Meet the Palm Beach Equine Clinic Team: Dr. Bryan Dubynsky

What does a typical day look like for you at Palm Beach Equine Clinic?
My work is mainly sports medicine oriented. I do a lot of performance evaluations to make sure riders get the most out of their equine athletes every time they enter the ring. Also, pre-purchase exams are a large part of what I do, but every day is different. You never know what is going to come up on a daily basis. It’s what makes the job so great. There’s always something to learn from both the horses and their riders.

What aspects of equine medicine interest you most, and what types of cases do you find most rewarding?
What I really love is diagnosing and treating performance
problems. Sometimes very subtle problems can lead to more rails and lower results. The process of putting together all the pieces of the puzzle by really listening to the rider, taking a careful history, examining the horse, and then treating the horse, is so rewarding. Knowing you are part of the team that makes the horse and rider successful is very special.

Currently, I’ve been spending a lot of time diagnosing and treating neck and poll issues. The more we look in these areas, the more we are finding performance-related issues such as head tossing, head tilt, one-sided rein resistance, rooting, and lots of other symptoms we haven’t necessarily thought about in the past as being related to poll and neck discomfort.

Dr. Bryan Dubynsky

Photo courtesy of Jump Media

What do you enjoy most about working with performance horses?

The most enjoyable part would be when you see horses that you have treated and made better do well in competition. There’s nothing more satisfying than being part of the team and having a rider say, “He’s/she’s never felt so good!”

What has been one of your favorite moments while working for Palm Beach Equine Clinic?
There have been so many great moments at PBEC. It is so special when the entire team, from ambulatory vets, to surgeons, and everyone in between pulls together and turns challenging cases into successful outcomes. One particular case was when a horse had a full thickness abdominal laceration from a jump cup and his intestines were falling out. The attending horse show vet did perfect emergency first aid, the horse came to the clinic, and the whole team medicated and prepped for surgery. The surgeon patched him all up and the horse was competing again a few weeks later. That case really illustrated what a whole team effort looks like in achieving great outcomes.

When and why did you decide that you wanted to become a veterinarian?

My father is a physician, and I always had an interest in medicine. Choosing to become a veterinarian seemed to be a natural fit combining my love for horses and medicine.

Dr. Dubynsky performing a hind flexion test.

Photo courtesy of PBEC

What is some advice that you would give someone who wants to become a veterinarian?
Pick out the top people in the industry and work with them. Learn as much as you possibly can from the people who have been practicing for a long time.

What is something interesting that people may not know about you?|

I love to do woodworking projects like building tables.