Dr. John Steiner passed away on Monday, May 26th at the Albany Medical Center. He had sustained severe head injuries in an accident the previous Tuesday, and his condition worsened despite the most aggressive medical care and the prayers, love and support of many in the equine and veterinary community.

Dr. Steiner was born April 11, 1944. He is survived by his wife, Geri Steiner, of Lexington, KY, two children Jeffrey Steiner of Vermont and Jennifer Steiner of Connecticut; a sister, two step-children, and three grandchildren.

Dr. John Steiner was originally from Putnam County, NY where he was raised on a small family farm with horses and cattle. He attended the NY State College of Agriculture at Cornell University and graduated from the NY State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell in 1968. From 1968 - 1970, Dr Steiner was an associate in a predominantly bovine and equine practice in Newton, NJ.  In 1970 he struck out on his own, founding an equine practice in Mahopac, NY serving lower Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester counties and Western Connecticut.  In 1989, he sold his practice to his associate, and started a new equine practice at a Thoroughbred farm in Lexington, KY. In 1992, Dr Steiner joined Hagyard, Davidson, and McGee in Lexington, the oldest and largest equine practice in the United States.  He began the Equine Fertility Unit at the practice and became director of the unit, where he specialized in both stallion and mare reproductive problems, equine embryo transfer, semen freezing and other assisted reproductive techniques.

Dr. Steiner authored numerous scientific papers and book chapters on a variety of equine reproductive topics and was a sought after speaker at national and international veterinary meetings. He was a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists, serving as its President in 2005-2006.

Dr. Steiner had recently moved back to New York to develop the next stage of his career while enjoying life at his family's farm in Red Hook, something he had longed to do for many years. Dr. Steiner was working as a Theriogenologist for Rhinebeck Equine in Rhinebeck, NY at the time of his death.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that anyone wishing to make a gift in honor of Dr. Steiner do so to the joint AAEP/SFT/ACT Memorial Fund that has been established through the AAEP Foundation. Funds will be used to establish a scholarship in his name. Donations can be sent in Dr. Steiner’s name to the AAEP Foundation at 4075 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 or online at www.aaep.org.