Most people who spend a summer in Michigan have a trip to Mackinac Island on their bucket list. The sights are iconic: the lapping of the Lake Huron waves against the ferry, all the Mackinac Island fudge you can eat, the long row of white columns at the Grand Hotel, and most iconic, the horse-drawn carriages taxiing tourists to and from.
The Good Doctor Chambers
Dr. Bill Chambers, a descendant of one of Mackinac Island Carriage Tours’ founding horsemen, served as general manager and president of the company. He is a 1957 alum of the College. He treated the company’s horses and designed new horseshoes for the island’s pavement, as well as high-fiber and high-energy feeds to reduce the high volume of feed hauled to the island.
Cars and trucks are not used on Mackinac Island, so horses are employed to transport people and goods. Everything from the delivery of Amazon packages to the restocking of restaurants relies on the strength of horses. Most of the island’s 400 horses are owned by Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, which was founded in 1948 and is now among the world’s largest and oldest companies of its kind.
So, who takes care of the horses? A dedicated team of veterinarians, including Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine alumni Dr. Alyssa Connolly (Class of 2003) and Dr. Colleen Turner (Class of 2001).
Drs. Connolly and Turner are relief veterinarians, meaning they serve weeklong shifts on the island throughout the busy season to support the primary veterinary team.
The work is very different from their primary practices back home.
“It’s interesting to go from driving a big pickup truck with a mobile veterinary insert, with everything you need at your fingertips, to riding a bicycle with saddlebags of supplies,” says Connolly, whose home base is near Howell, Michigan.
For most relief veterinarians, the day begins with the bike commute—uphill from the house on Market Street where the relief veterinarians stay—to the horse barns.
“I haven’t sold out and gotten an electric bike yet,” laughs Turner. “I try to challenge myself to be able to bike up that huge hill every day at the beginning of my shift.”
It’s like sculpture
Turner realized a love for dentistry early in her career, which she came to after first earning a bachelor’s degree in studio art before going for her DVM degree. “I was very interested in lameness and sports medicine in school. But much of that is mysterious and not entirely fixable. But dentistry is satisfying; you can fix stuff right now, and the horse finds immediate relief. It’s kind of like art school, where I was doing a lot of sculpture. Not that I treat horses like blocks of wood! But it’s hands-on, like visual art.”
At the barns, they first assess emergent medical needs with the barn managers. After checking in, they conduct rounds and tend to horses that have been receiving ongoing care for specific issues. While they have saddlebags of supplies for convenience, the barns are serviced by a clinic for more advanced needs: radiographs, wound treatment space, and storage.
“I oftentimes sit back and observe the horses as they come and go,” says Turner, who ordinarily operates on a mobile basis across Michigan. “I might spot a horse that is a little lame or sore, but for the most part, the barn bosses are great at identifying potential problems and letting me know.”
When morning tasks are complete, the veterinarians work on-call for the rest of the day.
“The horses have a vet available 24/7,” says Connolly. “The horses are in excellent health. We’re on top of the very first issue that comes up—the horses are never without care.”
Turner is also able to bring her own specialty to the island’s horse fleet: she has focused on equine dentistry in her ordinary practice since 2002. This year, she became the first board-certified equine dentist in Michigan.
“I always bring my dentistry equipment,” she says. “There’s always a need for that. I’ve found some crazy things in those horses; extra teeth, teeth that are completely unopposed—things like that.”
In a broad sense, a unique approach to care is necessary when dealing with the largest privately owned fleet of working horses in the country when compared to general practice for pleasure or sport horses.
“It’s different when treating a working animal, not someone’s pet,” explains Connolly. “You shift the way you practice for conditions typical of a working draft horse in a harness.”
Lameness is the most common issue for the horses, usually due to peculiarities of the jobs they complete as the island’s primary vehicles. Some might, for example, step on nails while towing at a construction site.
“Anything that needs to be moved on the island, they move it,” says Turner. “The CO2 tanks for carbonated pops at restaurants. The hay alone . . . it takes a ridiculous amount of hay to feed the horses. And they pull it up to their barn. They drive the street sweeper. Anything you can think of done by a vehicle, they are in charge of. For them, it’s not hard work; they’re huge animals!”
Occasionally, the relief veterinarians treat colic, eye injuries, ulcers, or trauma due to kicks from other horses. They also assist the full-time horse caretakers and farriers in assessing safe harness and shoe fit.
“The idea is to keep the horses fit and sound for work, and if they’re not, to make the decision to send them off-island for rest or further workup—whatever they need,” adds Turner. “You don’t have a ton of options in terms of diagnostics and things like that while onsite.” She compares the approach to that of a large animal veterinarian caring for cattle: “It can be like a herd health situation. These aren’t individual horses doing an individual job; they are a team doing teamwork.”
When time allows, the relief veterinarians help the island community by treating privately-owned small animals.
“Many island residents use us as an urgent care clinic,” explains Connolly. “We help them decide if their animal needs to visit a full working clinic, or if they can be helped with some basic medical care. We also do some preventative medicine as needed or see the occasional tourist for first aid if their dog has any issues while visiting the island for the day—like anxiety, overheating, or bee stings.”
When not actively working, both doctors enjoy taking in the island’s scenery. Family often visits, and there’s no shortage of things to see and do, even on an island of only about four square miles.
“My kids in their teens and twenties often come with me. We like to hike a lot, and the island has a lot of interesting hiking trails,” says Turner. She also planned a late-summer shift in which one of her horses would accompany her, serving as a trail riding partner and a substitute for a bike when on that uphill commute to the barns for work.
Connolly relies on her bike for transport and leisure alike.
“I like to ride along the 8.2-mile perimeter. And to sit quietly by the water and relax,” says Connolly.“But I’m always on-call, ready to drop what I’m doing and rush to the aid of any animal that may need me. That’s what I’m here for, and I’m ready.” 
