veterinary fellow Dr. Mariah Kerr, is suturing a laceration in the treatment room as the now-retired Dr. Mark Rick climbs the stairs to his desk to continue work on Alamo Pintado’s latest research initiative. So is life at the clinic. Trailers come and go at a steady pace throughout the day, horses are jogged, wounds are treated and dressed, surgeries are performed, imaging is captured and beneath it all is a charge that’s electric and almost palpable.

As Dr. Troy Herthel walks out of surgery he heads straight for a barn on the far side of the property. It’s late afternoon and two small blonde-haired girls squeal as he comes into view. Just like that, the day’s cases fade and the doctor becomes “Dad.” The girls, Crosby and Piper, are here to ride Teddy, the rope horse that was supposed to be Troy’s mount but quickly transitioned to carrying much more precious cargo (in his opinion). Troy and wife Jacie — an Oklahoma native — have taken the fabric of his storied childhood and family legacy, and interwoven their own life, family and dreams into a new tapestry. This is sacred ground. This place represents so much to Troy, his own family and the veterinarians he practices beside every day. Ask them, and they’ll tell you that they don’t feel the weight of Dr. Doug Herthel’s legacy. It’s part of who they are; a common thread that points them in the same direction toward the evolution of veterinary medicine on behalf of the horse.

“The most important thing to us is the results. My parents started this practice with their bare hands and were able to bring on an incredible group of people. I'm still honored to work with them. This practice has grown but it all goes back to the core values of Dr. Doug and Sue Herthel. I hope they’re really proud of the fact that we’re continuing those values.”
— Troy Herthel, DVM, DACVS, Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center