American Association of Equine Veterinary Technicians & Assistants

AAEVTF a l l 2 0 1 4 N e w s l e t t e r

October 10-12 marked the annual Purina Equine Veterinary Conference. Purina Horse Feed graciously hosted more than 170 veterinarians and 130 technicians for a weekend full of Clydesdales, continuing education and fun! The event took place at the Union Station Hotel in downtown St. Louis and took attendees to the Budweiser Brewery and newly renovated Purina Animal Nutrition Center.

The event kicked off with a tour of the Budweiser Brewery, home of the famous Clydesdales. We were thrilled to be able to be photographed with Jake, who standing at 20 hands is one of the tallest in the hitch. After making various stops along the tour, we finished at the Beer Garden. The evening concluded with a delicious dinner at the hotel, where guests were able to meet Purina representatives, mingle with other attendees and learn about some of Purina’s new products, such as Super Sport.

Saturday was packed to the brim! The morning treated us with lectures ranging from physiology, to nutrition to imaging. The presentations included noted speakers such as Mary Beth Gordon, PhD, Amanda Adams, PhD, Katherine Garrett, DVM and Steve Adair, DVM. Dr. Garrett even included live texting during her presentation!

After lunch the group was loaded onto buses and headed for Gray Summit, home to the 1200 acre Purina Animal Nutrition Center. Speakers here included the legendary Mad Scientist (also known as Kent Lanter, MBA), Katie Young, PhD and Mary Beth Gordon, PhD. The farm tour included seeing the newly renovated facilities, learning about the innovative technology used in the research barns, and even included a treadmill demonstration. Saturday evening concluded with a terrific dinner and tons of dancing with entertainment provided by the Well Hungarians.

On Sunday Dr.’s Adair, Garrett and Kathy Williamson along with Karen Davison, PhD provided us with information on imaging, rehabilitation, nutrition for athletes and allergy testing.

We cannot thank Purina enough for this opportunity for AAEVT members. Their dedication to animal health does not stop at the farm- their commitment to quality is evident in their staff, facilities and desire to help educate others (not just those in the industry). The list of people necessary to run this event is as long as your arm, but we would like to extend an additional ‘Thank You’ to Kathy Farris, Stash Easton, Brandt Gilbert and Karen Davison.

Purina Veterinary Conference 2014

Have you ever attended the Purina conference? We would love to see your photos from the event, as well as you wearing your Checkerboard’s outside of that weekend. Post your photos to our Facebook page or send them to Ali.Fernandez@yahoo.com

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2014 Regional Wet Lab Recap at Animal Imaging in Irving, TX By Nicole LaGrange

A fun and educational day was had by all that attended our imaging focused wet lab at the Animal Imaging hospital in Irving, Texas on September 26, 2014.

Technicians attended from near and far; of the 17 participants three traveled from California solely for this event! The day started in the traditional fashion with plenty of coffee and breakfast to get everyone going and then it was off for some anesthesia practice in preparation for MRI. Sunny LaRue, RVT did a fabulous job covering the differences in anesthesia being performed for imaging versus anesthesia for surgery. Participants especially enjoyed getting hands on experience learning about and placing an arterial catheter for blood gas level monitoring. Next up, participants got a quick overview of MRI for the equine patient along with a question and answer session with Michael Stratmann.

The MRI overview was followed by “Lameness Evaluation and the Technicians Role” with Dr. Earl Gaughan, DVM, DACVS. Participants enjoyed the open format of his presentation which allowed everyone to share their experiences, have their questions answered by Dr. Gaughan and take full advantage of his orthopedic expertise. Participants spent a portion of time evaluating horses in motion, discussing how to detect lameness and what types of “tools” we have available to assist us in that process.

The final morning presentation was given by the enthusiastic Dr. Steven Grubbs, DVM, PhD, DACVIM on Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID). Participants got the latest news in how the PPID diagnoses, the nitty-gritty of how to properly test patients along with some common myths and misconceptions of the condition. Plenty of hand outs, prizes and free test kits kept participants on their toes! A fun time was had by all and the topic was a perfect segue into lunch where we enjoyed a short presentation by Rodger Presnall on the new product “Osphos”.

The afternoon brought on some good digital imaging fun with the incomparable Joni Watkins, RVT, VTS-EVN. She taught everyone how to master some of those difficult x-ray shots as well as how to perfect some of the most common one’s. Joni kept things upbeat and our equine volunteers were on their best behavior which made the afternoon run seamlessly. Our final presentation of the day was given by Jennifer Whitehead of Porta-Scope (Distributed by Henry Schein.) She covered the specifics of how to care for and use the endoscopes which provided a large amount of insight on how to properly care and preserve this piece of equipment in our own clinics. We were also given a firsthand look at some of the new technology available for light sources as well as lightweight and portable video endoscopy systems.

Reviews from the participants were glowing. We love hearing your feedback; at the request of participants, AAEVT is going to focus more on both Imaging and Anesthesia in future wet labs as well as investigating locations for continuing education on the west coast in 2015.

Dec. 7-9 Salt Lake City, UTAAEP & AAEVT Annual Conv.

Jan. 14 - 18 Ocala, FLFAEP Ocala Equine Meeting

Jan. 16 - Ocala, FLWet Lab Day atPeterson & Smith Equine

Feb. 15-19 - WVCAAEVT Rountable DiscussionLunch ‘n LearnTechnician Fair

Feb. 26-28 - Niagra Falls, NYOAVT

Mar. 7 - Cave Creek, AZChaparral Equine Anesthesia Wet Lab

Jul. 30-Aug. 1-Meadowlands,NJHAMBO

Aug. 22 - Lexington, KYAAEVT HEMI CE Day

Oct. 9 - 11 St. Louis, MOPURINA

Oct. 11-18 -National Veterinary Technician Week

2014 AAEVT Regions & Regional Contacts

Executive DirectorMembership DirectorDeborah B.ReederB.A., RVT, VTS-EVN539 Wild Horse LaneSan Marcos, CA 92078Cell: (214) 505-1548Fax: (760) 301-0349DBReeder@gmail.com

Immediate Past PresidentJessie LobergBA, CVT, VTS-EVN552 W. Jamison PlaceLittleton, CO 80120Cell: (720) 810-3766 Lobergj@hotmail.com

PresidentJeannie WillemsBA, LVT, RVT

5315 Stack RoadMonroe, NC 28112Cell: (443) 956-3646JWillemss@nutramaxlabs.com

President-ElectSue LolyLVT, VTS-EVN

1225 Ferndale St. N#12Maplewood, MN 55119Work:(651)303-0220lolyx001@umn.edu

SecretaryAli Fernandez

25125 N. Pearl Rd.Acampo, CA 95220Cell: (443) 956-3646Ali.Fernandez@yahoo.com

Financial DirectorKatie SoobrianRVT, BADVM Access Inc.

419-2875 Osoyoos CrescentVancouver, BC V6T 2G3Cell: (604) 803-8787ksoobrian@yahoo.com

AAEVT Executive Board 2015

Adivsory Board:DeeAnn Wilfong, Sheri Miller, Kelly Fleming, Paul Vrotsos, Sandra Nunn, Jane Tyrie, Kristy Ely

Associate DirectorWiss Costanza

41 Achorn Hill Rd.Lancaster, NH 03584

Cell: (631) 291-0438 WCostanza@luitpold.com

US WestWA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ

Meg SchenkCVTColorado Equine Clinic4077 Rainbow Plaza Sedalia, CO 80135Phone: 303-668-2936

rckymtnhigh@att.net

Brittani GilbertCVTPO Box 143Sedalia, CO 80135

phone: 612-360-3837

brittani.l.gilbert@gmail.com

Felicia WimmerRVT, CEVT, CESMT

827 Hilo WayVista, California 92081Phone: 760-420-8997

WimMinis@aol.com

Sue LolyLVT, VTS-EVN Regional Director1225 Ferndale St. N #12Maplewood, Mn 55119Phone: 651-303-0220Work: 612-625-6700lolyx001@umn.edu

Dominique Le Baron

Austin Equine Hospital20640 Hwy 150Driftwood, TX 78619Phone: 512-581-1943Dominique@austinequine.com

Amber Dargis

6741 157th Lane NWRamsey, MN 55303

Phone: 612-366-5488

ulaq201@umn.edu

US CentralND, SD, MN, WI, MI, NE, IA, IL, IN, KS, MO, OK, AR, TX, LA

Heather Supanick

Green Glen Equine Hospital429 Town Hill Rd.York Springs, PA 17372Phone: 717-752-0752Work: 717-235-4312hderno@aol.com

Kristine Cromwell, CVTRunning ‘S’ Equine Veterinary Services147 Kosciuszko Rd. Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889Phone: 908-268-5237Work: 908-832-5484 (ext 4)kmatarazzo@hotmail.com

Megan Belcher, LVTZoetis4107-A Townhouse Rd.Richmond, VA 23228Phone: 317-445-0979Work: 804-432-9361Fax: 866-590-0527MegLeeLVT@yahoo.com

US EastKY, PA, VT, NH, NY, ME, MA, RI, CT, NH, DE, MD, VA, WV, TN, NC, SC, MS, AL, GA, FL

TBA

International

Photo by Mathea Kelley

Regional DirectorMeg SchenckCVTColorado Equine Clinic4077 Rainbow PlazaSedalia, CO 80135Phone:(303) 668-2936rckymtnhigh@att.net

Last January I embarked on a trip to Nicaragua as a volunteer with Rural Veterinary Experience, Teaching and Service (RVets). Rvets is a non profit organization based in California. Their mission is to promote quality and affordable veterinary care in under served rural areas in the USA and abroad, by providing veterinary students with practical experience and training in the medicine and surgery of horses and other animals. I was accompanied by my fellow colleague Maureen Kelleher DVM, CVA, DACVS, as well as Eric Davis DVM, MS, DACVS, DACVIM and Cindy Davis RVT who head up the organization. This trip was also in affiliation with NicaVets, a non profit group of veterinary professionals based in Nicaragua. We worked closely with nine veterinarians from Nicaragua, who not only offered their health care services but who were also responsible for planning our accommodations throughout the trip. The trip was planned around visiting three main places in Nicaragua, starting just east of Granada and moving eastward to the beautiful Caribbean coast – Chalmaca, La Fonseca, a Palm Oil Plantation owned by Cukra Hill Development Corporation, and finally Pearl Lagoon. Dr. Kelleher and I were present for the first five days of the trip which involved the first three locations. These were centered on equid (horse, donkey and mule) health, whereas the Pearl Lagoon region was to deliver health care to the canine and feline world.

RVet’s an Experience in NicaraguaAndrea Shepley BA, RVT, C/IAED*

This was the first time I had ever travelled afar to offer my services in the animal health care world. I’ve dabbled in volunteering with the Humane Society and various other organizations in Canada and here in the USA, but honestly most of my time has been filled by my full time job as an RVT at a private equine practice in southern CA. Nevertheless, I had wanted to do something like this for a long time and since, have never looked back!

The majority of services we offered were preventative care – deworming, dentistry and foot care – as well as many castrations – simple and cryptorchid. But of course along with this came just about everything else you can imagine! Dermatologic queries, ophthalmology cases and respiratory issues. Sarcoids and hoof abscesses were fairly common. Many saddle sores and fistulous withers, tick infestations, lice and even some mystery fungi. We treated one horse in Chalmaca that had been bitten by a vampire bat on it’s neck - two puncture lesions that had become infected.

My main contribution to the trip was organizing and assisting in dentistry. Over the five days with RVets in Nicaragua, we cared for a total of 333 equids. Of those 333, we performed 82 oral exams and 23 routine dentals. Only 12 of these were found to have mild malocclusions of waves, ramps and hooks; whereas the remainder needed straight forward floating of buccal and lingual sharp enamel points. One mule at the palm plantation had a severely protuberant 408 due to a missing 108. The height of this premolar was reduced to a manageable level so that normal masticatory function was restored. The most interesting finding was that none of the equids examined had excessive transverse ridging or incisor imbalances. We attribute this to the fact that these equids graze natural foliage, off the ground level, for numerous hours a day. Excessive transverse ridging and imbalanced incisors are common malocclusions found with stabled horses that are fed processed diets of dried grass and grains.

This was definitely a worthwhile experience. It was enlightening to step out of my comfort zone and learn how to triage at an essential level. Dr. Kelleher and I hope to join RVets again in the spring for part two - an adventure in Mexico….a little closer to home. If you have been thinking about doing something like this I urge you to offer your help and valued expertise. If you can afford the time and extra money, it is a truly amazing time. You don’t need to travel far. There are a number of organizations, including RVets, which offer similar outreach programs right here in the USA.

*Andrea has been working in the equine medicine field for 12 years. She received her education in equine dentistry at the Academy of Equine Dentistry in Idaho, and is certified through them, as well as the International Association of Equine Dentistry (IAED). She has been providing all of the routine dental care for San Dieguito Equine Group in San Marcos, CA for three years now.

Recent ACT Graduates

I am an equine vet tech employed by West Coast Equine in Somis, California for the last 5.5 years. Six years ago, I found out that Dr. Kent Sullivan and Dr. Deborah Kemper had almost completed their brand new, state of the art, equine hospital and they were hiring. I applied and was thrilled when I was offered a position.

Shortly after being hired, Dr. Kemper suggested that I look into AAEVT as a great investment for education and support within the parameters of my new job as a tech. I took her advice and have attended some of the lectures and wet labs and they're great. Both Dr. Kemper and Dr. Sullivan encouraged me to enroll in the ACT program and I'm glad I did. It was perfect for me because it focuses just on equines. I love learning so this job and AAEVT are a great fit for me as I learn something new every single day from every single person I meet - be it doctor, extern, client, or co-worker. In my spare time, I am a partner in a construction company, ride my horses, play with my granddaughter, Grace, love on my cats and dogs, and work part time with a cutting horse trainer. I love to read, cook, and create. Now that I have completed this course, I am tackling QuickBooks and Spanish!

I am an assistant professor in a veterinary technology program. I took the AAEVT-ACT program to brush up on my textbook equine skills. I have been teaching for 10 years, but this fall 2014 I took over the large animal courses in the program. In order to feel better prepared and refresh the knowledge that I don’t use everyday, I took the courses. I have horses of my own and have worked with large animal veterinarians for 20 years, but the “textbook” information can get rusty when you haven’t been teaching it all this time. Those are the reasons I chose the courses and I loved them. They were wonderful, and the wet-lab was an awesome experience.

I have owned horses for 25 years, mostly a hobbyist, leisure riding and care. I have appaloosas, minis, quarter horses, and more recently thoroughbreds. My husband and I with a couple of partners, have been race horse owners for about 8 years. My husband and I own a farm west of Desoto Missouri where all of the horses reside in the off season of training and racing. I love all horses, but have a special place for my appaloosas and minis.

Rebecca Schwermer

Carleen Roberts

I am 26 years old and grew up in Branchville, NJ. I have been riding and working around horses for most of my life, nearly 20 years. I have my Bachelors Degree in Equine Studies at SUNY Cobleskill. I also worked at various small animal hospitals as a technician after graduating. I am currently the head veterinary technician at East Coast Equine Veterinary Service in Tranquility, NJ. I was first told about AAEVT and the ACT program by one of our drug representatives. I decided to take the course to get certified and further my education to better serve our patients. I thoroughly enjoyed the coursework and even got to attend one day of the weekend at the Hambletonian. I hope to attend again next year, hopefully for the entire event. I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the ACT program and I am so glad that I did.

Lauren Horsfield

Congratulations on Your Recent Completion of the ACT Program!For More Information Visit www.aaevt.org!

This summer some co-workers and I had an opportunity to work with the World Vets Organization as LVT instructors at their world headquarter hospital in Nicaragua. For those of you that are not familiar with the World Vets Organization it is an organization whose mission is to provide healthcare to third world countries while educating the pet owners and farmers on how to maintain better health care for their animals. They also participate in disaster relief around the world.

World Vets - Nicaraguaby Deborah Piotrowski, LVT, MaED

After one of my co-workers Kelly Valentine made contact with their organization at NAVC last year she recruited me to participate in the World Vets Instructor Seminar held over 9 sessions in their main hospital in Nicaragua. Once

Kelly and I were on board another co-worker Jennifer Butera realized she wanted to participate as well.

Doing the instructor program is a little different than most of their missions and a good way to get your feet wet. Once becoming a member of World Vets you submit your resume for their approval. If approved as an instructor you pay $250 plus the cost of airfare

to Nicaragua and they provide the rest. Usually each session is a week long, with 5 working days and two days off.

When we arrived in the capital city of Managua we were shuttled with the rest of the staff (usually consists of 2-3 LVT instructors, 4 DVM instructors and LVT, pre-vet and vet school students) to our beautiful villa near Lake Nicaragua. It is quite a culture shock if you have never been to a third world country because we take so much for granted. One of the local vets showed us around the city and took us to restaurant row where you can get anything from the local cuisine to pizza to Irish pub food.

The next day we were off spending the morning in a horse drawn carriage tour of the city and then taking a boat tour of Lake Nicaragua. This is one of the largest natural lakes in the world and home to freshwater bull sharks! It was created by a volcano and has thousands of little islands that are privately owned.

That afternoon we took a tour of the hospital. It was fairly well equipped considering the economic situation of the city. Most of its supplies and equipment come from donations from vet hospitals and private funding.The next two days we were off and running. We started at the hospital at 7:30. Each surgery table had a veterinarian and three vet students. We taught the veterinary students and technician students how to premed, induce anesthesia prep and hook them up to the machines. On some occasions if the surgery was touch and go we stayed at the table to monitor the patient and make sure the anesthesia was kept at a safe level as well as monitor their vitals.

The technicians were also responsible for the recovery, vaccination, flea prevention and documentation for the patients after their surgery was completed. We coordinated with the veterinarians to determine if patients needed medications to go home and dispensed them.

The next day we were given a day off to explore the area. We took an organized tour through the local marketplace to shop which was amazing. We were taken to the Masiah Volcano where we hiked up to the crater. There were some amazing photo opportunities. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant with an unbelievable view. We finished off the day by traveling to a crater lake where we had access to a beach club to lounge and enjoy the sun and each other’s company.

The next day was community outreach day. Unfortunately some of us didn’t follow the warnings and had salads the day before and came down with some minor GI ailments. We went to a local park where the citizens came out in droves to have wellness exams, vaccines, deworming and flea prevention given to their animals. We saw over 25 horses and more than 500 dogs and cats. This became difficult at times as most of us did not speak Spanish and most of the locals did not speak English. That afternoon we headed back to the hospital and performed more surgeries on local animals.

The last day we completed an additional 24 surgeries and then celebrated by going out dancing to a local club. It was fun to let off steam with our new friends

and enjoy the local culture. That night everyone sat in a circle and played “roses and thorns” where we each shared our most rewarding moment (our rose) and our most scary moment (our thorn). The vet students as well as the vets were very gracious about complimenting us (the technician instructors) on our skills, teaching ability and knowledge. Everyone gave each other snaps for their contribution (yes someone in the group is a fan of the movie Legally Blonde if you get the reference).

The next morning it was time to say good-bye. Even though we were only there for a week we had been through so much together and had so many adventures it was sad to say good-bye. I made a lot of friends that I still keep in touch with. All total we performed almost 100 spays and neuters, and vaccinated countless animals for a country that the average wage is $1.00 a day. It was an incredibly rewarding experience and I plan to do it again this summer.

AAEVT539 Wild Horse LaneSan Marcos, CA 92078

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