EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION / AE / NOVEMBER 2015N / AE / SEPTEMBER 2017
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From the President’s Desk: Aligning our equine welfare priorities By R. Reynolds Cowles, Jr., DVM
It’s been a busy summer for AAEP. In between convention preparations, AVMA/AAEP economic survey results com- pilation and our summer board meeting, we hosted more than 460 of our colleagues at one or more CE meetings: 360° Hind Suspensory and Stifle, Focus on Colic, Focus on Dentistry and the triennial Equine Colic Research Symposium.
Dr. Reynolds Cowles Offering compelling CE to
members is a hallmark of our association but just one of our priorities. Our strategic plan also calls for us to enhance membership value. I believe each of us largely feels that AAEP is a great value in itself, but one way we’re enhancing that value is through the rollout of our new alliance with Vetcove. More than 300 practices have already signed up for the AAEP Inner Circle on Vetcove and are realizing efficiency and cost savings in their practice inventory as well as excellent value in the comparative drug buying system provided.
The other economic value that AAEP provides is the Veterinary Club, a group purchasing consortium that is saving members considerable money on goods and services. At the July Focus meetings, more than 40 attendees signed up for the Veterinary Club on-site after seeing the potential savings for their practice. Take a look at these cost-saving benefits and see if they are a good fit for your practice by clicking the “My Member Profile/ Benefits” button on the AAEP homepage.
A number of national and industry concerns have come before your association this summer, with equine welfare front and center. As you know, AAEP has had a leadership role for many years in the attempt to eliminate soring of the Tennessee Walking Horse in the so-called “Big Lick” competitions. That effort began 47 years ago with passage of the Horse Protection Act and has been fortified in recent years by the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act. Unfortunately, that legislation has not moved, and attempts to move forward by regulation have been halted by administrative process. Many members are involved in this effort and hopefully a reasoned approach will prevail.
The care and management of carriage horses working in urban environments has garnered headlines and is a topic that’s been discussed by your Welfare and Public Policy Advisory Council. The increasing concern for the horses that roam public and tribal lands in the West also has hit the news. As a result, the AAEP will conduct an equine
welfare planning session with its Welfare and Public Policy Advisory Council early next year to ensure our priorities are aligned on the many issues we face so that we may devote the proper manpower and resources to help the horse.
If you have followed the Horse Racing Integrity Act discussions this spring, you know that AAEP has been working with all parties involved to attempt to assure the best interest of the racehorse is represented. The new version of the bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives contains a provision to eliminate the use of furosemide on race day for the management of exercise- induced pulmonary hemorrhage. That measure directly conflicts with AAEP’s longstanding policy on the use of furosemide.
As you will remember, AAEP Foundation has dedicated considerable funding towards research on EIPH and the development of alternative approaches so that the horse that suffers significant hemorrhage can be treated. As a result, the Racing Committee recommended that the board move our position on this bill from one of “monitor” to one of “oppose.” We continue to work with all parties to seek a solution to the many issues involved in this bill and to move forward in the best management of the racehorse.
As summer turns to fall, we hope you are making plans to join us in San Antonio in November to take advantage of the exceptional program our convention program chair Dr. Margo Macpherson and the Educational Programs Committee has in store for us. Come learn, visit, party and attend the greatest equine veterinary convention on the planet. See you there.
The adverse effects of soring practices can lead to severe lameness.
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