“Changing Times” was the theme of World Horse Welfare’s annual conference on 31st October. The chief executive of World Horse Welfare,...
Welcome
Through this new website, equine vets & related professionals will be able to share their knowledge and resources about the veterinary care, welfare & healthy management of the horse in the UK and Europe.
This is a temporary demonstration website
It shows the level of information that will be free to use, with minimal sponsorship or advertising. It is based on the best-selling text book written by Sue Devereux and Liz Morrison which set the standard for easy to use equine veterinary information.
It will be regularly updated by a team of equine vets, volunteering their knowledge to create this powerful resource for riders, horse owners and students. It will link to more detailed information and papers where necessary.
The modern power of social media will be used to promote the website, linking posts and forums to relevant pages about different conditions and the latest thinking in equine welfare. It will help to promote veterinary best practice and counter false and mis-information.
Behind the scenes we will invest in a well designed, robust technological platform to hold the pages of information and support users with advanced search tools. In the next phases of development we plan to include a postcode search function to help owners find vets and professionals in their local area, as well as promoting events led by veterinary practices and horse welfare bodies.
The new website will be funded by equine charities, grants and private donations. It is being set up and managed through a Charitable Incorporated Company to enable an ongoing flexible and responsive approach to delivering up to date online information.
Can you help us complete this important resource?
Latest news and articles
The future of Endurance
Dr Sarah Coombs will chair a new FEI committee about the future of international Endurance riding. It has been set up following a number of high profile incidents concerning the welfare of horses and the cancellation of the Endurance events at the World Equestrian Games.
The new committee will identify the most effective way of bringing the discipline back to its original roots of Endurance riding as opposed to Endurance racing, with horse welfare and horsemanship at its core, while still maintaining the competitive aspect of the sport.
Dr Sarah Coombs (GBR) was formerly the British Endurance team vet, is a Trustee of the global equine charity World Horse Welfare and is also chair of its Veterinary Advisory Committee. She is joined by Dr Tim Parkin (GBR), who heads up the scientific research conducted at the University of Glasgow as part of the FEI’s Global Endurance injuries Study (GEIS)
“We need to bring the discipline back to the principles of the FEI where welfare of the horse and horsemanship prevail”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The Temporary Committee will conduct a thorough review of the discipline with the aim of getting back to real Endurance riding with the focus on horsemanship and the partnership between horse and human. “The sport has evolved and there needs to be a recognition of that, but the essence of the sport must remain the same. What we need are rules that place greater emphasis on completion of the event, rather than the ‘win at all costs’ mentality that is more and more threatening our sport.
Emergency Horse Rescues
The Fire and Rescue Service & veterinary profession are working together to create local networks of trained horse rescue teams.