Equine Ambulatory Practice: Challenges and Opportunities

Competing interests at the heart of equine sports medicine ethics: A scoping review and thematic analysis

“…There were relatively few publications presenting in-depth ethical reasoning or ethical analysis. 8,[17][18][19][20] Most papers/articles mentioned topics which are ethical concerns without development of ethical argument. Thirty-five of the included papers/articles were from veterinary sources such as veterinary journals and conference proceedings.…”

“…The conflicting interests, responsibilities or opinions of the veterinary surgeon, trainer and owner was the most commonly cited challenge. 7,17,18,[21][22][23][24][25][26] This arises when the veterinary surgeon's obligation to the horse conflicts with the client's wish to continue with training or competition: the client 'can make it difficult for a veterinarian to safeguard a horse's welfare'. 7,17,18,24 It is clear that the requirement for a performance horse to continue in training and competition can place considerable additional pressure on the veterinary surgeon.…”

“…7,17,18,[21][22][23][24][25][26] This arises when the veterinary surgeon's obligation to the horse conflicts with the client's wish to continue with training or competition: the client 'can make it difficult for a veterinarian to safeguard a horse's welfare'. 7,17,18,24 It is clear that the requirement for a performance horse to continue in training and competition can place considerable additional pressure on the veterinary surgeon. These conflicts of responsibility and/or interest are most likely to arise when the ability of the horse to compete and the horse's health or welfare are not promoted by the same intervention.…”

Large Animal Emergency Relief Services—A Model for University Engagement With Private Practitioners and Development of Practice Readiness for Veterinary Students

“…As a result of diminishing state support for veterinary teaching hospitals, and teaching programs, self-supporting services are increasingly valuable. With the low overhead of field-based services, such a relief service can be self-sustaining from the revenues generated (1). The addition of this service required only the hire of a single faculty member since equipment and vehicles are shared with day faculty.…”

“…Teaching hospital caseload may be affected by seasonal variations, economic pressures, increased abilities of local large animal practices to hospitalize large animals, and client intolerance for the operational needs of an academic mission. Non-academic large animal practices enjoy a more consistent caseload but suffer from a lack of emergency relief and a limited ability to share emergency duties, which may have adverse effects on work-life balance (1). {Ramey, 2012, Equine ambulatory practice: challenges and opportunities} In a study of rural practice economics, 68% of private mixed animal practitioners reported that they spent > 10% of their time responding to unscheduled sick animal calls and that these occurred with 83% of their clients (2).…”