Dr. Matt Witzel
Matt grew up with a passion for horses and knew from a young age that he would be spending the rest of his life with them. In high school he became interested in understanding how horses think and view the world around them. Between his pre-vet classes at Walla Walla University, Matt started colts and trained horses for dude strings, learning how to safely handle unbroke horses and developing his love and respect for mustangs. He graduated from Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine (Go Cougs!) in 2012 with his doctorate and immediately moved down to Scottsdale, AZ for a 12 month equine internship. Moving out into private practice, Dr. Witzel worked in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, and California during which he further developed his skills and interests in emergency medicine, reproduction, lameness, and dentistry. Dr. Witzel finally moved his family to beautiful Missoula in 2018 when Dr. Brown was nearing retirement and searching for a capable replacement. When he isn’t spending time with horses, Matt enjoys hiking with his family, shooting, biking, and vehicle restoration.
Dr. Tori Stierns
Horses have been a part of Tori’s life from a young age. She began riding and caring for her first horse when she was 12. Growing up in Northern Minnesota, she was active in 4-H and local horse shows. The motto was always “enjoy the ride” no matter what happened in competition. While in veterinary school, Tori spent two weeks riding along at Western Montana Equine and fell in love with the practice area. Dr. Stierns graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020 and practiced equine medicine for a year in New Jersey. When given the opportunity to escape to the mountains and work with Western Montana Equine again, it was impossible to say no. In her spare time Dr. Stierns will be hiking, camping, and exploring the beautiful landscape of Western Montana.
Dr. Bill Brown – Retired
Bill started Western Montana Equine after completing veterinary school in 1992. He grew the practice over the years and built a reputation as a leading reproduction, dentistry, and lameness veterinarian. In 2018, he began to enjoy retirement when he handed the reins to Dr. Witzel. Dr. Brown now spends most of his time sailing, skiing, and riding endurance races.
Caillan Bower
Caillan has always been involved with horses in one way or another her entire life. She grew up riding in schooling shows in Pony Club and 4-H, competing in Endurance rides, and moved on to work as a wrangler for multiple guest ranches and outfitters, most recently working with BLM at a wild horse sanctuary adopting out mustangs. Caillan also worked for a veterinarian in 2020 on a cattle ranch in Wyoming but is happy to be back in Montana. She has a degree in Animal Science specializing in Animal Behavior from UC Davis and is pleased to be applying her degree towards a career as a Veterinary Assistant with Western Montana Equine. Caillan still enjoys competing in Endurance whenever she gets a chance, training horses on the side, and backpacking (she might like hiking a little too much since she hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada—2,650 miles on foot). Maybe next time she will take a horse…