BROOKINGS — There’s a new veterinarian in town, and she’d like to see both you and the horse you rode in on. Kara Robbins-Moret is the owner of East River Equine Veterinary Services — a clinic specializing exclusively in horses.

“I work with a little bit of everything — from the hunter jumpers, to the rodeo horses, to just the pleasure riding horses,” Robbins-Moret said. “I grew up riding horses. Our neighbors had quite a few horses. My mom had a big passion for it, so we grew up rodeoing. I continued to rodeo pretty much into my first year of vet school actually. So I always just wanted to know more and be able to help the horses that I rode — so that’s kind of where that passion started.”

The horse clinic is located at 2606 34th Ave. in Brookings. She opened the practice at the end May, after having completed both a veterinary internship and a sports medicine fellowship in Littleton, Colo.

“My husband is actually here. He owns cattle and farms, so he couldn’t really move. And so he kind of drew me back here,” Robbins-Moret said. “I never really planned to open up my own practice. I always thought I would go work for someone, but it kind of just worked out that I could start something right here.”

She said since opening, they’ve been booked solid two weeks out with appointments.

“It’s been pretty consistent. I expect during winter it’ll slow down a little bit, but so far over the summer it’s been really busy,” Robbins-Moret said. “They come from Minnesota, and up by Aberdeen. I think the furthest so far is about five hours they’ve come.”

By specializing exclusively in horses, she’s able to provide her patients a full spectrum of equine care.

“Majority of what I actually do here is lameness exams. So if a horse is sore or isn’t quite performing right, I look at it and see if we can help it — either through injections or some type of  therapy,” Robbins-Moret said. “I do just a general maintenance of dental exams. I have an ultrasound, so I’m able to ultrasound abdomens and lungs and everything like that to help owners understand if something’s going on there. And then I have in-house stalls, so I can hospitalize patients. And then I’m hoping to get very soon in-house bloodwork and a gastroscope — so I can essentially look at the horse’s stomach and upper airway.”

She said the past few months have been a dream come true.

“I was always that crazy horse girl when I was little — you know, playing horse in the parking lot or in the fields at recess during school,” Robbins-Moret said. “I actually have a thing from kindergarten, and they ask you — what do you want to be when you grow up? And I had veterinarian on there. So I kind of always knew from the start — just with my background with horses and always loving them. That’s why I specifically chose horses.”

She said the best part of her job is just being able to see horses and their riders succeed.

“I’m here to help owners learn more about their horses and help them however I can. I’m happy to be there however they need me,” Robbins-Moret said. “I want everyone I see to get the most out of their horse and enjoy it. When they’re successful, it makes it worth my time.”

Horse owners can learn more at eastriverequinevet.com or make an appointment by calling 605-651-9327.

Email Jay Roe at jroe@brookingsregister.com.