Newsletters:
February 2010
Chairman’s Message
Dear Member,
Welcome to the first IRVAP newsletter. There have been many developments resulting from much telephone legwork and the fostering of new contacts. IRVAP now has good links with ACPAT, and as well as accepting student members from the Canine and Equine Physiotherapy Training course, now accepts them from both the Royal Veterinary College and University of the West of England MSc courses in veterinary physiotherapy. As these students qualify we hope to see the general membership of IRVAP expand significantly in the future.
IRVAP has been in discussion with Towergate Insurance, with the result that the underwriters have constructed a new professional indemnity and civil liability policy specifically for IRVAP members and fellows.
The accreditation arm of IRVAP has also been active, being able to provisionally accredit both the CEP Training veterinary physiotherapy course, and a new hydrotherapy course written by Barbara Houlding, whom I am sure you have heard of.
The first AGM of IRVAP is planned for April 2010.
Richard Payne MRCVS
Chairman of IRVAP
IRVAP represented at the Association of Veterinary Student’s (AVS) Congress at Liverpool University.
Members of IRVAP and the CEPT course will be in attendance on 6th February and IRVAP Chairman, Richard Payne will be presenting an invited lecture on the need for veterinary physiotherapy. The VSA represents student veterinary surgeons from all five veterinary universities
IRVAP Accreditation Board grants provisional accreditation to a new course in Canine Aqua and Hydro Therapy.
The course run at K9 Hydro Services Centre in Suffolk by Barbara Houlding MSc (Veterinary Physiotherapy), MCSP, and other well qualified staff will encompass all aspects of aqua and hydro therapy and pool management. The course, assessed at level 3 – 4, is open to all students interested in canine rehabilitation
Putting the Donkey Work into Physiotherapy
by Sue Paling of the Sathya Sai Sanctuary Trust for Nature
With few exceptions the donkey has been accepted throughout history as a beast of burden, somehow inferior to his counterpart the horse, a lesser being suited to poor people working poor land in poor countries. Their ability to survive and work on a diet of inferior quality fodder and a lower water requirement than any other domesticated animal except the camel, does indeed, make them a valuable accomplice in arid areas and difficult machine–unfriendly terrain. Yet despite these attributes and their legendary surefootedness, patience and dependability they are scorned as intractable, stubborn and perverse and are subjected to bullying and beatings. Donkeys are, in fact, highly intelligent and cannot usually be persuaded into circumstances with which they are not comfortable, thereby often saving their owners’ cargo and sometimes even their lives but in return they are habitually asked to serve mankind by carrying and carting loads far in excess of the mechanical ability of their frame.
Very large donkeys like the French Poitou and the American Mammoth, both standing up to 15hh high are well able to match a horse of similar size but the majority of donkeys are much smaller, ranging from 9hh to12hh (excluding the miniatures which are generally kept only as pets), yet they are still expected to accomplish the workload of a horse twice or three times their weight. Whilst it is generally accepted that a donkey can pull two and a half times it’s own weight given properly fitting harness and a well balanced cart, these latter two are so often lacking, compounding the inherent belief that somehow a donkey is not worthy of quality, well made tack and that any old cart will do regardless of its weight, shape and balance or whether the wheels are even of equal size.
The results, of course, are harness sores, which in hot countries often become infected, strained muscles and a twisted skeleton as the donkey tries to compensate physically for the mechanical defects.
Likewise no donkey of 12hh or smaller should ever be asked to carry more than 8 stone, (50 kilos or 110 lbs) yet everyone is familiar with pictures of donkeys loaded with such mass he is barely visible – and then a person (or even a whole family) perched on top! Is it surprising then that the donkey, along with valuable racehorses and not so valuable people suffer with back trouble, torn ligaments, stretched tendons and sore muscles?
Add to this the problem of hoof miss-management: particularly in countries like UK and Ireland, donkeys are often kept on rich, soft land unsuitable in terms of both natural wear and dietary nutrition (the rich fodder leading to chronic laminitis or founder) and our long suffering donkey becomes a serious victim of abuse. 
Only 20 years ago, when donkeys were used to carry out the dried turf (peat) that was a common form of domestic heating in Northern Europe, it was normal to let the hooves grow long and curl up so they would be less likely to sink into the bogland. Little thought was given to the incredible suction generated in the ‘cup’ formed by this malformed hoof as the poor animal struggled to carry heavy creels of turf through mud, sometimes belly deep, or of the subsequent strain and ultimate damage to joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles.
A common form of restraint, even today, is to hobble ie: tie either the two front legs together, or a front and back leg, so the donkey can graze without being able to gather sufficient speed to disappear from the workplace overnight. Tethering with a rope around the head or neck is also common and in both cases the rope is often overly tight, causing restriction in the circulation and skin sores, and as anyone knows who has had to work hard physically whilst suffering an open wound or sore, the natural reaction is to move out of balance in order to protect oneself from further pain, with the result that other parts get stiff and sore! Climate also plays its part as donkeys are indigenous to Africa and Asia and do not have waterproof coats. A chronically wet, cold animal inevitably suffers rheumatism and arthritis in later years.
Whilst in may be argued that many of the above examples of donkey abuse are now outmoded in civilised countries it should be remembered that most working donkeys still labour daily in the underprivileged rural areas of less well -off countries where these practices continue. Moreover, as donkeys in Western Europe frequently live into their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, we should remember that
many of our older pets are coping with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis, spinal lesions, deformed hooves leading to skeletal imbalance, fractured bones, muscular fibrositis and severe pain from overgrown hooks and razor sharp edges on their teeth. Many of these conditions require specialised medical treatment or the services of an expert farrier or dentist but all can be helped pre or post treatment, and often both, by sympathetic massage and physiotherapy. Nor should the therapeutic hands-on healing effect be
underestimated in an animal that is naturally affectionate and interactive. Apart from the clinical benefits, they will love the attention!
This article was written for the IRVAP newsletter by Sue who runs the Sathya Sai Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland . See: www.donkeys.ie
CEPT course continues apace with a very high level of student satisfaction
CEPT’s course running at Nottingham University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science has nearly reached the halfway point of its first year. The course under provisional accreditation by IRVAP regularly gains feedback and evaluation from its students as part of the quality control aspect. Marjorie Somerville, the assistant director, reports that the course has a 100% satisfaction rating from students. The teaching team constantly address any potential difficulties and give students both academic and pastoral support.
External lecturers have included Associate Professor Mike Target from Nottingham University and Dr Sarah Williams from Liverpool University Veterinary School. As part of the quality control all regular teaching staff on the course are undertaking a programme of teaching training to ensure a continuing high quality of delivery of both formal and practical sessions.
Note: IRVAP members are invited to attend specialist lectures alongside of the CEPT students. A charge is made and the time counts towards CPD requirements.
(Left)
Students undertaking distal limb wet dissections at Nottingham Veterinary School
(Right)
Closely supervised equine surface anatomy being taught in the menage
NOTE: All articles included in this newsletter are copyright to the authors who have given permission to publish here. Any views expressed are not necessarily those of IRVAP or the editor.
Contributions for the next newsletter would be welcome. Send to instvrap@aol.com