Samantha Eder, DCM, IVCA

Dr. Samantha Eder grew up in Mansfield, Ohio in the heart of “Buckeye” country. Though unable to grow up owning horses, she always found ways to get her horse fix. She started by volunteering at a therapeutic riding center, taking the occasional lessons when she could, hacking around on friend’s horses, and finally leasing a horse in high school. She spent a lot of time shadowing her local small animal vets but once she had an opportunity to tag along with an equine vet, she knew that was what she wanted to do with her life.

After graduating high school, she attended Mississippi State University (GO STATE!) with a major in animal and dairy science. While working toward her undergraduate degree, she started working on a research project testing new drugs to help treat summer pasture associated recurrent obstructive asthma horses (heaves). She then took on a second project working with duel cannulated ponies to assess how horses digest fats in the diet. Lastly, she worked in the small animal rehabilitation facility in the MSU CVM program. There she was able to appreciate the rehab and alternative medicines to help small animals regain use of their legs post injury. However, as her true passion was in equine medicine, she dedicated her summers to working with equine vets to gain more hours to finally achieve her goal of getting into vet school.

After graduating from Mississippi State, she was accepted to and attended Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. During her time there, she was an active member of American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) serving as its Secretary and organizing multiple wet lab events to further her (and her fellow students) education. She also participated in multiple externships across the country from Washington State to Colorado, and all the way to Georgia. Lastly, during her fourth year (clinical year), she was chosen to be a Large Animal Student Resident, a prestigious after hours ER (emergency room) position where she learned invaluable amounts about emergency medicine and surgery. Dr. Eder graduated in May 2019 with High Academic Honors.

Following veterinary school graduation, she wanted the most experience possible before going out into the equine vet world. Dr. Eder decided to accept an Internship with Park Equine Veterinary Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. There she completed a year-long rotating internship between hospital (both internal medicine and surgery) and ambulatory medicine. This internship provided her with tremendous exposure and experience in internal medicine, surgery, theriogenology, imaging and anesthesia. During her internship, she developed a strong interest in internal medicine and still continues to love the tough cases today.

Once Dr. Eder completed her internship, she took a position at Countryside Veterinary Services in Covington, GA, aka the “Hollywood of the South.” She worked on a variety of horses – Olympic level horses, local show horses, pasture ornaments, as well as the beloved geriatrics and donkeys. This is where her true passion for preventative medicine, internal medicine, and dentistry flourished. Dr. Eder attended Options for Animals in October 2023 and became Certified to perform chiropractic treatments for horses. She looks forward to contributing to TEVA's Chiro/VMM service. 

Dr. Eder is excited to join team TEVA and is focused on building long-lasting individual relationships with owners/trainers as well as getting to know all of the unique personalities that each horse brings. She is looking forward to being in Northern Virginia and getting to know all the people and places around. In her spare time, she enjoys hacking on her pony Cedric, traveling to new places, reading a good book, hiking scenic trails, and spending time with her two cats, Cecil and Bingley.