Brendan Furlong spent five years earning his veterinary degree, but that certificate on his wall has little to do with what’s made him the respected veterinarian he is today. 

“He’s a vet second; he’s a horse-person first. Lots of people went to school and became a vet, but Brendan really understands horses,” said international eventer Buck Davidson.

That depth of understanding has given Furlong the opportunity to travel the world as the U.S. Equestrian Federation team veterinarian for the three-day eventing and combined driving teams. He’s served the USEF for more than 15 years and at three World Equestrian Games and four Olympic Games.

“I think everyone respects him, not only top riders and people on the team, but also horsemen all around the world,” Davidson said. “He is in a league of his own as far as soundness. He’s on the cutting edge of everything, and he’s right there in the middle of it. He works on the best horses from all the disciplines. He’s seen it all.”

Furlong’s first experience as USEF team veterinarian was for the pair driving team at the World Championships in Austria in 1991, where they won the gold medal. He’s taken care of U.S. horses at international championships every two or three years since. He’ll be the veterinarian for the U.S. three-day event and driving teams at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (Ky.) in September and October.

“It doesn’t get any better,” Furlong, 57, said of his role. “I’m kind of a frustrated competitor myself, so short of being able to compete internationally, the next best thing is being part of the support crew. You get to be on the inside of the competition, you get to take care of these amazing athletes, and you get to be a part of the team that tries to get them through the competition healthy and happy to go again.”

Layers Of Knowledge

Being a team veterinarian doesn’t mean Furlong just shows up at the championship venue and starts caring for the horses. It’s an extended process, which starts as soon as a horse is named to a short list or is in contention for a team.

“In eventing, for every competition that is either a selection trial or an observation trial for that particular year’s championship, we get a list of horses from the selectors, with some input from the veterinary panel. We observe them during the competition and examine them post-competition,” Furlong said.

Furlong said they build on that knowledge about those horses every year. “We collect as much information as we can possibly get on the horses, with a view toward helping them as opposed to excluding them or hindering them,” he said. “The database that we build is a positive one; we look at it as a tool to help these horses get through these championships.”

One of the most important pieces of the puzzle is establishing a relationship with each horse’s usual treating veterinarian, if it’s not one of Furlong’s clients. “I work hard on developing a good rapport with their primary veterinarian, so we’re all working together toward a common goal, rather than being at cross-purposes. We try very diligently to make sure that relationship works,” Furlong said.

A big part of Furlong’s job as team veterinarian is helping the horses deal with the stress of travel to different venues and climates. “It requires homework—knowing what the climatic conditions are going to be, knowing what the weather might be like, and what the footing is going to be like,” Furlong said. “We do a lot of research ahead of time to be as prepared as possible. Fortunately for me, I’ve been to most of the major venues all over the world, so that knowledge itself helps you the second time around.”

With the Fédération Equestre Internationale’s strict medication rules, Furlong’s ability to treat problems that crop up with team horses is limited. With that in mind, preparation is vital for Furlong, and soundness is central to team selection.

“We try very hard to go to championships with sound horses; that’s one of our big criteria,” Furlong said. “We try to get not only the best horses we have but also the soundest horses we have. Then it’s diligent observation throughout the competition to try and be on top of an injury or a pulled muscle from the very beginning and deal with it proactively as opposed to waiting until it becomes a problem.”

Furlong has a secret weapon in his arsenal for caring for FEI-level horses. His wife, Wendy Furlong, is also a veterinarian (using her maiden name of Leich professionally), who specializes in acupuncture. She frequently travels with him to international competitions.

“The drug rules have become so stringent that it’s nice to have the acupuncture and other alternative therapies to fall back on because there’s not a lot of other things you can do,” Wendy said. “On a lot of horses, we put our heads together. I think what we do complements each other very well, and I think that’s one of the reasons it works well at the big competitions. He’s willing to go in both directions, for whatever works for the horse.”

Brendan is quick to give credit to all of those who care for the horses under his wing. “Farriery is a huge part of it. We’re very fortunate to have a great farrier in Steve Teichman, who’s a big part of our support crew. He’s a smart guy and great to work with. He’s incredibly creative. We’ve worked together for a long time. That, with Wendy’s help and Doug Hannum’s help, and all the grooms and riders, makes my job easier,” Brendan said.

He’s Truly Hands-On

For Buck Davidson, that respect for other caretakers sets Brendan apart from other veterinarians. “I think his best attribute is that he listens. He doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong—he wants you to tell him what you think. The communication we have is one of mutual respect,’’ said Davidson, Riegelsville, Pa.

“If I’ve been feeling something, he listens and we talk about it. Sometimes he doesn’t see something I feel, and sometimes I don’t feel something he sees, but we usually see eye-to-eye and rectify the problem,” he added.

Brendan has built his practice, B.W. Furlong and Associates of Pittstown, N.J., into a thriving clinic with state-of-the-art diagnostic technology. They were the first practice in New Jersey to offer nuclear scintigraphy and one of the first in the Northeast to offer magnetic resonance imaging.

“Lameness is a big thing I’ve always been intrigued by because I didn’t have the answers for so many years. I was frustrated at not knowing why horses were lame,” Brendan said.

But Davidson wouldn’t mind if Brendan showed up at his barn without the sophisticated equipment. “So many vets now just want to pull out machines and ultrasound or X-ray,” he said. “Brendan certainly has all the machines, but he doesn’t really need them. He can watch a horse, look at them, and put his hands on them and tell you what’s wrong without pulling out a machine. Machines are great, but sometimes they aren’t as good as a human.”

Part of that knowing touch comes from the fact that Brendan is still an avid rider. He evented up to the preliminary level and now foxhunts, serving as jt.-MFH of the Amwell Valley Hounds (N.J.) since 2009.

“He’s able to put the whole picture together, which I think is unusual,” said Wendy. “He understands that horses aren’t perfect creatures, that by the time they get to be advanced-level horses, they’re going to have some wear and tear on them. He has a good handle on what they can live with and what they can’t live with.

“Brendan knows the training process and fitness process very well because he’s done it himself as a rider,” she added. “I think he really understands it when a horse doesn’t pass the jog. He’s been on both sides of that, so he understands the competitor’s disappointment when that doesn’t work out, and he understands the joy when it does.”

A Kid’s Dream Come True

Brendan comes by his love of horses honestly, having grown up in a family of horsemen in Ireland. His father specialized in developing young horses, and Furlong grew up riding, showing and foxhunting.

“That’s where I learned a great respect and love for farming and horses,” he said.

But the person who really sparked Brendan’s dreams was Ireland’s famous veterinarian, Shemmy Berry, who took care of the Furlong horses.

“I just was so enthralled by Dr. Berry, from the time I was a little kid,” said Brendan. “I couldn’t wait to go and help him when I got home from school—to open the gate for him, to clean his car or hold a horse for him. I used to dream about growing up to be a horse vet. And I’d think, ‘One day, wouldn’t it be awesome to go to the Olympics?’ I used to go to bed thinking about it. It’s been the dream of a life for me, seriously. I never thought I’d be doing it for the Americans, but it’s great. I pinch myself sometimes.”

Brendan went straight from boarding school to veterinary college and graduated in 1976. He saw a job advertised at a practice in New Jersey and decided to make the move across the Atlantic. After working for David Lambert for three years, Furlong had the opportunity to buy the practice when Lambert decided to pursue other avenues of veterinary medicine.

“I was a kid at the time—I was 26—so the concept of being a business person was intimidating, but I found an Irish banker in New York City who loaned me the money to buy the practice. That’s where it all started,” Brendan said.

B.W. Furlong and Associates now staffs Furlong, his wife, and five other veterinarians and offers a full range of lameness evaluation, internal medicine and reproductive services.

“It’s a great, enthusiastic group of people who work well together, and we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them,” Brendan said.

While The Sun Shines

When Brendan’s not working as a veterinarian, he’s at home caring for the eventers, foxhunters and breeding stock at his farm in Pittstown, N.J., or he’s foxhunting.

Brendan stopped eventing in the ’90s, when his two sons—Adam and Jonathan—began riding. “It was a time when the business was getting really busy and both our boys were starting to compete, so he couldn’t really support everybody. He decided that he was the one who was going to stop riding for a while,” Wendy said.

So now, Brendan concentrates on foxhunting. He tries to get out with Amwell Valley, at least two or three times a week and hunts as a member with the Essex Fox Hounds (N.J.) at least once a week. “I strive for three days a week and don’t always get it, but I enjoy whatever I get,” he said.

But sometimes he favors horsepower of another kind—a tractor.

Making hay is one of Brendan’s true loves, and he makes the cutting and baling during the summer a priority for him. “We grow all our own hay for the horses on the farm, and I really enjoy it. I love the countryside,” he said. At heart, despite all the international travel and acclaim, Brendan is still a farmer.

“He’s not big on having a whole lot of down time. He works very hard, and he expects everyone else to work hard too,” Wendy said.

Brendan and Wendy just purchased another farm of 100 acres to add to their original 50 acres. “Having a new project like having this new farm, even with all the headaches it entails, is what keeps him going and keeps him excited,” Wendy said. “It’s tough to get him to relax.”