On February 10, 2021, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA) presented a continuing education webinar, “Best Practices for Rescue Horses: Horses in Transition,” with Dr. Stacie Boswell as the sole presenter. The webinar was approved for 1.5 hours of RACE CE credit in the medical category for both veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and remains available in the association’s webinar archive today.
Best Practices for Rescue Horses: Horses in Transition
Continuing education webinar presented by Stacie G. Boswell, DVM, DACVS-LA — Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, February 10, 2021
The webinar focuses on caring for equines in transition who have medical issues, particularly starvation, so that attendees can appropriately manage a horse’s return to health after prolonged caloric deficiency. From the program description, the presentation addresses:
- A big-picture overview of the needs of all horses in transition: routine vaccination, parasite management, hoof care and lameness, wounds, common illnesses, castration of colts and other reproductive problems, management of parturition and foals, horses who are down and unable to rise, and considerations for euthanasia.
- A detailed discussion of managing a starved horse, including refeeding syndrome and how to feed a horse in a way that avoids it, body condition scoring (BCS), and which medical treatments and training steps are appropriate for rescued horses with a low BCS.
- Reproduction, particularly with respect to nutrition and refeeding.
Continuing education accredited through RACE (the American Association of Veterinary State Boards’ Registry of Approved Continuing Education) counts toward the licensure requirements veterinary professionals must maintain. This was Stacie’s first RACE-accredited webinar as sole presenter, two years ahead of her 2023 Merck Animal Health CE webinar on low-stress veterinary care.
HSVMA has since become HumaneVMA (the Humane Veterinary Medical Alliance, the veterinary division of Humane World for Animals). The recording is listed in the HumaneVMA webinar archive and can be viewed on the webinar page; viewing is free for HumaneVMA members.
The material in this webinar grew out of the same work behind Stacie’s book, The Ultimate Guide for Horses in Need, which covers care, rehabilitation, and rehoming for rescued and neglected horses. The book is available directly from Stacie or from Trafalgar Square Books.