Week 10 and counting…..

It’s been a far quieter from a BEVA perspective this week - thank goodness!  I did make a “cameo” appearance at TCEH – I thought I’d say it before my colleagues did.

However, it has given me time to catch up and also time to reflect on last week’s activities.  There were so many issues raised during the FEEVA PPE meeting, which I mentioned last week.  There are so many similarities and yet so many differences between the whole process of PPE across Europe.  For example, the majority of European countries do not see the horse ridden during the examination.  The period of strenuous exercise is performed on the lunge or loose schooled.  In many European countries, it is the buyer who engages the vet to perform the PPE, which inevitably results in the seller paying for the examination.  On that note, in Denmark, if the horse “passes” the buyer pays and if the horse “fails” the seller pays.  Which brings into question the issue of “conflict of interests” in such circumstances.

On Wednesday night I gave a joint presentation with Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) entitled “Large Animal Rescue” for the Wyvern Veterinary Society, probably one of only a handful of the BVA Divisions, which is still active.  The evening was divided into a formal lecture, outlining the vet’s role at rescues followed by a practical demonstration by HWFRS under the floodlights on the 1^st team pitch at Bromyard RFC.

Lamenting the Demise of (some of) the BVA Divisions - when I first started in practice my local division was the Lancashire (and Cheshire) Veterinary Society, which at the time was the epitome of a Divisional Veterinary Society.  Sadly it is now in the process of being disbanded.  It was the perfect opportunity for a new graduate to the area to meet and socialise with local colleagues and encourage good inter-practice relationships – working with J B Johnson, the consummate politician, I was never going to be destined to a life of all work and no play.  Not to mention the CPD element of the meetings.  Following that I joined the Cotswold Veterinary Society (CVS) and acted as Treasurer from 1996 till it’s disbanding in the mid 2000’s.  At CVS we discontinued the programme as attendance waned to embarrassingly low numbers, where on occasion there were more organisers, speakers and sponsors than there were delegates.  With far more CPD available, including Webinars, which can be viewed in the comfort of your own home.  However, I think it’s missing out on interactions with colleagues in other disciplines and fragmentation of the profession.  Which leads onto the bigger picture and something closely related, which was a question raised, by the BVA as part of their Strategic Plan & Governance Review, at last week’s VPG meeting (see Blog 9), which was, “What should the BVA do?”  After all they are the over-arching, non-species specific body representing the whole profession.  Ask yourself, “What do they do for you?” and “What should they do for you?”  Have your say and feedback to the BVA directly or via the BEVA office.

I attended the BVA Gala Dinner at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel on Thursday night, which was the most stunning location.  Fiona in the BEVA office had organised very reasonable accommodation for me in the shadow of Stanford Bridge.  I haven’t broken the news yet to my brother-in-law, a die-hard Chelsea fan.

I attended the London Vet Show (LVS) at Olympia on Friday where I met up with a couple of classmates from uni, Johnny Carr and Miles Williams, who I’ve barely seen since graduation.  Another classmate, in fact housemate, John Cook, who I’ve seen only once since graduation, delivered a lecture at LVS on the Thursday.  Meeting up with these former colleagues coupled with the sheer size of the commercial exhibition made me realise that as a horse-vet I’m only a small part of a far bigger industry – which is a good thing and long may we remain united.

Finally, it has been brought to my attention this week that the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA’s) detection time for omeprazole of 72 hours is based upon the drug being used at the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance dose of 1mg/kg (¼ of a syringe) for 28 days.  However, in reality many trainers use a maintenance dose of 2mg/kg (½ syringe) once daily.  When used at this dose rate it is very likely that a positive test will ensue.  Please advise your trainers accordingly and recommend that they allow a greater drug withdrawal time, when using omeprazole at this rate.  Unfortunately there are no data available, which can offer a reliable detection time when the drug is used at a dose rate of 2mg/kg SID.

Better late than never…..