New equine intensive care unit opens in Liverpool

A new equine intensive care unit in Liverpool was opened earlier this month by Lord Derby.

Lord Derby officially opened the £2m unit at the University of Liverpool’s Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital on 4 October.

The unit provides state-of-the-art-facilities, as well as specially designed areas for the treatment of foals.

And it has a motion detection system – the first of its kind in the UK – in each box to allow vets to identify changes in a patient’s behaviour over a short period of time.

The unit has 11 intensive care boxes across two wings of the new building. Each hospital wing is connected to a large examination and treatment area, which includes a patient observation area, as well as a lab for rapid testing of disease samples.

“The hospital sees 2,000 equine cases every year – ranging from routine cases, such as the investigation of lameness, to the more serious emergency referrals, such as horses suffering with colic. We also work closely with Aintree racecourse during all of the Grand National events,” said Chris Proudman, professor of equine studies at the University.

“The new technologies available to us, as well as the advancement of research into colic, cancer, and tissue repair, allow us to further enhance the treatment of critically ill horses. The development of the ICU at Liverpool is an important step forward in supporting veterinary scientists in the assessment of injury and disease, as well as evaluating the most effective forms of treatment.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now