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December 2025 | SIDELINESMAGAZINE
DR. MADI
BERGER REED
HAPPY LIFE HEALING HORSES
By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
arly in her riding journey, Dr. Madi
Berger Reed was encouraged to create a
personal mantra. “Head up, heart open”
has been Madi’s from the start.
“Head up means go into every situation as
prepared as possible. Learn your horse’s routine,
their likes and dislikes. Learn the rules of the
competitions you are entering. Practice the
hard things at home so they are second nature
at the show,” Madi said. “Heart open means
go through life with empathy for those around
you: trainers, grooms, fellow competitors, show
officials and, most importantly, the horses.”
HUNTER-JUMPER
Madi not only applies this mantra in her
personal riding pursuits, but she also uses it
daily while working at her practice, Berger
Equine Veterinary. She’s “head up” as she
tries to approach each case as intelligently as
possible. “I work hard to seek out multiple
options and modalities to meet the needs of the
horses and suit the capabilities of my clients. I
also tell my clients if I don’t have an answer for
them, I’ll get them one,” she said. “I genuinely
try to get that answer to my clients after having
sought the counsel of colleagues, surgeons or
scholarly articles.”
As a lifelong horse enthusiast and horse owner
herself, Madi strives to practice with a “heart
open” empathy for the horses she treats and their
people. “I try to be present for my clients and truly
understand the heartbreak that can come from
an injury that significantly pushes back riding
goals or the gloomy day when clients have to say
goodbye to their four-legged best friend,” Madi
said. “If I’ve done right by the horse, while guiding
the client with grace through what may be a very
challenging situation, I know I’ve done my job.”
Horse Girl Dreams
Madi was born with the horse bug and a
love for all creatures great and small. Preferring
playing with Breyer horses over Barbies, Madi
had a variety of breeds in her Breyer stable.
“I’m told as a small child I would often force the
mailman or anyone else that came by the house
to let me teach them which one was a Clydesdale
and which was an Appaloosa,” she said.
Madi’s family encouraged her love of animals
by surrounding her with horse books, both
educational and fiction. They supported her
preference for watching Animal Planet over
cartoons. “I soaked up information like a sponge,
and while you can still count on me to have
a random animal fact about a ton of species,
horses have always been the focus,” Madi said.
Dr. Madi Berger Reed with her husband, Austin
Reed, and her horses, left to right, Javador T,
Oliver and Gladstone, in Ocala, Florida.