Profiles
A passion for horses
September 01st, 2024
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After years of “living and breathing horses,” Laura Callaghan is savouring her new role as an equine field service intern at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). Having already spent a summer as a student with the WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre’s Equine Field Service, Callaghan is enthusiastic about returning as a qualified veterinarian who can now “sign on the …
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Equine vets in training
Drs. Alannah Friedlund, Eveline Juce and Josefina Ghersa are among the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s team of incoming residents and clinical interns whose work focuses on equine health. Visit tehrf.ca to read more profiles of the college’s new team members. Dr. Alannah Friedlund, resident, large animal surgery Originally from Fort Nelson, B.C., Dr. Alannah Friedlund completed a Bachelor of …
August 31st, 2023 Full story »
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‘It was always horses, horses, horses.’
Long before she became a veterinarian, Dr. Amanda Butler was a big fan of horses. “There was never a second when I didn’t think I was going to work with horses,” says Butler, a lecturer in equine field service and large animal medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). “[For me], it was always horses, horses, horses.” After …
August 30th, 2023 Full story »
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Practical veterinarian
Coming to Canada for an equine residency meant starting over for Dr. José Antonio Guerra. Guerra had already become a professor at Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México outside of Mexico City, Mexico, after earning a master’s degree at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He oversaw a new equine hospital — and he finally owned the horses he’d …
October 06th, 2022 Full story »
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Dr. Duke’s 30-year legacy
In 1999, Dr. Tanya Duke-Novakovski travelled to Leipzig, Germany, for a one-year sabbatical leave from her role at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). The veterinary anesthesiologist’s goal during her stay in the former east German city was to help curb the number of horses that died after surgery in the Universität Leipzig’s large animal clinic. The problem was …
March 06th, 2022 Full story »
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Vet’s career heads straight to the heart
Growing up in Portugal, Dr. Tiago Afonso always knew he wanted to be an equine veterinarian. “My uncle had a farm with horses, and he’s a mixed veterinarian in the back country of Portugal,” says Afonso, an assistant professor in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s (WCVM) Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. “I used to spend all my weekends …
December 01st, 2021 Full story »
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Stall-side research
Mateo Castano Ospina, a veterinary student at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), spent four months working as the Townsend Equine Health Research Fund (TEHRF) undergraduate summer research student. Each year, the equine research fund provides financial support for a veterinary student to work on a horse-health focused research project. “I think the program gives veterinary students a great …
November 09th, 2021 Full story »
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Lucky Treasure
Bright-eyed and well developed, Treasure appeared to be a perfectly healthy foal except for one critical flaw: the black and white Gypsy Vanner filly had a steady dribble of urine running down her hind legs. That telltale trickle, along with significant urine scalding of the skin below her vagina, definitely put a stain on the filly’s future. Incontinence is expected …
March 31st, 2021 Full story »
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Swirski shines as equine advocate
Mikayla Swirski, a senior veterinary student at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), was among 10 North American veterinary students rewarded for their dedication to equine health during the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) virtual convention in December 2020. Swirski was one of five Oakwood Foundation scholarship recipients, while another five students received Merck Animal Health Scholarships at …
March 21st, 2021 Full story »
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Excelling at equine wound healing
Managing wounds in horses is challenging for horse owners and veterinarians alike. In many cases, equine wounds are slow to heal with the potential for unsightly scars and the production of an excess amount of granulation tissue, commonly known as “proud flesh.” For the past five years, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have been working to determine whether …
November 12th, 2019 Full story »
