The annual meeting of the British Equine Veterinary Association provided a wealth of information on topics ranging from tendons and ligaments to muscle diseases, from disorders of the back to conformation. Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, president of BEVA and a member of the Centre for Equine Studies at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England, noted that, “The specialist and workshop sessions provide an excellent forum for broad discussion with participation from the audience as well as the speakers. This provides a wonderful opportunity for dissemination of knowledge and opinion. In both these and the main sessions there should be attractions for both basic practitioners and the more scientifically minded.”

BEVA was founded in 1961 with primary roles as “the prevention and treatment of injury and disease of the horse, its general well-being, and the advancement of equine veterinary science.”

There are many diseases and health problems that are familiar to horse owners and practitioners working on horses throughout the world. There also are debates on subjects such as therapeutic options and equine dental technicians.

It has been proposed in the United Kingdom that non-qualified people who wish to perform dental manipulations such as removal of wolf teeth, temporary cheek teeth, and in certain cases permanent cheek teeth, undergo a period of training following a syllabus produced by the British Equine Veterinary Association and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Such people then would be subjected to a rigorous examination. If their level of expertise was satisfactory, they would be certified as equine dental technicians by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons