Dr. Hilary Clayton —equestrian, veterinarian, author, researcher, and clinician — is known internationally for her ongoing contribution to the understanding of equine biomechanics particularly relating to performance and conditioning. Dr. Clayton’s targeted studies in bitting, saddle fit biometrics, kinematics and kinetics, and locomotion have provided valuable insight into the potential relationships between and impacts of gravity, force, rider and horse, and have informed the entire field of horse sport as to what optimal equine performance is.
Dr. Clayton has served as The Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine since July, 1997. She grew up in England, graduated as a veterinarian from Glasgow University and has worked in veterinary colleges in the UK, The Netherlands, Canada and the US. Dr. Clayton is an MSU faculty member in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and holds academic appointments in the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and the Department of Materials Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering. She is a past president of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine and a member of the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame.
Her current post as Dressage Chair at MSU is unique in the world. The Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center is a state-of-the art equine sports and lameness facility where Dr. Clayton conducts her research and teaches classes. Since the center opened in the year 2000, incredible progress has been made culminating in world-renowned research to benefit performance and soundness of equine athletes. While the purpose of the performance center is specifically to research all aspects of the relationship between veterinary medicine and dressage performance, with special emphasis on the prevention and treatment of lameness, certainly the work they are doing, benefits all horses and humans seeking success in elite sport.
A lifelong rider, Dr. Clayton competed extensively in eventing, show jumping. and dressage. Active in the sport of dressage, Dr. Clayton is a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist, and is a certified equestrian coach in the UK and Canada. She has been a member of the Canadian National Coaching Committees for the sports of dressage, jumping, and eventing, and is currently a member of the USDF Planning Committee.
By the way, Hilary competes at 4th and PSG level Dressage on MSU-bred Arabian horse MSU MAGIC J+//, and training levels with MSU FANFARE+/, both of whom have never been shod! Her farrier is Kappi Roghan, who applies what they term a "physiological trim" which Hilary has been analyzing in her laboratory with hoof anatomy expert and colleague Robert Bowker DVM.
General Publications
Annual Reports
McPhail’s annual research reports give an overview of the activities in the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center during the past year, introduce the faculty, staff and students, and describe the results of recent research studies conducted at Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center.
Visit McPhail’s website to download their informative Annual Reports
http://cvm.msu.edu/research/research-centers/mcphail-equine-performance-center/copy_of_publications
Magazine ArticlesDr. Clayton has written numerous articles for equestrian magazines in which she shares her insights into the sport of dressage that she has gained through her many experiences, both as a rider and researcher.
Dressage Today
USDF Connection
Books
The Dynamic Horse, Hilary M. Clayton (2004)
Conditioning Sport Horses,
Hilary M. Clayton (1991)
Activate Your Horse's Core, Drs Narelle C. Stubbs and Hilary M. Clayton
Published by: Sport Horse Publications
http://www.sporthorsepublications.com/
From Sporthorse website: Dr. Hilary M. Clayton is a horsewoman, veterinarian and researcher. She grew up in England, graduated as a veterinarian from Glasgow University and has worked in veterinary colleges in the UK, The Netherlands, Canada and the US. She has done extensive research on locomotor mechanics, exercise physiology and conditioning programs for equine athletes. Dr. Clayton is the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a past president of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine and a member of the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame.
Equine Locomotion
, Willem Back and Hilary M. Clayton (2000)
Published by: W.B. Saunders, London
Clinical Anatomy of the Horse, Hilary M. Clayton, P.F. Flood, and D.S. Rosenstein (2005)
Color Atlas of Large Animal Applied Clinical Anatomy, Hilary M. Clayton and P. F. Flood (1995)
Published by: Mosby Year Book Europe, London
Visit this link for a complete list of publications by Dr. Hilary Clayton
http://cvm.msu.edu/research/research-centers/mcphail-equine-performance-center