Recent Events
WCVM Class of 2015 Graduation Banquet and Awards Ceremony, June 4th 2015
Left to right are: Dean Dr.
Douglas Freeman, Dr. Travis Smyth DVM (receiving the EFC Award),
Charlene Dalen-Brown
Dr. Smyth,
a 2012 DVM WCVM graduate, is completing a combined
residency in large animal surgery and his Master of Science program at the WCVM.
Equine Foundation Donation To Aid In Lameness Evaluation
Equine Guelph and
researcher Dr. Judith Koenig would like to thank the Equine
Foundation of Canada, for their recent donation to support horse
welfare. EFC has contributed $16,000, 80% of the purchase, of an
Equinosis Lameness Locator® which will benefit both research
projects and education by providing an objective method of
determining equine limb lameness.
This equipment is
better than the naked eye, because it samples motion data
transmitted by sensors and algorithms at a very high frequency
(200x). The human eye is capable of (10x to 20x). The Equinosis
Lameness Locator® enables quantifiable diagnostic technology that
removes the bias that frequently accompanies subjective evaluation.
When a horse is trotted, the data is transmitted wirelessly in real
time. This means immediate availability of a kinematic lameness
assessment for the practitioner/researcher. Together with the
clinical ability of the clinician, this will improve accuracy.
Currently, evaluating lameness or
improvement of lameness after treatment is performed with the naked
eye. For research, this requires at least two specialists to
evaluating the horses in an attempt to reach agreement. Koenig says,
"This equipment will give us hardcore data together with our
lameness evaluation, thus making lameness evaluation more
objective."
THE MACKING MORE CREW ON THE MOVE!!!
Maybe you remember a couple of years ago when the group of youth in
this photo made a fundraising project out of selling cookies at the
Alberta Morgan shows. The first monies went to their Youth Club and
the rest went as a donation to the Equine Foundation.
This past summer of 2014 saw the Macking More Crew again at the
shows with their cookies. Most were students of Karen Abel of
Dawnville Farms, Leduc, Alberta. Karen had passed away in late May,
so the Crew got busy with their cookie project again selling at a
couple of the Alberta Shows, then taking them, with the support of
their parents, International to the Grand National Morgan Show in
Oklahoma City. Their efforts were most successful and just recently
$380.00 was sent to the Equine Foundation in the Memory of Karen.
A huge Thank You to these Youth for their caring and
generosity. Also to their parents. Karen must be smiling!
2014 RUTH YOUNIE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
The University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has
presented two fourth year Veterinary students with the Ruth Younie
Scholarships.
They are: Naomi Crabtree
Naomi Crabtree is a 4th year student at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). Originally British, Naomi has been in the Calgary area since the age of 10 and absolutely loves everything the prairies and mountains have to offer. She completed a BSc in Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Calgary prior to entering veterinary school and following graduation with her DVM plans to pursue a career as an equine surgeon. She has just accepted an internship position at Idaho Equine for next year and hopes to pursue a surgical residency following this. Naomi is looking forward to starting her career and feels fortunate to be able to blend her passion for horses with her enthusiasm for veterinary medicine.
Kayla Dykstra
Kayla Dykstra is a 4th year student at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). She’s a born and raised Calgarian. After high school, Kayla attended the University of Victoria where she enjoyed her time as a team member and captain of the University of Victoria Vikes basketball team. She has been involved with horses for the majority of her life; from attending summer horse camps around Alberta as a child, becoming a wrangler at a dude ranch to working as a summer riding camp coordinator. Along with horses, Kayla enjoys spending time coaching basketball and working with junior high and high school students. She is looking forward to a rewarding career as an equine veterinarian. Upon graduating in May 2015, Kayla is heading to California for an Equine Internship. She’s excited to see where equine veterinary medicine will take her.
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY KLEIN REPRODUCTION LAB IS GIVEN $5000.00 GRANT
Photo Caption: Dr. Claudia Klein, The Klein Lab at UofC
Part of the work in the Klein Equine Reproduction laboratory focuses
on understanding why some mares suffer from chronic endometritis;
chronic or recurring endometritis is a cause of infertility in mares
and treatment of mares suffering from endometritis can be time
consuming and frustrating.
WESTERN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, SASKATOON, SK.
Gives Out Veterinary Scholarships From the
EQUINE FOUNDATION OF CANADA
Photo Caption: Dr. Steve Manning, Scholarship
winner Dr. Carolina Duran, & WCVM Dean Dr. Freeman. Not pictured:
Scholarship winner Dr. Stacy Andersonh.
The Convocation ceremony, graduation dinner and awards presentation all took place on Friday, June 6, 2014. 76 Veterinarians graduated.
From Dr. M. Caroline Duran........."I am writing to express my deepest gratitude to you and the Equine Foundation of Canada for awarding me with the Equine Externship Student Award. Veterinary Medicine and Equine Research are two very important passions in my life and I have put a lot of effort to do my best in all the projects I was lucky to be involved in. I truly appreciate that my work was recognized by your Foundation and feel once again encouraged to continue putting all my efforts in the search for answers to the research questions originated from our Equine Patients."
DIVINE EQUINE IN ONTARIO
Saturday, April 5th
marked the First Annual “Divine Equine” Educational Event, presented
by Canter ON Equines, out of Simcoe County, Ontario. Although a
freak April snow storm shut down the road to the venue that morning,
and white out conditions were severe from Waterloo to north of
Orillia, all of our speakers managed to make the trip, as well as
dozens of volunteers and 9 paying spectators, all of who thoroughly
enjoyed the presentations.
Our first speaker
was a reward-based trainer
named Sandy Gascon out of Sudbury who demonstrated her gentle,
patient, and effective training methods during
five 20 minutes sessions scheduled throughout the day. Her
well-researched presentations and experienced handling of the
unbacked Standardbred mare named Bella, offered spectators a
positive, gentle approach to training using treats as reward for
desired behaviours. Our
next speaker, Deanna Ramsay, an OCTRA judge with over 45 years of
experience from the track to endurance riding has helped many
problem horses. Along with Sandie, she emphasized respect for the
horse at all times, with the bulk of her discussion focusing on
“Assessing and Addressing Problem Behaviours Under Saddle”. Deanna
had adopted a “problem”,
“balky” arab gelding from our listing service last year who was
headed to auction without our intervention. He is doing wonderfully
under a correctly fitted saddle and Deanna’s clicker training
approach really has him thinking! She wanted to bring him for a
clicker training demo, but the extremely wet weather followed by the
freak snow storm made it risky, so she used Atlas, a yearling
gelding Canter ON had rescue the past year, for a clicker training
demo. He eventually got the hint that shaking her down for pocket
treats didn’t get him anywhere and tried and get her to “Click” and
hand him a treat! Our third speaker was Penny Batheson, of Equest
Equine First Aid out of Alliston, who spoke about detecting pain on
your horse using the Sulus method, and also demonstrated stretches
to help your horse become more flexible and avoid injuries. Penny is
a wealth of knowledge and an all-around great lady who donates a
portion of many of her courses to deserving horse rescues and
therapy programs across Ontario. Our last speaker of the day was Dr
Thera “Tee” Fox DVM from Markdale Veterinary Clinic, who created a
fantastic presentation on “Rehabilitating the Neglected Horse”, and
took us through “Destiny’s Journey”, a mare rescued by the owner of
the venue, Loralee Farm. Destiny was found at the Ontario Livestock
Exchange severely emaciated and with owner Laura and Dr Tee’s help,
is now a plump and moody mare. She spoke about refeeding programs
for severely underweight equines, discussed the Henneke scale of
Body Scoring, and took us through the sometimes emotional but always
educational ups and downs of
Destiny’s recovery from neglect.
We had many
wonderful sponsors who helped with discounts, store credits and
samples, but The Equine Foundation of Canada, with their $1000
sponsorship, made this event possible and, despite the weather, we
were very pleased with the result. Thank you very much to Nancy
Kavanagh, the secretary at the EFC, who responded to our sponsorship
appeal letter back in the winter of 2013, and took interest in the
educational aspect of our organization’s objectives. Due to time,
personnel and resource constraints, Canter ON Equines has scaled
back their scope and now focuses their efforts on running a free
at-risk equine listing service for horses across Ontario, which has
safely placed over 20 horses in the last year, diverting them from
the auction pipeline. Please feel free to browse our website
www.canteronequines.org, or our
Facebook page.
ANOTHER LIVESTOCK EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNIT
In 2013, the Brooks (Alberta) Fire Department celebrated its 100th
Anniversary. Coincidentally, it was awarded $14,000 by the Equine
Foundation to purchase a trailer to be outfitted and used as a
Livestock Emergency Response Unit. The Community came together and
did fully outfit the trailer.
On January 30th, there was a unveiling of the Unit attended not only
by the firemen, but including Bob Watson of Duchess, the Alberta
Director for the EFC, area notables such as the Strathmore-Brooks
MLA Jason Hale and County of Newell Reeve Molly Douglas, and many
local supporters.
The event was televised by Shaw TV Medicine Hat and is now available
on
.
If the You Tube graphic link does not work for you use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvygmEdzR2I&list=UUj7K2oLuBF7Y1tBwiYTSZDg&feature=c4-overview
Brooks & Area’s Livestock Emergency Response Unit – Unveiling
Ceremonies
Silver Sage Community Corral, Brooks,
Alberta – 2:00 PM January 30th,
2014
Proudly Sponsored By
The Equine Foundation of Canada/Eastern
Irrigation District/JBS Food Canada Inc.
Dupont Pioneer/GWG Frank Ag Inc./Brooks & District Rural Crime Watch
Association
TransCanada Pipelines/United Farms of Alberta/Denny's Restaurant
/T-Down Trailer Ltd.
Brooks Bearing & Power Transmission/Iwaasa Industries/South Country
Coop Ltd.
Special Thanks To
Alberta Farm Animal Care Association/Silver Sage Ag Society/Alberta
Parks County of Newell/City of Brooks
Photo: Bob Watson, Alberta Director the EFC,
is seen here presenting the EFC cheque to the Fire Chief Kevin
Swanson and Deputy Fire Chief Stewart Luchies.
Photo courtesy the Brooks Bulletin.
The Equine Foundation is pleased to have been able to fund an Emergency Response Unit for the City of Brooks (Alberta). Located on the TransCanada #1 Hwy, midway between Calgary and Medicine Hat, the area is in the centre of a huge livestock area, with many cattleliners and other livestock trailers on the road.
The trailer has been ordered and the equipment to complete it is being organized with several local businesses and organizations, such as the U.F.A. and Rural Crime Watch helping out.
THE EQUINE FOUNDATION COMPLETES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR
Founder of the Equine Foundation George Wade, Kentville, NS
Begun in 1983 as the Canadian Morgan Horse Foundation by George
Wade of Kentville, N.S., and later changed to the Equine Foundation
of Canada, this registered charity for the Health and Welfare of the
Horse can claim 2013 to be a banner year.
Run entirely by a board of Volunteers, EFC has todate raised almost
$890,000, with just over $400,000 going to various projects in 2013
alone. The University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and
the Western College of Veterinary Medicine benefited each with a
gift in the form of an Endowment for Scholarships for Veterinary
Students who are specializing in Equine Practice. Further gifts to
both colleges provided funding for equipment for horse treatment and
teaching.
A further gift was made to the Atlantic University Veterinary
Medicine Faculty in Charlottetown, P.E.I. to fund a new Equine
Surgical Table for the treatment of horses.
In the past, funding was made available to 65 veterinary students at
the above colleges as well as St Hyacinth at the University of
Montreal in Quebec, and the Equine Research Centre at Guelph,
Ontario. Other monies have been used for funding various equine
research projects at the vet colleges, and Youth educational
projects.
Money for EFC is raised by private donation by persons and
organizations with a major interest and passion for the health and
welfare of the horse, theirs and yours. “The Book of Memory” which
may be found on the EFC’s website contains the names of many persons
connected with the horse industry, for whom gifts have been made in
their memory. Horses and Pets are also remembered in the same
manner. Fund raising events such as Trail Rides, auctions, etc. are
also put on, and many items sold to benefit the Foundation. Support
comes from horse enthusiasts all across Canada!
One of the most recent projects of EFC has been the funding of two
Livestock Emergency Response Units in Alberta, one with the New
Sarepta Fire Hall in Leduc County and the other with the Fire Hall
in the City of Brooks. These trailers come fully equipped for the
first responders who man them to attend to livestock trailer
accidents on highways and other such disasters as floods, fires,
etc.
Funding requests are pending for 2014, with first in line being one
in Ontario and another in B.C. The Vet College always have items on
their Wish Lists. Just how much can be handed out depends greatly on
the income received by EFC.
The Equine Foundation of Canada may be found on the EFC website
www.equinefoundation.ca
and on the Equine Foundation Facebook Page. Enquiries can be sent to
equinefoundation@outlook.com or by contacting your area EFC
Director, details for which can be found on the Contact Page of the
EFC website.
Western College of Veterinary Medicine,Saskatoon, SK
Photo: EFC President Eldon Bienert presents the top money raiser at
a Fundraising Trail Ride, with an Equine Foundation Horse Cooler.
Nearly $4,000 was raised at this ride.
Group supports horse health at
grassroots level
By Lynne Gunville
The Equine Foundation of Canada (EFC) may be small, but in the past
four decades, this grassroots group has managed to accomplish great
things in support of horse health care in Canada. The volunteer
organization has raised nearly $890,000 in donations that have
supported a variety of organizations, people and projects in the
past 30 years. The list of recipients includes Canada’s five
veterinary schools, individual veterinary students (scholarship
recipients), and organizers of educational clinics and youth
projects. More recently, the EFC has extended its support to help
establish Alberta’s Livestock Emergency Response Unit program.
“It’s just all about the love of the horse,” explains EFC president
Eldon Bienert. “I was involved in getting it organized, and our main
goal was to help out with the good and welfare of the horse and to
do something that would benefit all horse breeds across Canada.”
The EFC was founded by George Wade, a businessman and horse owner in
Kentville, N.S., who and served as the organization’s first
president until his death in 1997. His successor was Bienert, his
longtime friend and a fellow breeder of Morgan horses. Beinert has
operated Dawnville Farms near Leduc, Alta., with his wife Peggy for
more than 40 years. Bienert is proud of the accomplishments of their
dedicated group of volunteers from across Canada who have found
unique ways of raising money to maintain the foundation and its
various programs. With events that have ranged from bake sales to
trail rides and quilt raffles, members of the horse community have
used their ingenuity to contribute to the organization. The group
also relies on memorial donations which can pay tribute to people or
pets and are published on the foundation’s website.
“We are strictly a volunteer group,” says Bienert. “Nobody gets any
pay and we don’t spend any money on advertising. We have brochures
that we give out, but it’s pretty much word of mouth, so we can
certainly use all the publicity that we can get.”
While the amount of money raised by the registered charity varies
from year to year, its eight-member board has endeavoured to donate
to the universities by purchasing items such as equipment on a
rotating basis.
“We ask the university, ‘What’s the number one item on your list of
needs for your veterinary students or your research?’” Bienert
explains. “Sometimes we can only pay for some of it, but our goal is
to purchase something that will last.”
Because of a sizeable memorial donation and a unique matching
program developed by the Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Foundation,
the Western College of Veterinary Medicine has greatly benefited
from the EFC which has donated more than $80,000 toward equipment
purchases and research and another $120,000 in scholarships in the
past 40 years.
That’s gratifying for Bienert who has particularly enjoyed the
opportunities to visit the universities and see what they’ve done
with the money they’ve received from the EFC.
“It’s been really nice to see the equipment and to see how they work
with it. You meet a lot of interesting people, and I think it’s a
highlight when you get to talk to the people face-to-face and see
what the foundation has bought first-hand.”
Visit
www.equinefoundation.ca for more information about the
EFC’s donations and activities.
Western College of Veterinary Medicine Today
EFC’s $120,000 gift supports equine
program
By Lynne Gunville
The Equine Foundation of Canada (EFC) gave another boost to horse
health care in the country with its latest contribution of $120,000
to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s equine health
program.
The national organization’s gifts were highlighted during a horse
health evening on October 8 that was held in the WCVM’s recently
expanded Ryan/Dubé Equine Performance Centre.
“Having the WCVM acknowledge the Equine Foundation of Canada in the
new building and in front of a bunch of our peers – that’s as good
as it gets!” says Dalen-Brown, who has represented the EFC at
several other WCVM gift presentations over the past 15 years.
Overall, the EFC has donated more than $200,000 toward WCVM
equipment purchases, research projects and scholarships during the
past 40 years.
“I’ve been really blessed because I’m the person who gets to go to
the college and give the cheques. I’m so lucky because I get to see
how thankful the veterinary college and the veterinarians are.”
The bulk of the group’s most recent donation — $100,000 — was used
to establish the Equine Foundation of Canada Graduate Student
Scholarship. Each year, the veterinary college will award $3,500 to
a graduate student who has demonstrated interest and scientific
merit in equine research.
The remaining $20,000 went toward the purchase of a new standing
endoscope — one of the diagnostic tools that was on display at the
horse health evening.
During the event, Dalen-Brown and more than 70 other horse
enthusiasts listened to a talk on lameness diagnostic techniques by
Dr. James Carmalt, a board-certified equine surgeon at the WCVM.
Another presentation on exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH)
was delivered by Dr. Frederik Derksen, a renowned professor and
researcher at Michigan State University.
Dr. David Wilson, a board-certified equine surgeon at the WCVM, also
gave a demonstration of the college’s new equine treadmill in the
EPC.
In addition, the crowd watched the Dr. Fernando Marqués, a
board-certified specialist in internal medicine, give a
demonstration of the WCVM’s overground endoscope and Holter
telemetry monitor with the help of “Nellie,” a 19-year-old
Thoroughbred mare that was ridden by her owner, field service
clinical associate Dr. Anne Marie Guillemaud. Both pieces of
equipment were purchased with a previous EFC donation of $20,000
that was matched by the Heather Ryan and David Dubé Foundation in
2011.
“At the end of the day, all donations such as these go back to our
clients and general public by means of improving our diagnostic and
treatment options for all horses around the world,” says Marqués,
chair of the WCVM Equine Health Research Fund and an associate
professor of large animal internal medicine at the college.
WCVM clinicians welcome the addition of a standing endoscope because
of the increased options it will provide for serving clients. While
the overground endoscope is important for examining horses during
exercise, the new endoscope will allow examinations of animals at
rest and under sedation.
“Both types of endoscopes are complementary when evaluating upper
airways in horses,” explains Marqués. “Some pathologies are best
seen at rest (resting endoscopic examination), but others are only
detected during exercise (dynamic endoscopic examination).”
In addition to diagnosing respiratory conditions, veterinarians can
use the standing endoscope to examine a portion of the equine
esophagus as well as the urinary tract of adult mares, stallions and
geldings.
“We see a high prevalence of respiratory conditions in horses in our
area, mainly inflammatory in origin,” Marqués says. “This endoscope,
along with other diagnostic tools available to us, will allow us to
investigate those conditions and understand the underlying
mechanisms of disease.”
The purchase of an additional endoscope also allows for more
flexibility, adds Marqués. For example, field service clinicians can
examine horses during field calls without affecting diagnostic exams
scheduled in the Large Animal Clinic. Veterinary students also have
more opportunities to learn from clinical cases and to practise
endoscopies as they acquire their technical skills.
In addition, researchers can use the endoscope for their research
projects while graduate students and residents will have more
opportunities to investigate pathologies and normal characteristics
of the upper airways of horses.
While Dalen-Brown enjoyed the opportunity to meet with other horse
owners and get a first-hand look at the equipment in use, she was
particularly pleased by the gift presentation and the recognition
that the EFC received from the WCVM.
“It was a really fun event for me. I felt really well thanked for
the gifts that the Equine Foundation of Canada has given to the WCVM
over the years.”
Visit
www.equinefoundation.ca for more information about the
EFC’s donations and activities.
AVC Receives Donation To Purchase New Equine Surgery Table
Charlottetown—A generous donation from the
Equine Foundation of Canada has allowed the Atlantic Veterinary
College (AVC) to purchase a state-of-the-art Haico equine surgery
table.
The table holds animals weighing up to
1,300 kilograms or 2,900 pounds. It has adjustable side panels, some
of which can be removed, that assist with safe positioning of large
patients, and it can be tilted in different directions because of
its advanced hydraulic system. The table can be moved around by one
person, even with a horse on it, and it is very easy to clean.
Dr. Aimie Doyle, a large animal surgeon at
AVC, says that the new table improves the ability of the large
animal surgeons at AVC to service their patients.
“The table is fantastic,” she says. “I’ve
operated on a lot of different surgery tables during my career, and
this one is head and shoulders above any other I have used.”
The removable side panels on the table
allow surgeons to “belly up” to a patient, which is particularly
important when doing colic surgery, she says. And the tilt feature
will allow the Large Animal Hospital to offer new services such as
minimally invasive laproscopy.
Use of the table isn’t restricted to
horses, says Doyle. Its flexible features will allow surgeons to
operate on other species such as goats, sheep and cattle. For
instance, the head board can be used as a treatment table for
smaller animals.
Four-legged animals are not the only ones
to benefit from the new equipment.
Operating on large animals is a very
physical job, says Doyle. On average, a horse weighs about 500
kilograms, or 1,100 pounds, and the large animal surgeons at AVC do
about 200-300 equine surgeries each year—an average of five per
week. These can range from simple, short procedures such as a
20-minute hernia repair in a foal to longer, more complicated
operations such as a three-to-four hour surgery on a horse suffering
from colic.
The ease of use and improved access to
patients provided by the new table eases physical strain on the
surgeons, she says, ultimately improving the longevity of their
careers.
“On behalf of AVC, I thank the Equine
Foundation of Canada for its support of our large animal medical
service,” says Dean Dr. Donald Reynolds. “Funding from the
Foundation has allowed us to improve and expand the services we
provide to our equine patients, including the establishment of an
equine chiropractic service and purchase of equine dentistry
equipment.”
Founded in 1983, the Equine Foundation of
Canada aids and promotes the health and welfare of horses across
Canada.
-30-
Media contact: Anna MacDonald, External
Relations Officer, Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI, (902)
566-6786,
amacdonald@upei.ca
THE LIVESTOCK EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNIT
EFC President Eldon Bienert presenting the EFC
cheque to the Leduc County Mayor John Whaley, and two of the County
Firemen.
You are driving down the highway with three horses in your trailer,
when suddenly a truck appears out of nowhere heading right for you.
You swerve, hitting the ditch, and over goes your unit,
ending in a crumpled mess.
A nightmare for anyone who hauls horses down the road, or any
livestock for that matter!
The front on the trailer with the decaling
finished.
The police, ambulance and fire truck are called and soon arrive.
And the fire department pulls up with its Livestock Emergency
Rescue Trailer which contains all sorts of equipment
and trained first responders to get your horses out of
your mangled trailer.
You are very fortunate to be in an area which has one of
these Rescue Trailers.
The new trailer in the Leduc County Nisku Fire
Hall. The back of the trailer, showing the decaling including the
logo of the EFC at the front of the side, and the logo of Leduc
County at the rear of the side.
These trailers are under a program of Alberta Farm Animal Care, and
financed by the Federal and Provincial governments by the Growing
Forward plan. Some have
partial or total local financial support (such as Rural Crime
Watch).
Eldon Bienert shows the interior of the trailer
which will soon be completed at the New Sarepta Fire Hall. The
equipment for Rescues is still to be added. The trailer features
five special interior lights, and a drop ramp for easy access.
The first two trailers
were set up in Red Deer and Ponoka, and there are now trailers in
the MD of Willow Creek (Claresholm); Cypress County (Medicine Hat);
Westlock County (Westlock); Vermilion River County (Vermilion); a
more recent one in Hanna; a roving one with the SPCA.
The EFC logo on the side door of the trailer.
Also on the other side, informs those who see the trailer just where
the funding came from.
And now Leduc County has a trailer, to be completed and in operation
by this fall, funded by the EQUINE FOUNDATION OF CANADA.
The trailer will be housed at the New Sarepta Fire Hall which
is located east of Leduc on Hwy. #21.
The Equine Foundation funding includes the equipment needed in the
trailer such as:
Livestock panels and gates; Generator with extension cords; Metal
cutting circular saw and blade; electric metal shear; Ladder; Pitch
fork, spade, flat shovel, crow bar; Hand tools such as pliers,
cutters, hammers; Tarps and tarp straps; Lariat and various ropes,
halters and lead shanks; Scene lighting; Snow fence; and much more.
Lakeland College at Vermilion has added a course especially for the
first responders who man these special trailers.
The call for help may come from highway accidents which range
from a single trailer to a cattle liner with thirty-fourty head of
cattle; or incidents such as barn fires; severe flooding such as was
experienced in southern Alberta earlier this year; or maybe a matter
of livestock loose on a highway.
 |
 |
| The Livestock Emergency Response Unit is now established at the New Sarepta Fire Hall, Leduc County, on Hwy #21. Several of the fire personnel, all volunteers, will be taking the First Responders course at Vermillion. | |
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY VETERINARY MEDICINE
Dr Alastair Cribb, DVM, PhD, FCAHS
Dr Cribb was to have been a Speaker at the recent C.M.H.A. Meeting
in Leduc, AB on April 13th. But one of those famous Alberta Winter
Storms blew in early Saturday morning and made the highway very
hazardous. So Bob Watson, aided by Eldon Bienert, using copies of
Dr Cribb’s presentation, were able to give the audience an overview
of UCVM, where Dr Cribb is the founding Dean of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine.
UCVM is Canada’s Fifth Veterinary College and was established in 2005. The first class of the DVM program was in 2008. There are 32 students per year for the Four Year Program. Addressing issues – BSE/West Nile; Shortage of Veterinarians serving rural Alberta; Graduating the vets that Alberta needs; Research.
The Class of 2012: Where did they go?
26 remained in Alberta. 3 are pursuing equine internships. 60% serving rural Alberta.
Current Equine Faculty - Renaud Leguillete, Marie-France Roy, Emma Read, Claudia Klein, Heidi Banse, Ashley Whitehead, Cameron Knight. They work with Moore Equine, TD Equine Group and Burwash Equine. The students work with equine practices across Alberta.
Areas of Research - Performance Horse Health; Reproductive and Regenerative Medicine; Pain and Animal Welfare; Cattle Health; Disease ecology; Infectious, emerging and zoonotic disease.
Examples of Current Equine Research – Sepsis (infections) in foals; Airway disease; Performance horse health – sports medicine; Metabolic syndrome; Equine repro- duction (maintenance of early pregnancy.
THE SUPPORT AND IMPACT OF THE EQUINE FOUNDATION OF CANADA
April 2010 - $20,000 to support the purchase of the Dynamic Respiratory Scope. The EFC donation allowed us to bring the DRS to Calgary – the first in Canada. It is at use in clinics and research.
August 2012 - $20,000 to support development and production of an Equine Colic Simulator. The Equine simulators are sophisticated models that teach students how to perform a variety of procedures before they start working on live horses.
January 2013 - $208,000 to establish an
Endowment to fund four annual awards to support DVM students.
The Ruth Younie Memorial Scholarships are offered to students
entering fourth year with a strong interest and high performance in
equine veterinary medicine. The Equine Foundation of Canada
Scholarships are offered annually to graduating students who are
pursuing careers in equine veterinary medicine.
January 2013 - $20,000 to advance excellence in teaching and research in equine health in Alberta, through the purchase of a surgical laser. The Dornier Diode laser allows minimally invasive surgery. It reduces or eliminates the need for anesthesia and also reduces rain and the chance of infection. Also allows surgery in some locations that could not otherwise be reached.
The Equine Foundation of Canada’a continued investment in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is advancing research, improving clinical diagnostics and ensuring student success and leadership
Thank You – Dr. Alastair Cribb, UCVM
New Equine Dynamic Respiratory Endoscope at the University of Montreal thanks to a major financial contribution by the Equine Foundation of Canada
Saint-Hyacinthe, November 2012 - The Equine Hospital of Université de Montréal recently added the Equine Dynamic Respiratory Endoscope (DRE) to their state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic facilities.
The endoscope has been placed in the pharynx and the equipment pack
is being checked. The image of the upper airway is displayed on the
screen in the foreground.
The purchase of the DRE was made possible by a seed donation of $20,000 by the Equine Foundation of Canada (EFC), represented in Québec by Hélène Belliard, and by financial contributions from Dr. Jean Bernier (equine veterinarian), the Québec Equine Veterinary Association (AVEQ), Mr and Mrs. Davis (Florida, USA), and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (CHUV).
The DRE reveals an image of the upper airway while the horse is
exercising.
The Equine Hospital was already equipped with a treadmill but this new equipment is better suited to performance horses as it allows an evaluation of the upper airways in a natural exercising environment, for example in racing conditions or under saddle in an arena. The DRE is not only an important diagnostic aid but also a valuable teaching tool. 90 final-year undergraduate veterinary students are trained each year in the Equine hospital, in addition to 8 international interns and 5 residents, many of whom go on to become international leaders in the equine veterinary field.
Left to right: Susanna Maciera, Frederick Duchesne, Sheila Laverty,
Jean-Pierre Lavoie, Mathilde Leclère, Pascal Dubreuil (Associate
Dean for Clinical and Professional Affairs), Lyne Choquette, Helene
Belliard (EFC), Yves Rossier, Daniel Jean (Chief of the Equine
section), Jacynthe Beauregard, Catherine Hackett (Optomed), Maud De
Lagarde and Eduardo Almeida da Silveira.
Mrs. Belliard has been helping raise funds through the EFC for the Equine Hospital for 30 years. These have included scholarships for undergraduate students, a monitor for a video endoscope, a Davis Sling, arthroscopic instrumentation to allow surgery residents perfect their surgical skills and an oral endoscopic camera for dental examinations.
Dr. Dubreuil presenting Hélène Belliard with a gift of a book
describing the history of the Montreal Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Dr. Sheila Laverty, Chief of Equine surgery, is delighted: "Thanks to the Equine Foundation of Canada's generosity, we can provide horse owners with the best veterinary care possible. Canadians should be proud of their equine hospitals which I believe can be considered among the best in the world". She also points out that the support of organizations like the EFC is essential to help equine hospitals maintain the very best standards of care.