About Vet Gadgets
Vet Gadgets is a company started in 2010 with an idea to make a routine process for treating a horse safer for the veterinarian. This is the founding principle for the company. A dream of safer, less invasive technology for the betterment of veterinarians and their patients. Currently, there is a single product for sale, but more are in the pipeline.
The founder, an equine veterinarian named Ryan Lee, had friends & colleagues over the years that were injured, even hospitalized from passing nasogastric tubes on horses. He always thought that this process could be improved from both the safety standpoint, and the optics of the procedure. Over the years practicing equine medicine, Dr. Lee would pass a tube successfully to empty foul-smelling reflux or gas onto the ground or in a bucket, wash the tube off in a water bucket and stick the tube back in his mouth, while the clients looked on in disbelief or turned away sick at their stomach. These were the principal parts of an idea that took years to develop into a working prototype.
The earliest device was developed with very rudimentary items, but it worked so well that Dr. Lee hid it and started the process to improve it. Friends helped him along the way with drawings that were sent to draftsmen for prototype assembly and early embodiments …. today’s patented device.
Dr. Ryan Lee
About Dr. Ryan Lee
Dr. Ryan Lee is very passionate about the care and maintenance of the equine athlete. While observing Dr. Lee in action during his exams you will easily see his love of the horse and the client horse interaction. His focus is to find answers for you that will keep you competitive in your discipline while being an advocate of the proper care of your horse. There is nothing quick about his exams, he prefers to perform a well-paced workup of the problem (standing musculoskeletal & moving components are separate) to fully evaluate your horse’s performance issue. This pace allows him to be more thorough and to fully uncover the answers to your performance questions while allowing Dr. Lee to take advantage of teachable moments during the process.
From an early age and well into his high school graduation from Corsciana High School in 1994, Dr. Lee was very active in agricultural pursuits involving both horses and cattle working in rural Navarro County and through his association his high school FFA. Later during undergrad at Texas A&M (BS Animal Science ’98), Dr. Lee was a member of both the TAMU Wool & Livestock Judging Teams. Additionally, he was the manager of a small ranch outside of Bryan, and owned and operated a small business (LXR Ag-Services, LLC) catering to cattle ranchers, horse owners, and exotics all over Texas, southern Colorado, and New Mexico. These varied experiences with agriculture were the spark that drove him into furthering teaching and education with Ag & animals.
After achieving his master’s degree from Texas A&M, Dr. Lee taught high school Agricultural Science at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station. As an FFA advisor, he celebrated many successes with his students in the show ring and coaching livestock and horse judging teams. But still, after two years of teaching, he decided to pursue his passion for veterinary medicine and was accepted to Texas A&M’s Veterinary School.
During his 4th year, he performed summer work at Idaho Equine Hospital where he focused his study of the equine athlete to a discipline of equine sports medicine. This experience would parlay into a very focused equine internship after veterinary school to hone his skills in equine sports medicine. This experience offered exposure to many facets of the equine industry, from working with the wild horses of the BLM program to the abundance of high achieving sport horses, ranch horses and working cow horses & reiners in Idaho.
Perhaps it was all the working cow horses, or the scenery and cool mountain air, either way Dr. Lee was lured back to southwestern Idaho to work at Idaho Equine Hospital (IEH). IEH, an exclusively equine, sports medicine hospital in Nampa, Idaho. This hospital, staff, and clientele facilitated his pursuit of further study in Equine Sports Medicine & Lameness. After leaving Idaho, Dr. Lee enjoyed developing the equine practice as an associate at the newly formed Madisonville Veterinary Hospital and later Crockett Veterinary Hospital, two mixed animal rural practices in east Texas. These two practices sparked interest in the variety that comes with mixed practice. Thus, in June 2020, Dr. Lee opened a small animal practice called South 40 Veterinary Hospital. A venture that employs 4 other veterinarians that focus on the small animal practice of veterinary medicine.
When he is not working you may see him out in the community playing sports with & teaching kids. He can be found coaching his and other children in soccer, baseball, and basketball in the College Station city leagues. Dr. Lee’s family consists of his wife of 24 years, Kristina, who also works locally in healthcare for CHI ST Joseph’s Regional Health System. Dr. and Mrs. Lee have three children. They are members of Christ United Methodist Church, and he is a proud member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, lifetime member of both, the American Quarter Horse Association and the Texas Equine Veterinary Association. He also maintains an active professional membership in the American Association of Equine Practitioners where he serves on multiple committees, the International Society for Equine Locomotor Pathology, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Whether bringing your horse to South 40 Equine or a dog or cat to South 40 Veterinary Hospital, you’ll see that Dr. Lee and his staff are very passionate about the care and maintenance of these animals. His focus is to find answers for you that will get your pet well keep your horse competitive in your discipline, all while being an advocate of your animal. There is nothing quick about his exams, he prefers to perform a well-paced workup of the problem (standing musculoskeletal & moving components are separate) to fully evaluate your horse’s performance issue, or the use of advanced diagnostic imaging to further evaluate his small animal patients. This pace allows him to be more thorough & compliment the discovery process with appropriate imaging to fully uncover the answers to your performance questions while allowing Dr. Lee to take advantage of teachable moments during the process. To meet him to see a generous man that loves to teach and use his gifts for the benefit of others. As such you’ll find that he is very passionate about veterinary medicine through his involvement in the state and national associations, TVMA, TEVA, & AAEP. Dr. Lee is a United States Patent holder for a device used to safely pass nasogastric tubes in horses. Locally, he loves to teach both veterinary students, and those undergraduates pursuing their dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Dr. Lee can be reached through email, [email protected], or via phone at 979-977-0711.