ABOUT US
Smith Equine Performance
Smith Equine Performance
Providing impeccable support to the equine athlete.
Smith Equine Performance is at the cutting edge of equine sports medicine through continually advancing our knowledge base and utilizing the latest in digital diagnostic technology.
Dr Smith offers services for pre-purchase exams, consultations on complex lameness and medical issues of the equine athlete, preparing performance horses for competition, and managing their health care at horse shows. Making himself available in this capacity gives our clients the competitive advantage of continuity of care for each individual horse.
ABOUT
Dr Clayton Smith
I grew up on a cattle ranch in Seymour, a small town in west Texas. From my childhood, I understood the importance of horses and livestock. It was more than just a job to my family—it was our way of life. This upbringing taught me many important lessons and life skills that I still rely on to this day. By working with cattle and horses, I learned the value of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and integrity. During undergraduate school, I had the opportunity to work as veterinary technician at Weatherford Equine Medical Center in Weatherford, TX. I quickly became enthralled with veterinary medicine for the performance horse. Becoming an equine veterinarian allowed me to combine the heritage that I love with my passion to care for the equine athlete.
The sports medicine care that we provide on a day-to-day basis typically consists of a lameness evaluation of the patient that may require watching the horse under saddle or flexing and jogging. Then I’ll do diagnostic imaging as needed that may include X-rays or ultrasounds. Some treatment options include joint injections, ultrasound-guided joint injections, shockwave, mobile PRP injections (Prostride), and upper airway scoping. Another pretty much daily service that I do is the prepurchase exam for clients buying or selling horses.
Dr Maddie Frizzell
Dr. Maddie is a born and raised Texan. She grew up showing Arabians and that sparked her interest in equine sports medicine. She completed her bachelor's degree at Oklahoma State University and continued her education at Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine where she obtained her DVM degree. Following graduation, she completed a year-long internship in Stephenville, Texas at Signature Equine Hospital. She’s excited to be serving the equine community in the greater Houston area, overseeing the Smith Equine Performance Rehab Center and seeing patients in the field.
Nutritional Value
I think that nutrition is hugely important to all horses, and especially our athletes.
Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Santa Ynez, CA is the hospital that I completed my internship after veterinary school. I worked under the late Dr. Doug Herthel who was really a pioneer for biological healing and an advocate for using nutrition as a therapy to help heal horses and a tool for keeping them healthy. From him, I learned that feeding horses is a lot more than just hay and grain. The equine diet is another opportunity to relieve inflammation and help athletes manage oxidative stress with antioxidants, etc. Nutrition has a role in every case that I see. And specifically in terms of the healing process, it can either work with you or against you. I want what the horse is consuming on a daily basis to work with what I’m trying to accomplish through veterinary medicine. Keeping the diet simple and forage-based is almost always the best way to feed any horse, and then knowing what is effective from a sports med standpoint to help with muscle recovery or to gain weight or to help stiff joints—the therapeutic nutrition can be very helpful and is often overlooked.