The Center for Equine Health at the University of California, Davis, has received a $3 million pledge from the William and Inez Mabie Family Foundation to support the center’s ongoing research and teaching efforts in equine medical science.

The gift establishes one endowment to help support the center’s operations and offers a challenge to other prospective donors to provide an additional $1.8 million in private matching gifts within six years to establish an endowment for the center director’s position. That second endowment will enable the center to recruit exemplary future leaders.

“We are grateful to the Mabie Foundation for this generous gift, and for inspiring the equine industry to continue its long-standing partnership in support of the center, ” said Bennie Osburn, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. “The William and Inez Mabie Family Foundation Endowment for the Center for Equine Health will make a critical difference in sustaining the center as a worldwide leader in improving the health of horses," he said.

“The Mabie Endowment is an invaluable gift to the School of Veterinary Medicine,” said Gregory Ferraro, who has served as the center’s director since 1998. A racehorse surgeon and UC Davis alumnus, Ferraro pioneered the adaptation of human arthroscopic surgical techniques in horses.

“This endowment will allow the center and our equine faculty to continue working to improve the health, performance and welfare of horses in perpetuity,” Ferraro said.

“The gift, combined with the fulfillment of the proposed directorship endowment, will permanently position UC Davis as an international leader in equine medical research and education,” he added. “We deeply appreciate the foundation’s vision and leadership on behalf of horses.”

The Center for Equine Health was established in 1973 to carry out research, teaching and public education on horse health, reproduction, performance and disease. It serves as the organizational umbrella under which equine research is funded and conducted at UC Davis and at California State University campuses that have equine programs. More information about the center is available online at http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CEH/.

The William and Inez Mabie Family Foundation is a longtime supporter of UC Davis, having provided significant gifts in recent years to the School of Law and School of Veterinary Medicine. The Mabie Law Library at UC Davis is named in recognition of the foundation’s support for the law school.

The foundation is dedicated to providing philanthropic support to worthy causes, principally in the areas of education and medicine. It was established by William and Inez Mabie during their lifetimes to facilitate their charitable giving. The Mabies were engaged in substantial ranching, farming and real estate ventures, principally in the Northern California counties of Santa Clara and San Benito. Upon their deaths in 1995, the foundation received the bulk of its assets from the estate of Inez Mabie.

Individuals or organizations interested in participating in the Mabie Foundation’s challenge by contributing to the Center for Equine Health Directorship Endowment campaign should contact Gregory Ferraro at