Sarah Peters, VMD, CVSMT, CERP – Owner and Veterinarian

Dr. Sarah Peters attended Cornell University for a bachelor’s in bioengineering and continued to the University of Pennsylvania for veterinary school where she focused on equine sports medicine and surgery. Dr. Peters then moved to Lexington, Kentucky, to complete an internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and further refine her knowledge and skills while working at one of the world’s best equine hospitals. She then had an amazing opportunity to combine her bioengineering and veterinary backgrounds, completing a veterinary orthopedic research fellowship in Switzerland for the AO Foundation.

The AO is an international organization dedicated to education and advancement for musculoskeletal diseases. Completing courses provided by the AO is part of surgical residency training programs for physicians, as well as for veterinary surgeons. She then returned to New Bolton Center, the large animal hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, to work, learn and teach, completing their rigorous academic internship. Throughout her time there, she continued to refine her lameness, sports medicine, and surgical capabilities while working alongside some of the world’s best equine veterinarians.

Dr. Peters is certified in veterinary spinal manipulative therapy (also known as “animal chiropractics”) and after completing coursework from the University of Tennessee and the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State University, is a certified equine rehabilitation practitioner. These advanced training programs allow her to incorporate a variety of non-invasive therapeutic techniques to improve her patients’ quality of movement as well as offer non-traditional pain management methods. Now in private practice, Dr. Peters consistently attends a variety of continuing education events each year to support her dedication to lifelong learning and continues to bring most advanced knowledge and techniques to better serve her patients.

When not seeing cases or at conferences, Dr. Peters enjoys spending time with her family, training her cute dog, and slowly becoming a chicken lady, including building perches and upgrading the coop for her many chickens.

KATIE Weber, DVM, CVSMT, CERP — VETERINARIAN

Originally from southeastern Wisconsin, Dr. Katie Weber obtained a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University, where she was a member of the University Honors Program and graduated cum laude. She then attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. During veterinary school she traveled across the country for externships at several of the top equine veterinary practices in the country, gaining invaluable experience and exposure to different methods of practicing veterinary medicine.

Dr. Weber then completed an internship at Rhinebeck Equine, a highly regarded referral hospital and ambulatory practice in upstate New York. During the year she worked closely with specialists boarded in surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, and reproduction and refined her skills providing gold-standard care and working with horses from many different breeds and disciplines. Following her internship she worked as an associate veterinarian at an ambulatory practice outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania seeing both emergency and routine cases. She returned to Wisconsin in 2020, and is thrilled to have found her home with Forward Equine, where her love of the Packers requires no justification!

Dr. Weber is also certified in veterinary spinal manipulative therapy as well as being a certified equine rehabilitation practitioner through the University of Tennessee and enjoys incorporating those modalities and approaches in her daily clinical work. She is excited to be part of your horse’s team and work in a setting that allows her passion for individualized care for your horse to flourish. Beyond the world of equine medicine, she enjoys spending time with her two cats, camping, working on home renovation projects and, of course, watching football.

SHANNON PALMER — VETERINARY ASSISTANT

Shannon recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. While completing her undergraduate degree, she worked both in the Large Animal Hospital at UW and as the student equine barn manager for the animal science department. She additionally spent the summer of 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky completing an internship with the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center. Shannon is currently working towards her veterinary technician license through Purdue University and plans to continue to become specialized in equine nursing and rehabilitation.

Shannon enjoys spending her free time with her fiancée volunteering and engaging in community service and leadership activities. She is actively involved with the Lafayette County 4-H shooting sports project as a state-certified archery instructor and in Shawano County 4-H as a horse project leader. When not working with Forward Equine or her 4-H kids, Shannon enjoys skiing during the winter months and loving on her Quarter Horse, Gidget, and riding at an eventing barn year round.

KENZIE TABBERT - VETERINARY ASSISTANT

MacKenzie, or “Kenzie” as she’s known to her friends, is a Wisconsin native and naturally born horse-lover. After spending several years working on a ranch with troubled teens in Texas, Kenzie returned home to Wisconsin. After spending some time working at Rawhide, continuing her dedication to the help and healing that horses can provide to people, she realized she truly loved being able to give back to the animals and chose to pursue a career focused in veterinary medicine. Forward Equine was lucky enough to add her to the team in the spring of 2021. When she’s not helping take care of horses here with us, she is enjoying all that life has to offer! Her time away from work is spent with her husband filled with travel, friends and family, and playing with Louie and Maize, her two adorable dogs.

SIERRA SCHMIDT - PRACTICE MANAGER

Sierra has been passionate about working with horses since a young age. She began her formal equine career path by attending William Woods University, where she obtained her bachelors in Equestrian Science. She spent time in the equestrian world in California and New Zealand before returning to her Wisconsin home and joining the Forward Equine team as a veterinary assistant with Dr. Peters. During that time, she developed a strong interest in business management. To further her abilities in that field, she went on to obtain her Masters in Business Management at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. After gaining experience with a variety of other industries, she returned to Wisconsin and is bringing her wealth of knowledge to the Forward Equine team as our practice manager. When Sierra isn’t working behind the scenes to keep the practice running, she can be found camping, kayaking, or finding inspiration at the local craft fairs.

ELLEN PICHLER- CLIENT SERVICE REPRENSENTATIVE

Born and raised in Central WI, Ellen made her way to the Valley after graduating from UW-Green Bay with a bachelor's degree in Public Administration with an Emphasis in Non-Profit. Ellen comes from a background of animal welfare having worked at a handful of shelters where her roles ranged from dog walker, animal care, intake, adoptions, medical treatment, behavior modification, customer service, team management, administrative, puppy foster parent, and ending as Shelter Coordinator. Having been focused on primarily cats and dogs for just shy of two decades, Ellen has joined the Forward Equine team to branch out into the world of horses!

Now residing in the Fox Valley, Ellen can often be found attending concerts and festivals with friends or spending time with her pack of canines: Orca, Brink, and Darla.