Where the Horses Come First: IVO's Warm Springs Program
There is something in the air at Warm Springs that veterinarian Dr. Kate Schoenhals can't quite put into words, but she feels it every time she arrives. "An unexplainable power," she calls it. It pulls her back, year after year, to one of the most meaningful programs in International Veterinary Outreach's work.
The Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon is home to a complex and deeply rooted relationship between people and horses. The horses that come through IVO's clinic aren't easily categorized. Tribal members take responsibility for the horses that roam their family's land, part of a multigenerational approach to animal stewardship, and they haul them in and take them home. They’re claimed and cared for. But the language of "owned" or "wild" doesn't quite fit. At Warm Springs, they’re simply range horses, and the people who bring them in are people who care.
That care is exactly what IVO's program is built to support. Each clinic visit offers vaccinations, dental care, parasite management, castration, and general wellness services — practical, humane care delivered at the request of the tribe, on their terms and timeline. The goal is not to solve a sweeping population challenge. It’s to show up consistently and provide the best possible care for the horses that come through the gate.
Dr. Schoenhals’ connection to Warm Springs goes back to 2011, when she first visited as a veterinary student. She returned 10 years later to restart IVO’s program after a COVID hiatus. She introduced dentistry and wellness clinics for the first time in 2024, and made a personal commitment to the tribe that she would continue showing up.
In 2025, IVO committed to funding the program, ensuring it has a sustainable home. “The long game at Warm Springs is consistency,” says IVO Founder and CEO Eric Eisenman.
Dr. Schoenhals’ message to her tribal contacts has been simple and unwavering. “I’ll do my best to honor this. The horses are why I'm here.”
For veterinary students who join her, the experience is unlike anything a teaching hospital can offer. They work with a unique population of horses — resilient, self-sufficient, shaped by life on the range — in a setting that demands both skill and humility.
"I'm humbled and motivated by it every time," says Dr. Schoenhals. "I value being valued by this community. It drives me to be a better doctor."
In Warm Springs, there will always be horses in need. And IVO will keep showing up.
Learn more about IVO’s programs.
IVO's teams regularly travel to the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, offering student seminars, castration clinics, and community wellness services.
