Event information

Event venue - Crockstead Farm Hotel
Event dates - 20th - 21st March 2020

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Equine Arthritis: Diagnosis and New Technology was conceived to bring together not only the treating veterinary surgeons, but also those front line professionals most likely to have that vital first encounter with patient and owner. It will also provide valuable CPD for vets, practitioners and paraprofessionals working with equine arthritis.

It is widely understood that early diagnosis and intervention is key for equine arthritis, not only to prolonging the longevity of the affected animal, but more importantly, to provide prompt and effective pain relief. Degenerative joint disease (DJD) or osteoarthritis is one of the diseases most commonly encountered by equine vets. Results from the 2016 National Equine Health Survey (NEHS) revealed that more than 41% of lameness cases were caused by DJD. With this in mind, the focus of the two day CPD programme will be on key aspects of what we know about equine arthritis, where we are in terms of diagnosis, treatment and management, and where we hope to be in the future.

Event highlights

Equine arthritis - the complete picture. Fourteen hours of practical take home CPD delivered by world class presenters at the top of their profession, in an environment of open discussion and collaborative learning.

How can we pick up the very early signs and, are there cases that could possibly be prevented?

What are the latest diagnostic and treatment options?

How can other equine professionals support the arthritic horse and, what are the alternatives if drugs are not an option?

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This event is aimed at all equine or mixed practices, as it will provide excellent, high-level clinical research, alongside practical information to implement day-to-day.

Professionals attending include:

• - Vets
• - Vet Nurses
• - Physiotherapists
• - Chiropractors
• - Osteopaths
• - Sports Massage Therapists
• - Saddlers
• - Saddle fitters
• - Farriers
• - Apprentices

Speaker profiles

Prof Mandy Peffers
Following a degree in Animal Science at the University of Leeds, Mandy completed her veterinary degree at the RVC qualifying in 1995. She spent 11 years in industry and private practice before returning to do a PhD supported by the Wellcome Trust. Mandy is currently a Wellcome Trust Clinical Intermediate Fellow studying ‘The role of small nucleolar RNAs in cartilage ageing and disease’. Her research group studies the role of small non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and the potential to use extracellular vesicles to treat osteoarthritis.

Dr Helen Warren, Solutions Deployment Team, Alltech
Dr Warren achieved her primary degree in Animal Science from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1999, followed by her PhD in fatty acids in beef from the Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences at Bristol University. She spent five years lecturing degree students in animal and equine science before moving to industry. She is a trustee of the British Society of Animal Science, a qualified lecturer, A Cow Signals Trainer and a registered Animal Scientist. She currently works as a European Technical Manager for Ruminants and Horses for Alltech, involving initiating European research projects, as well as delivering nutritional education and technical sales support.

Dr Dagmar Berner Lecturer Equine Diagnostic Imaging RVC
After graduating from the University of Leipzig Dagmar finished her residency in diagnostic imaging in 2015. She worked at the University in Vienna before joining the Equine Referral Hospital of the RVC in 2017, where she works as a lecturer in large animal diagnostic imaging. Dagmar holds the Diplomate of the ECVDI and a DrMedVet. Her research interests are diagnostic imaging of orthopaedic diseases in the equine distal limb with different modalities.

Jaan Spas PhD DVM
Driven by a passion for regenerative medicine, he obtained a PhD scholarship from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) and completed his PhD research at the Department of Comparative Physiology and Biometrics in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University.

In 2012 he co-founded Global Stem cell Technology (GST) to develop regenerative therapies for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases in horses and dogs and is still the managing director today. He established an Ethics Committee and large experimental animal unit with federal government recognition and GCP/GLP accreditation. Moreover, he created a stem cell production unit that was granted a manufacturing authorisation and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) license. He also developed the first veterinary stem cell product that has been recommended for marketing authorisation in Europe.

Jan Spaas is inventor of 8 patents and key author of more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He is a member of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and International Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Society (IVRMS). He was appointed Associate Editor of Frontiers in Veterinary Science for the Veterinary Regenerative Medicine specialty and is board member of the scientific society for equine health (WVGP) and VIA NOVA equine hospital. In 2018 he won the prize of entrepreneur of the year from the Union of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs (UNIZO).

Gavin Schofield
Gavin is an International equine osteopathic pioneer who has been working with performance horses throughout the world for the last 28 years, including over ten years with one of the British Equestrian teams. His presentation will focus on: “Truly correct” equine movement – the scientific answer and its relevance to performance enhancement and osteoarthritis prevention and management”.

Dr Jane Nixon MA,Vet MB, BSc, MRCVS
Jane is a consultant equine veterinary surgeon based in Maids Moreton, Buckingham. Since graduating from the University of Cambridge in 1978, Jane has worked in private equine practice with the well-known equine veterinarian and first Hon Vet to the RDA her late husband Stewart Hastie, and is now a freelance consultant to the re branded Buckingham Equine Vets, a variety of elite studs and world class training establishments and, other private clients. Jane has always been passionately interested in the best management of the young developing horse through to adulthood and beyond to ensure fitness for purpose. Having produced/ridden all her life, from achieving the Pony Club A test to winning Working Hunter at HOYS, Master and Field Master of the Grafton Hunt for 10 years and now in her second term as British Equestrian Federation Director of Equine Development, including head vet to the Futurity & Bridge Schemes having examined on average 500 foals to 5 year olds annually, for over 10 years. Additionally Jane was Veterinary Surgeon to Towcester Racecourse since 1978, Senior Veterinary Surgeon since 2000 and Consultant Veterinary Surgeon to the Society of Master Saddlers. A Member of the Saddlers Company Steering Group & of AHT Industry Committee representing the BEF & SHBGB Chair BEF Horse Health Steering Group encompassing all equine stakeholders in the UK, promoting equine biosecurity.

Professor Stephanie Dakin PhD BVetMed MRCVS, University of Oxford
Stephanie graduated as a veterinary surgeon in 2003 from the Royal Veterinary College. After undertaking an internship specialising in equine orthopaedics at the Animal Health

Trust (Newmarket), she then spent 5 years in practice as an equine veterinary clinician. In 2008, Stephanie commenced a PhD at the RVC researching the role of inflammation in equine tendinopathy, which was successfully completed in 2012.   

To translate her research from horse to human, Stephanie moved to NDORMS, University of Oxford in 2013 and was awarded consecutive Fellowships from Arthritis Research UK and Oxford-UCB. In 2017 she was appointed Associate Professor and is the current Director of the Taught MSc in Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford.

Andrew Crawford Cert ES (Orth), Dip ECVS, MRCVS Director Sussex Equine Hospital
Andrew is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons and an RCVS Registered Specialist in Equine Surgery, working predominantly in orthopaedics as an equine surgeon in West Sussex. Andrew graduated from the RVC in 2002 and, after completing an equine internship and working in racing in South Africa, he spent five years as an ambulatory vet in Sussex. Andrew returned to the RVC in 2008 to complete a three-year surgical residency and gained the RCVS Certificate in Equine Orthopaedic Surgery.

Andy returned to Sussex in 2011 and became a director of the Sussex Equine Hospital in 2015. He has published in peer-reviewed journals on topics including orthopaedic surgery and regenerative therapy for musculoskeletal injuries, has co-authored a chapter on equine orthopaedics, and has presented at conferences both internationally and within the UK. 

Dr Thilo Pfau, Senior Lecturer in Bio-engineering The Royal Veterinary College
Thilo graduated in Information Technology from the Technical University of Munich. He undertook a PhD in the field of pattern recognition at the Institute of Human-Machine Communication at Munich, followed by a two year postdoc at the International Institute of Computer Science, Berkeley, California. He then joined the Structure and Motion Lab at the RVC as a postdoctoral fellow and worked on BBSRC, HBLB and  DEFRA funded projects investigating locomotion on compliant limbs, horse-surface interaction and automated lameness detection in dairy cattle.

In 2008 he became a Lecturer in Bio-Engineering in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and was recently promoted to Senior Lecturer. He is now focusing on applied locomotor biomechanics with an emphasis on objective quantification of movement anomalies. Since being appointed Lecturer he has concentrated on pioneering a multi-sensor GPS-enhanced gait analysis system for field and clinical use.

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