The President's Line
Suzan C. Oakley, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Equine)
2014 FAEP President
I would like to wish everyone a great new year and thank the FAEP Council for the opportunity to serve as the 2014 president. Our Council is very excited to be celebrating our 10th anniversary and we have been hard at work putting together our educational programs for the coming year. We are continuing our tradition of providing equine-exclusive, international quality continuing education with a personal touch. Resort locations and smaller meeting size allow us to get acquainted and share our knowledge with the end goal of helping our noble friend, the horse.
I would like to thank our educational partners for their support. When you visit the exhibit halls at our conferences please thank them, because without their support it would not be possible to put on meetings of this caliber. I would also like to acknowledge our executive director, Phil Hinkle, and the FVMA staff for all that they do to make our meetings successful. We hope you will join us at one or all of our educational offerings in the coming year.
Our first meeting this year will be the 2014 Equine Foot Symposium in Orlando, Florida from June 13th to the 14th. The focus of the meeting will be on the hind limb. Mitch Taylor CJF, DWCF will be back by popular demand to present an anatomy dissection wet lab detailing hind limb structure. We have a great line-up of farriers and veterinarians speaking on topics that include the ever-important veterinarian-farrier relationship, shoeing for different surfaces, shoeing modifications for hind limb problems, and hoof wall defects. Please see the complete program line up in the center pages of this issue for details!
We also invite you to join us in beautiful Hilton Head, South Carolina from October 9th-12th, 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. Our outstanding program includes a 4-hour Master Class on laminitis with Dr. Chris Pollit, the "FAEP News Hour" with Drs. Chris Kawcak, Rob MacKay and Margo Macpherson and more top-of-the-line speakers on the topics of lameness, surgery, imaging, medicine and reproduction in the athletic horse. We are offering an innovative Equine Sports Rehabilitation track, with 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 discuss rehabilitation from a human physical therapy perspective and Dr. Shelia Schils will discuss the development of equine rehabilitation protocols.
The Ocala Equine Conference will be held from January 23rd-26th, 2015, in Ocala, Florida, so take a break from the cold or just drive over to Ocala and join us! We will be offering an ultrasound wet lab covering musculoskeletal, abdominal and thoracic imaging. Our Keynote speaker will be Dr. Sue McDonnell, who will discuss the many facets of equine behavior. Dr. Ted Stashak will present an outstanding case-based seminar on wound management that will deliver practical, “take home and use tomorrow” information. Other distinguished speakers include Drs. Steeve Giguere, Eric Mueller, Rich Redding and Karen Wolfsdorf discussing foal respiratory disease, GI issues, lameness, imaging, and reproduction.
Providing continuing education for the equine practitioner is only one of the duties of the FAEP. The FAEP Council is the equine-exclusive division of the FVMA, which gives the Florida equine veterinarian a voice in Tallahassee. We also act in an advisory capacity for all regulatory or legislative issues affecting the equine industry and equine veterinarians in the state of Florida.
My involvement with the FAEP has been a rewarding and enriching experience. Working with such dynamic, dedicated and innovative colleagues is inspiring and I invite you to join us on a committee or to submit articles to be considered for our publication, The Practitioner. We need ideas from our members to accomplish our mission, so please join us!
On behalf of the entire FAEP Council, I invite you to join us at one or all of our world-class meetings and experience our “Southern Hospitality.” I look forward to seeing all of you!