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Horse Health Fund Sets Record With $225,000 Investment In Western College Of

June 27, 2007

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan --- The Equine Health Research Fund

(EHRF) will invest more than $225,000 in equine health research and specialized training

programs at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine during the next 12 months —

the largest annual amount ever awarded by the 30-year-old fund.

More than $122,000 of the western Canadian-based research fund’s investment is

directed toward eight new equine health research studies in reproduction, orthopedic

surgery, pathology and internal medicine that will be conducted by WCVM scientists.

“These projects target health issues such as laminitis, endotoxemia, osteoarthritis and

sarcoids that commonly occur among horse populations in Western Canada and across

North America,” points out Dr. Norman Rawlings, WCVM’s associate dean of research.

“By supporting these eight studies, the Equine Health Research Fund is giving WCVM

scientists the opportunity to explore new theories in diagnosing and treating these

existing problems. The long-term impact is that results from their work may lead to

valuable improvements in horse health care.”

For more detailed information about each of the eight research projects, please visit

www.ehrf.usask.ca (click “Research”).

The rest of the fund’s 2007-08 financial support focuses on specialized, equine-related

training for graduate and undergraduate students at WCVM: $95,500 toward the EHRF

research fellowship program and $8,100 for the fund’s undergraduate summer student

research program.

The money allocated to the EHRF fellowship program will support the training of Drs.

Luca Panizzi, Tal Raz and Chris Bell. All three are residents in WCVM’s Department of

Large Animal Clinical Sciences and will conduct equine-related research as part of their

graduate degree programs.

The EHRF has annually sponsored two research fellows in previous years, but the

creation of an additional fellowship became possible after the fund received a $125,000

contribution from the Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Foundation. The contribution

was part of the foundation’s $1.07-million gift to WCVM’s equine and companion

animal health programs in August 2006.

The EHRF undergraduate summer student research program provides a WCVM

veterinary student with hands-on research experience in the equine health field. This

summer, first-year WCVM student Hayley Lang of Humboldt, Sask., will work alongside

her mentor, large animal surgeon Dr. Spencer Barber. During the 16-week program, Lang

will be directly involved in planning and developing a research project, conducting

experiments, collecting and summarizing results, then writing and editing a research

report.

In addition to the EHRF's financial support, three teams of research scientists at WCVM

received $410,000 from the Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé Veterinary Health and

Research Fund in March 2007. The allotment supports three cutting-edge investigations

of equine endotoxemia, neonatal Rhodococcus equi pneumonia and genetic ocular

disorders at the veterinary college. For more details about each of these research projects,

please visit www.ehrf.usask.ca (click "News").

The Equine Health Research Fund has played a major role in making the Western

College of Veterinary Medicine a national centre for horse health research and

specialized training. With grassroots support from Western Canada's horse industry, the

fund has helped to train nearly three dozen equine specialists and has supported more

than 150 equine health-related studies. EHRF-sponsored research and training programs

have also encouraged many undergraduate veterinary students to pursue equine healthrelated

careers in private practice, research, academia and industry.

WCVM is a Canadian centre for veterinary education, expertise and research that’s

located on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Sask. Nearly 400

undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at the college that annually attracts

more than $5 million in research funding from public and private sources.

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