President Report

NZEVA PRESIDENT REPORT December 2022

Brendon Bell, NZEVA President nzevapresident@gmail.com

As equine veterinarians we are in the middle of the busy season now - I hope everyone is coping well with things the silly season throws at us. I have attended several NZVA MAG (Membership Advisory Group) meetings. Things of note are that we are looking at NZVA Policies (outline of general agreement on a subject) and Position Statements (universal agreement on a subject). Any of these that are outdated will be looked at and deleted if unnecessary or updated. This will be performed across all NZVA SIBs and the executive will be tasked with looking into all equine policies and position statements. I've also been involved in the Veterinary Council (VCNZ) Professional Standard Committee which helps to look at how the code of professional conduct is reviewed and applied. The Code dictates how we all practice on a daily process and I’ve found it interesting to be involved in the process to keep this relevant to clinical practice. We are looking to secure equine stream speakers for next year's conference. This will be the NZVA centenary conference and will be a MEGA one with other streams, to be held in Wellington. The CPD committee has contacted speakers and are awaiting to hear back regarding confirmation. The conference will have a medical theme and our sessions may be somewhat truncated due to combined plenary sessions with other streams. VetPD are looking to return this year with a lab to be held at Massey, tacked onto the end of the conference, covering topics yet to be confirmed. You may have noticed emails from the VCNZ regarding a survey on associated veterinary para professionals as the Vet Council looks into reviewing the Veterinarians Act. I have participated in meetings on this review with other SIB representatives and allied para veterinary professions. For equine Vets this legislation could help regulate Equine Dental Technicians in particular, so I encourage you all to participate and complete the survey. The report in this edition by Peter Gillespie from the Equine Ambulance Trust is very inspiring. The trust has done a great job in fund sourcing then constructing these state-of-the-art Equine Ambulances that we all see at race meetings. This has been a labour of love for those involved over many years and the system we have now is a real credit to all this hard graft. Tremendous effort. As this issue comes out close to Christmas, I wish all members good fortune over the holiday period. I hope you are not too busy over the festive season and can find time to enjoy the festivities with friends and family.

Kind regards, Brendon Bell nzevapresident@gmail.com

Arango-Sabogal JC et al. Date of birth and purchase price as foals or yearlings are associated with Thoroughbred flat race performance in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Vet Rec Open. 2022 Dec; 9(1): e43.

Purchas price as foal or yearling and performance figures were studied for 6,666 [UK] and 9,456 [IRE] horses in flat racing by the end of their second and third years of life. Prize money and prize money per start decreased with each additional day beyond 1st January (official TB foal birth date in UK & IRE) that the foal was born on. Purchase price was negatively associated with the number of races run, while it was positively associated with prize money and prize money per start by the end of the third year of life. Differences were more marked among males than females. The more expensive foals and yearlings ran fewer races but earned more prize money and prize money per start as 2- and 3-year-old racehorses than less expensive foals and yearlings. These findings may help inform management practices aiming to maximise horses' racing performance potential and increase financial returns.