Today we’d like to introduce you to Gustavo De Cillo.
Hi Gustavo, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a Brazilian immigrant. Have been in the US since 2005. I am an equine veterinarian (vet for horses). I grew up on a farm. My family raised Quarter Horses and I rode from a very early age.. As a young guy I loved breaking colts. When it was time to go to college and decide on a profession, being an equine veterinarian was the only option for me. I graduated in 1998 from Universidade de Marília in Brazil. Then I completed a 2 year Residency Program in Equine surgery at University of São Paulo ( UNESP) also in Brazil. In 2001, I visited Texas for the first time as an intern at a private practice in Navasota. The program lasted 2 years and I had amazing hands on experience with very knowledgeable professionals in equine medicine. In 2003 I moved back to Brasil and started my mobile Equine Sports Medicine practice, operating in the state of São Paulo. My first child, a son ,Gianluca was born in Brazil in 2004. My daughter Isabella was born in Houston after I made the move to Texas. I re married 6 years ago my beautiful wife Beatriz, who is also from Brazil. We welcomed our daughter on September 1st 2025. Virginia is her name. In 2009 I started working for some wonderful people. Currie Equine Clinic in Hempstead was owned by Dr Andy Currie and his wife Sandy. Doc Currie was just a wonderful man, savvy equine vet and a hell of a horseman. So I could not have been happier to work for them. In 2015 Doc Currie retired and I bought his practice. Now, our business is called De Cillo Equine and we are located in a picturesque area on the outskirts of Hempstead,Texas. Our clinic turns 10 years old in 2026 and we could not be more satisfied. We have a wonderful staff and we care for all types of of horses in the Houston area, from the million dollar Grand Prix stallion to the kids backyard horse. We do anything horse related here, from vaccinations, sports medicine, reproduction, and surgery. My biggest interests are in equine sports medicine and surgery. We try to go back to Brazil at least once or twice a year. Family is really important to me and having a newly born daughter just make things even better!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I was blessed to come to Texas. I felt people in general were very welcoming. I had some obstacles for sure. Leaving a promising business in Brazil and moving to US, where I still didn’t have a license to work as a veterinarian was a big challenge. So, financially, there was quite a bit of burden until I finally acquired the license. I also had to work in areas where I never thought I would need to in order to assist me in preparing for the boards. Finally, 3 years after I started the process I received my DVM license in the U.S. Things started happening then!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an equine veterinarian, the thing that keeps me busiest is identifying the location and reasons why a horse is lame. That requires a thorough exam, radiographs, ultrasound. Once we identify the area where the horse is lame then we develop a treatment plan to improve the clinical signs and hopefully increasing the horse’ s performance, allowing it to have better chances to succeed as an athlete. Also, as a surgeon, I enjoy different surgical approaches, specially the ones that end up saving a horses life, like in emergency abdominal exploratory surgery ( colic surgery). These are circumstances that if not acted t upon quickly a horse can die a painful death, and surgically, we have the chance to save his life. As you can imagine, not an easy procedure considering the sizeof a horse.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
In our profession, one needs to be well prepared. I study, research and practice a lot. I have had great mentors. I believe people are our greatest asset. I count on my team to treat my patients and my clients fairly. The level of commitment that we have also plays a role in- how we approach every case and how engaged we are with the clients trying to search out the best outcome for their horses.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.decilloequine.com
