The Equitarian Initiative

Moderator: Jay Merriam

1:30-5

This program is a one half day session with 11 different speakers giving short topics that succinctly outline the goals of the initiative, the means of implementation and the proposed long-term strategies that could help to develop them.

The topics will be brief, to the point and should serve to excite the interest of those who are contemplating some form of “pro-bono” work but don’t have any ideas as to how to do it. These topics will illuminate the problem (a scarcity of veterinary care to serve 90 percent of the world’s equids, essential for human subsistence), discuss its global and local implications, and posit a plan to allow interaction between doctors, students, donors and educational partners; ultimately helping AAEP expand its role from the “voice of the horse” to actual healer and advocate on a worldwide basis. 

Speakers would range from those who are actually in the field providing aid to working horses everywhere, to those who have developed and managed programs here and abroad. They would outline needs, current trends and the mechanics of providing such services, including current opportunities from weekly projects to career path services. They would provide “how to” guidance for both doctors and students looking for a chance to express their altruism and share the gift of healing in its various forms. They will also illustrate the struggles, cultural obstacles and pitfalls of establishing and maintaining them.

Vision Mission and Goals of the AAEP Equitarians Initiative - Joe Bertone

                            This talk will discuss the welfare of working horses worldwide.  Dr. Knottenbelt is a challenging speaker who seeks to increase veterinary involvement in care of working horses. His presentation will show equids as to life in the third world.  He presents a compelling argument to make life better for these animals because they are not a luxury in the third world.  He outlines our obligations to bring our expertise to better the lives of horses and ultimately their human families.

This talk will cover history, challenges, experiences, and progress in a small VMA based project that may serve as a model for other programs.

This talk will include the essential functions that the Fondouk clinic, which he directs in Morocco, supports and how it improves life in North Africa through veterinary expertise.  He will also present a focus on student opportunities and experience toward that effort.   

Dr. Juergens will present the goals and experiences in the Mongolian project and the ways in which it teaches local horsemen and veterinarians.

The development of an equine veterinary aid project in the Peten region of Guatemala by a non-Spanish speaking veterinarian who had no idea what he was getting into will be discussed.  Emphasis will be on mistakes made and lessons learned.  These will include the types of services offered, selecting and working with local technicians, customs issues, and the pitfalls of collaboration with large animal welfare NGO's. 

Dr. Davis has overseen the development of programs in many sites throughout this hemisphere.  Challenges of safety, student participation, lodging, supplies, transportation, local support and many other issues appear daunting in developing these programs. 

Dr. Leith has experience working on the Havasupai Nation that will be discussed.

A study tour specifically for veterinarians with Heifer International is a great way to “test the waters” of international travel and service. Participants travel to a selected country on a guided itinerary to observe and understand how the Heifer model of Passing on the Gift of animals and education is instituted in a village. Cultural and medical challenges of raising livestock in an environmentally sustainable way with limited local resources are the major focus. Equids are important resources and the targeted livestock for some of the project sites that may be visited, depending on the country and agricultural needs. 

This talk will discuss training rural veterinarians in Latin America.

 Healthcare and education with horses and donkeys in Mexico will be covered.