The President's Line
Suzan C. Oakley, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Equine)
2014 FAEP President
Providing world-class equine-exclusive continuing education has been our passion at FAEP for the past 10 years. When we graduated from vet school, most of us were told that 50% of what we knew would be obsolete or proven wrong in 5 years. It takes a lifelong commitment to “continual” education to be able to stay current and provide the best medicine possible, especially in this exciting age of ever-changing technology. Our meetings provide the opportunity to “keep up and catch up” with equine sports medicine, colleagues and friends in a great location.
We hope to see you in beautiful Hilton Head, South Carolina from October 9-12, 2014, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the FAEP Promoting Excellence Symposium. Our theme for the meeting is Achieving Peak Performance in the Equine Athlete. We have a special Saturday night celebration planned, featuring the always-entertaining Dr. Bo Brock; so join us to catch up with friends and share a good time. Our outstanding program includes the FAEP News Hour with Drs. Chris Kawcak, Rob MacKay and Margo Macpherson. Dr. Chris Pollitt will share his knowledge and research on laminitis with us in a 4-hour “Master Class” format. Many more top-of-the line speakers will weigh in on current issues in lameness, surgery, imaging, medicine and reproduction in the athletic horse. The Equine Sports Rehabilitation track features Drs. Duncan Peters and Rob van Wessum addressing the rehabilitation of equine tendon, ligament and spinal/pelvic injuries. Dr. Jen Skeesick PT, DPT, SCS will provide a human physical therapy perspective and Dr. Shelia Schils will discuss the development of equine rehabilitation protocols. Our goal for the entire meeting is to provide you with practical cutting-edge information that you can take home and use tomorrow.
Don’t forget, the Ocala Equine Conference has moved to January 23rd -25th, 2015, in Ocala, Florida. We are excited to offer an ultrasound wet lab on Friday focusing on musculoskeletal, abdominal and thoracic imaging. Wet lab instructors will include Drs. Steeve Giguere presenting abdominal and thoracic ultrasound, and Rich Redding and Natasha Werpy on musculoskeletal ultrasound topics. Featured lecturers for the conference include Drs. Steeve Giguere, Eric Mueller, Rich Redding and Karen Wolfsdorf discussing foal respiratory disease, GI issues, lameness, imaging, and reproduction. Our Saturday night Keynote speaker will be Dr. Sue McDonnell, who will discuss the many facets of equine behavior. On Sunday, Dr. Ted Stashak will present an outstanding case-based seminar on wound management that will deliver practical, “take home and use tomorrow” information.
We hope to see you soon at one of our meetings and welcome and encourage your contributions. Our meetings are tailored for you, so we need your input. Please consider contributing by volunteering for a committee or writing an article for The Practitioner.
See you soon in Hilton Head or Ocala!