The educational sessions at the 2018 British Equine Veterinary Congress kicked off Thursday, September 20 in Birmingham, England. Several attendees, including The Horse’s Managing Editor, Alexandra Beckstett, tweeted live from the conference. Check back to TheHorse.com soon for recaps of conference presentations.
Here are a few tweets and take-homes from the educational sessions. Are you following The Horse on Twitter? Follow us @TheHorse for horse health news updates and live event coverage!
September 13, 2018
Day 1 of #BEVA18! I’ll be tweeting presentation take-homes throughout the meeting. pic.twitter.com/chsRlkZvNl
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Dr. Furst's study on sport horses with fissures/tiny fractures of the proximal phalanx (fetlock): 89% of horses returned to athletic function post-surgery, but 68% still had fracture lines visible on X-ray, even though they were sound. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Dr. Ellen Singer presented on osseous (bone) damage in the fetlock's sagittal groove and noted that affected horses appear to have a similar prognosis (~50% return to function) whether treated conservatively or surgically. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Dr. Peloso on screening TB racehorses for metacarpal condylar injuries: Use standing MRI to pick up on bone marrow edema (a sign of bone stress injury) in at-risk horses before fracture occurs. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
IA corticosteroids in horses: friend or foe? Dr. Anderson says we can’t lump them all into one category, and there are some side effects, but very cost-effective joint therapy. Still our friend. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Dr. Niklas Drumm discussed alternatives to IA corticosteroids in horses: polyacrylamide hydrogels and stanozolol. Says corticosteroids are still vets’ first line of defense against OA, but these two are safe and promising additions. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Based on Dr. Hewetson’s ongoing study of owner-reported signs, most frequent clinical signs of equine glandular gastric disease are temperament changes, decreased appetite, unexpected weight loss, poor performance, and skin sensitivity. #BEVA18
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 13, 2018
Up first: factors affecting UK horse owners choice of practices and the qualities they seek in equine vets. 44% of respondents thought that asking their opinion when making a decision for treating their horse was as essential quality. Thank you Heather McKenzie @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
P Bovona now presenting about critical ‘out-of-hours’ cases. Almost one in five ‘out-of-hours’ cases were critical, and 75% of these had a fatal outcome but more recording is needed! @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
Katie’s research on REACT campaign awareness had 1286 participants, 37% of 1205 were aware. She reported that 79% had an emergency plan in place for colic before the REACT campaign. What were the limitations to access of the campaign resources? @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
"Obesity is certainly the biggest welfare problem facing uk horses today" Caroline Argo #BEVA2018 #equinewelfare #fatpets pic.twitter.com/13w5vpYRJW
— Tamzin Furtado (@tamzinfurtado) September 13, 2018
Only 41-7% of equine premises have biosecurity plan in place, 50% owners rarely wash hands before contact -love it when research provides a great opportunity for us to help practice @CEVetM @ahtofficial and Jo at Leahurst #collaboration #BEVA2018 pic.twitter.com/CF1OhkNgxT
— Rachel Dean (@RachDeanVet) September 13, 2018
1/3 horse owners use herbal medicine says @DannyVet #BEVA2018 30% of those using acupuncture said it was done by a non-vet. It’s so important to get info from #owners to understand their decisions #partnership @Marnie_Bren you are everywhere this am @CEVetM pic.twitter.com/GUVuySL2mD
— Rachel Dean (@RachDeanVet) September 13, 2018
MC VanDierendonck (great + v appropriate name) has been working on composite pain scale + facial pain scale for donkeys. Results have good inter-observer reliability and the patients had significantly higher pain scores compared w control donkeys. App coming! @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
YASS JUAN!!! Amazing talk encompassing the importance of wellbeing in the veterinary profession. @BEVA_news #BEVA2018 pic.twitter.com/e5GBiWsn9R
— Hatti Smart
(@hattismart) September 13, 2018
D Pollard presenting from her PhD work, owner reported laminitis episodes. Most prevalent owner-reported clinical signs (≥70%) were difficulty turning and a short/stilted or lame walk, bilat FL lameness most common. 11% didn’t report bounding pulses @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
D Pollard moving on to talk about owner reported laminitis risk factors. She supports that priority targeting of common and modifiable factors will have highest impact on disease incidence. @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
Around 1/10 horses had an episode of laminitis each year – brilliant talk by @DNPollard #laminitis #BEVA2018 pic.twitter.com/rA2zuJ5W8X
— Tamzin Furtado (@tamzinfurtado) September 13, 2018
Are thoracic dimensions, pain scores + epaxial tension scores influenced by rider weight? There was a -ve effect on thoracic width and a increased pain score + positively influenced epaxial muscle tension score post exercise w v heavy riders. By Lauren Quiney @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
Amy Barstow has taken over the mic. Presenting work from her PhD in sole packing on impact vibration. Sole packing, horse type and ground surface all influence impact vibration. @EVJltd #BEVA2018
— Francesca Worsman (@FWorsman) September 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/DNPollard/status/1040270143962722304
Tim going through the sinuses and laryngeal anatomy… do you know yours?! @RossdalesVets @BEVA_news @EickemeyerUK #BEVA18 pic.twitter.com/OUBk4ubru5
— Lucy Grieve (@LucyGrieveVet) September 13, 2018
September 14, 2018
Dr. Gerdes: Physical assessment of horses’ SI joint remains challenging. Palpation response, pelvic asymmetry, muscle spasms, conformation, etc. might not be significant. Don’t jump to conclusions – look at the whole picture. #BEVA18 #BEVA2018
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 14, 2018
Dr. Elizabeth Davidson: When performing gait assessment on horse with suspected neck pain, do a traditional lameness exam, adding things (e.g., bridle, side reins, rider) that might affect different parts of the neck. #BEVA18 #BEVA2018
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 14, 2018
Dr. Fiske-Jackson on challenges of diagnosing horses with sore backs: In one study, 74% horses with back pain were also lame. Always resolve the lameness first – as much about ruling things out as it is ruling them in. #BEVA18 #BEVA2018
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 14, 2018
Dr. Peloso recommends surgical removal of OCD fragments in young horses, says financial benefits (if owner intends to sell) outweigh cost of surgery. Removal also maximizes long-term joint health, and prognosis is excellent. #BEVA18 #BEVA2018
— Alexandra Beckstett (@TH_ABeckstett) September 14, 2018
#BEVA2018 The reproductive gurus fishing for sperm @StallionAI pic.twitter.com/AGyzt4NSVS
— BEVA President (@BEVAPresident) September 14, 2018
Practical dentistry teaching… straight from the horse’s mouth! @BEVA_news @RossdalesVets @n_townsend79 @RobPascoe1 @DentistryEquine @EquineVetDental @IMSEuroLtd #beva18 #dearsonvet pic.twitter.com/YAaL1TsZor
— Lucy Grieve (@LucyGrieveVet) September 14, 2018
@BEVA_news have got world specialists in equine neonatalogy discussing State of the Art Treatment of Neonates to small groups of equine vets – fantastic! #beva18 @RossdalesVets @LangfordVets pic.twitter.com/m3nbhATx8z
— Sarah Smith (@Smithsarahscott) September 14, 2018
]]>The delegates just can’t enough of these #beva18 @BEVA_news Congress practicals! @RossdalesVets @DentistryEquine @EquineVetDental @IMSEuroLtd pic.twitter.com/BaR9zralJd
— Lucy Grieve (@LucyGrieveVet) September 14, 2018