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EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION


Equine vet. Educ. (2022) 34 (2) 60-64 doi: 10.1111/eve.13609


Editorial


Peter D Rossdale, OBE, MA, PhD, Dr. (h.c.) Berne, Dr. (h.c.) Edinburgh, DVSc (h.c.) Sydney, DESM, FACVSc, FRCVS. 1927-2021


Progress depends, therefore, on an aggregate, contributed by a high proportion of those involved, with an emphasis on collaborative efforts where possible (Rossdale, 2000)


Authors without readers may be likened to a whale on a beach: devoid of the strength and purpose of their being.


(Rossdale & Mayall, 2007)


Peter Rossdale was first and foremost a clinician. He attained an honours degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1949, then graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, became a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1952 and, after 2 years in Sussex, he took up a position as an equine practitioner in Newmarket where he remained for the remainder of his clinical career, retiring in 2004. He was awarded his Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1960 for work performed in practice describing the clinical features of the newborn foal, data which he published, unusually for a practitioner in those days, in a pair of papers in the British Veterinary Journal (Rossdale, 1967a, 1967b). This marked the start of a career as an author of clinical research which ultimately led to the publication of around 150 research papers based primarily on clinical data generated from his caseload and a further 100 or so editorial and educational articles relating to both clinical practice and academic publishing. Completing his portfolio of academic degrees, Peter gained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge for his published work in the field of equine perinatology and reproductive biology in 1985. He also wrote and edited numerous veterinary textbooks, including Equine Stud Medicine, written with his partner, Sidney Ricketts; a textbook read by every undergraduate of the 1980s who aspired to a career with horses. However, Peter Rossdale’s massive and lasting impact on


the equine veterinary profession of today lies in his vision, his commitment to the education of others and his drive towards improving standards in clinical practice. Yet, vision alone is not enough: implementation can be the bigger challenge and Peter had a unique ability to form collaborative groups and motivate them to work to improve equine clinical practice and turn his vision into reality. Peter was generous with his knowledge and he happily shared information and expertise with anyone and everyone willing to learn. This earned him the respect of both the veterinary profession and academia, recognised with additional honorary degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Berne and Sydney, honorary membership of British Equine Veterinary Association in 1978 and Honorary Fellowship of the Australian College of


This editorial is being published simultaneously in Equine Veterinary Journal. Please see EVJ https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13543.


© 2021 EVJ Ltd


Veterinary Scientists in 1975 and with numerous prizes and honours including the John Henry Steel Memorial Prize, the William Hunting Prize and the George Fleming Prize, the Tierklinik Hochmoor International Prize, the Dalrymple Champneys Prize and Cup, the Duke of Devonshire Award for contributions to the British Breeding Industry and the BEVA Equine Welfare Award. He was inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Equine Research Hall of Fame and received the Order of the British Empire for services to equine veterinary science. Peter lectured extensively and this included many inaugural lectures in the UK and abroad, including the Peter Wilson Bequest Lectureship in Edinburgh and in 1978, the D.L.T. Smith inaugural lectures in Saskatoon and the Frederick Hobday Lecture in the UK in 1985 (Rossdale, 1985) and cumulating with a comprehensive review of equine perinatal illness in his 2004 American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Milne Lecture, The Maladjusted Foal: Influences of Intrauterine Growth Retardation and Birth Trauma (Rossdale, 2004). Peter was amongst a small group of equine practitioners


who, in the late 1950s, developed what ultimately became BEVA in 1961. He held the positions of Treasurer (1961–1962), Chairman of Programmes Committee (1973–1975) and President (1976). Arguably his most pivotal role for BEVA was as Editor of Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ), a position he held from 1979 to 2010 and thereafter as EVJ’s Emeritus Editor. Peter was fascinated by the philosophy of science and


indeed read extensively on scientific method, psychology and the process of decision making (Rossdale, 2009a). He believed ‘the duty of clinicians to publish is one which, in many respects, is as strong as that of the duty of care of the individual patient’(Rossdale, 2000). Core beliefs which Peter wrote on frequently was that research should seek to address clinically relevant questions and that cases seen in practice were a fruitful source of both pertinent questions and valuable data. He wrote a fascinating summary of these principles in an EVJ article published in 1975 in which he explained the fusion of clinician and researcher which characterised his entire career. In this article, he wrote ‘In any appraisal of the subject of research we must ask ourselves the question why is it interesting to find out. The clinician in equine practice is faced with a scarcity of clinical data on which to make a diagnosis. Clinical research can elevate the art of the clinician and contribute to the aggregate of knowledge within the profession’. In the same article, he went on to summarise the benefits of engaging in research which practitioners could access under the headings (1) more accurate diagnosis, (2) more satisfaction from work, (3) the currency of interests, summarising his appreciation of the benefits of working with others and (4) opportunity of travelling where he addressed his pleasure in being able to attend international meetings, share ideas with clinicians and researchers of like mind and gain transferrable knowledge of clinical approaches adopted elsewhere (Rossdale, 1975). We


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