Hope this isn't too late...
I'm a first year at the U of MN, so I can give you that view of things. I'm not into equine, so I don't know a ton about the program, but I do that the new Equine Center is expected to be completed at the end of this summer. It sounds like it will be pretty spectacular... I'm sure they hyped it up to you during the interview process. We do have some great equine research happening here as well (especially Dr. Valberg's genetics research). You have the opportunity to take Large Animal Neonatology first semester, and to get credit for the class you are on Foal Duty during second semester. I've been called in twice, and it is quite a fun experience! You're pretty much a babysitter for foals, calves, crias, kids, lambs, or whatever happened to come in. Very fun, and it's great practice at the large animal physical exam, taking temp/pulse/respiration, using IV catheters, etc. We have a really active equine club that does a lot of wetlabs and brings in some interesting speakers.
The facilities here aren't fantastic (minus the new Equine Center), but they do work. The hospital is quite nice and has one of the largest case loads that you'll find. One of MN's advantages is starting clinical skills courses early. First semester we learned how to do the large animal physical exam, and this semester we're learning the small animal PE. We also start surgeries relatively early (spring semester of second year). MN is an urban campus, which is nice in the (relatively little) free time we have, but rural and wilderness areas are really close too.
Feel free to ask any questions I didn't answer, and good luck choosing if you haven't already done so!