Meet The Equine Veterinary Staff





Dr. Sally Vivrette, Practice Owner

DVM, PhD, DACVIM

Dr. Vivrette is a graduate of the University of California at Davis College of Veterinary Medicine. She completed an internship at Cornell and a medicine residency at UC Davis, and went on to be Board Certified in Veterinary Internal Medicine.

After a few years in equine private practice, Dr. Vivrette returned to UC Davis and completed a PhD in Comparative Pathology concentrating on equine reproduction. She moved to North Carolina in 1995 and was head of the Veterinary College's Field Service program until 2000. She received the Norden Distinguished Teaching Award and the North Carolina Horse Council Distinguished Service Award in 2000. Dr. Vivrette started Triangle Equine in 2001 to provide horses and horse owners in central North Carolina with outstanding care of performance and pleasure horses. She strives to include the horse owner, horse trainer and farrier as parts of the team to improve horse health and athletic performance. Her experience with both English and Western competition horses allows her to understand the problems with, and therapies available for, performance horses. She brings a special touch to equine practice with expertise in internal medicine, reproduction and preventive medicine.  Dr. Vivrette is a FEI licensed veterinarian.  This allows her to help you with horse show competition and medications rules.

"I was raised in Northern California.  My family moved to Central California on my 13th birthday.  I was given one present – a brand new horse halter and lead rope. It was green.  I stopped complaining about having to leave my friends behind.  I got into the car – something wonderful was about to happen.  Within a couple of months we purchased my first horse – a quarter horse mare that I named “Rita”.  For several years my dad and I went to 4H gatherings, horse shows and gymkhanas.  I remember when I won my first ribbon.  It was 5th place in barrel racing.  My dad and I hugged each other and cried with joy.  Owning a horse and participating in 4H sparked my interest to become a veterinarian."

Dr. Vivrette is Board Certified in Veterinary Internal Medicine.  What does that mean for me and my horse?  Learn More


Dr. Elizabeth "Beth" Nielsen, DVM

Dr. Elizabeth “Beth” Nielsen began her lifelong love for horses as a young girl in rural middle Tennessee. Her equine education began riding and working at a small, family hunter jumper barn with big warmbloods and off the track Thoroughbreds. For her formal education, Dr. Nielsen completed an undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, then traveled out west and completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2019. After graduation, Dr. Nielsen returned home to a 1-year rotating internship at Tennessee Equine Hospital, followed by two years in private referral/ambulatory equine practice in South then North Carolina. Dr. Nielsen joined Triangle Equine family in the spring of 2023.

While Dr. Nielsen loves everything about equine medicine, her special interests include preventative care/client education, geriatric and neonatal medicine, reproduction, and emergencies. She will be starting her chiropractic certification in the summer of 2023.

When not at work caring for ponies, Dr. Nielsen enjoys adventuring with her bloodhound, Arthur, and golden mix, Franklin, baking for friends and family, fishing with her father off the coast of the Carolinas, and fixing up her 50-year-old farmhouse.


Lisa Kim, Office Manager

Lisa joined Triangle Equine in the summer of 2015, but has been a client and friend of Triangle Equine since 2001.  She graduated from the University of California at Davis with a BS in Zoology. After a successful career as a pharmaceutical chemist, she took a short hiatus to raise a family.  She is a life long equestrian competing in hunter/ jumpers, dressage, and a teeny tiny bit of eventing.  She lives in Apex with her husband, two daughters, a fluffy collie, and a fat cat. 

"I love helping clients with all of their needs.  I still can't believe I get to spend my day talking about horses."


Morgan McCallum, Veterinary Assistant

Morgan McCallum

Morgan joined the Triangle Equine team in September of 2020.  Prior to that, she was a working student at a busy dressage and eventing farm. She has also taught beginning riding lessons as a summer camp counselor. Morgan has never settled on a specific riding discipline, rather preferring to take lessons from trainers all over the map and enjoys riding just for fun.  She is a graduate of the UNC Chapel Hill class of 2019.  She proudly owns one very spoiled cat named Odette.


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Charlotte Meli, Veterinary Assistant

Charlotte Meli has been riding horses for over 20 years. She has a PhD in Animal Science and is a lecturer in Animal Science at NCSU. Lucky for us, she is able work with our doctors part time. Charlotte provides a wonderful blend of horsemanship skills and scientific knowledge for Triangle Equine. Her current mount is a beautiful Oldenberg mare named Secret that does she is currently training in dressage.


Pre-Veterinary and Veterinary Students

Our shadowing program is currently on hiatus. Please check back here for updates regarding any restart dates.

Triangle Equine offers opportunities for pre-vet and veterinary students to ride with the doctors and gain experience in equine practice. Students will see a large variety of cases and engage in discussions with the doctors about diseases and treatment options. 

Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Monday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Friday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Saturday:

Emergencies

By Appt

Sunday:

Emergencies

By Appt

  • "Thanks for the good care Dr. Vivrette has given our horse. She has gone above and beyond. Please let her know how much we appreciate her efforts."
    Donna M.
  • "The Best! I am always grateful for the help, the information, and the devotion to the best care for the equines and the rest of the animal family!"
    Jacquie M.
  • "It was such a pleasure to meet Sally--by the end of the afternoon I felt as though we had been friends forever. She is my kind of girl, super smart, funny, and passionate about her life's work. It was truly my pleasure."
    Kate I.