Abstract
Simple SummaryThere is great need for veterinary care for working equids worldwide. Further, students in the United States (US) need more primary care experience with equids in their veterinary curricula. To address these needs we developed a collaborative “Equine Welfare in Practice” outreach and education project to provide veterinary care to working equids in Mexico, while at the same time providing an opportunity for veterinary students to gain “hands-on” experience with equids. Veterinarians from Michigan State University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and Universidad Veracruzana developed a two-week community based project in which US and Mexican veterinary students work as teams, supervised by veterinarians, to provide care to working equids in rural Mexican communities. From 2017 through 2019, 24 US students and 25 Mexican students, interns and residents examined, vaccinated and dewormed more than 2200 equids and performed more than 80 castrations, 100 rectal palpations for pregnancy diagnosis, 220 dental floats and 320 hoof trims. The project is largely supported by private donors with supplies provided by several pharmaceutical companies. Overall, the project has exceeded all expectations and future directions include implementation of community based engaged research and exchange programs for post-graduate veterinary training.There is great need for veterinary care for working equids worldwide. Addressing this need provides an opportunity for veterinary students to gain primary care experience. An annual two week collaborative outreach and educational program with Michigan State University (MSU), the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) was developed to provide care for working equids in rural Mexican communities. From 2017 to 2019 24 US veterinary students and 25 Mexican veterinary students, interns and residents examined, vaccinated and dewormed more than 2200 equids and performed more than 80 castrations, 100 rectal palpations for pregnancy diagnosis, 220 dental floats and 320 hoof trims. They also treated many wounds, sarcoids, vampire bat bites and tick infestations and also saw unusual cases including tetanus, eye injuries, nuchal bursitis, cervical vertebral malformation and suspected vesicular stomatitis. Development of the collaborative MSU-UNAM-UV Equine Welfare in Practice Clerkship required vision, learning, relationship building, creativity, fund-raising and perseverance to develop and agree on mutually beneficial objectives for all participants. The project is largely financed through private donations and supplies provided by pharmaceutical companies. The outcome has been a highly successful program that could be used as a model by other Colleges of Veterinary Medicine world-wide.
Highlights
90% of the world’s equid population resides in third world countries where donkeys, mules and horses are used for work to improve the socioeconomic status of impoverished families.It is estimated that there are more than 100 million working equids supporting more than 600 million people worldwide [1,2,3]
Despite growth and expanded efforts of equine welfare organizations across the globe, the vast majority of these working equids still receive no care by veterinarians, qualified farriers, animal scientists or nutritionists
Following Dr Knottenbelt’s visit, several faculty members at Michigan State University (MSU) CVM became interested in developing a program that would combine the need for care of working equids with the need to increase primary care clinical experience for veterinary students in the clinical phase of the curriculum
Summary
90% of the world’s equid population resides in third world countries where donkeys, mules and horses are used for work to improve the socioeconomic status of impoverished families.It is estimated that there are more than 100 million working equids supporting more than 600 million people worldwide [1,2,3]. Despite growth and expanded efforts of equine welfare organizations across the globe, the vast majority of these working equids still receive no care by veterinarians, qualified farriers, animal scientists or nutritionists. Over the past couple of decades welfare-minded equine practitioners in North America have developed independent projects to provide veterinary care for working equids in the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Latin America and South America. These individuals volunteer their time and equipment and sometime receive support in the form of product (e.g., vaccines and anthelementic medications) from pharmaceutical corporations.
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