Dr. Nicolas Ernst

Dr. Nicolas Ernst, DVM, MS joins the UMEC equine team as a renowned expert in lameness and orthopedic surgery. He enjoys all types of equine surgery, and his research interests are in the area of general surgery, orthopedics and joint diseases.

Ernst was raised in Valdivia, Chile where his father was a veterinarian and epidemiologist who worked with both animal health and public health issues.

“I was exposed to the vet world very young-- he took me to work, and we would see animals and be in his office,” said Ernst. “I also liked horses and was amazed at what horses can do and at their personalities. I was always attracted to horses.”

The family did not own horses, but when he got the opportunity through friends, he loved to ride.

“One of my favorite activities was to run through the fields on horseback and go get the cows—it was amazing how the horse knew what its job was,” he recalls. “I had no clue what to do, but just as long as I went fast, that’s what I wanted.”

From the time he was age seven to thirteen, his family lived in Davis, California where his father did postgraduate studies at the University of California, Davis and where Ernst decided to become a veterinarian himself.

“The big difference was what was in Davis and what wasn’t in Chile,” said Ernst. “ It’s a hard decision to leave home and family for a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, but if that’s what it takes to be the best you have to do it. My goal was to be the best in my country, so I knew I had to leave home to get the advanced training.”

He earned his DVM at the University of Chile, Santiago in 1999 where student externships were available at the many local race tracks, breeding farms and clinics. He treated race horses, show horses and endurance horses and handled pregnant mares and treated foals at the Chilean army breeding farm in Rinihue, Chile and cared for the mounted police unit’s horses in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

“The horse plays a vital role in getting into difficult environments. Chile has to protect a mountainous border on two sides, and we didn’t have vehicles to get up there,” Ernst explained.

At the University of California, Davis, he was influenced by noted surgeon Dr. Tom Yarbrough who steered him to a two year surgery internship and residency at the Chino Valley Equine Hospital, a clinic where clientele often included horses from such legendary racetracks as Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Santa Anita.

At the University of Florida in Gainesville he received a master’s degree in 2001 and completed a residency in large animal surgery.

“As a surgeon you want to win the first time, and I truly like all aspects –orthopedics, soft tissue and colics especially, but I like everything where I can fix it,” he said. “I love to get up in the morning and get to work preferably on the clinic floor.”

“It would be hard to have horses of my own, not just because of time, but because of caring for everyone else’s horses,” added Ernst. “At the end of the day they are all min-- I devote all my time to the barn.”

He came to the University of Minnesota from Ohio State University where he taught equine surgery, emergency and critical care.

“The right people are here at UMEC, and it is state of the art with a treadmill, ultrasound, MRI and everything for performance-- here it is in one place,” he said. “It is all completely new with techniques and equipment. This is what I need as a surgeon for me to give the best service to my patients. And it is great to be part of a team that is evolving. We have so many staff board certified in medicine and surgery here, and the residents, techs and interns are great. I am amazed at the level of UMEC veterinary technicians, too. That’s the recipe for success, the best you can hope for.”

“In my view people make programs, and the new UMEC facility and the people involved attracted me a lot,” said Ernst.

As a young surgeon, Ernst said, he relies continues to learn and to rely on other faculty as models and examples. UMEC team member Troy Trumble was a strong influence on him during his residency in Florida.

“He’s one of the best, and what could be more of a pleasure more for me than to work with the best?” he said.

Dr. Nicolas Ernst is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Medicine Surgery