Dobšiná Horse Breeding

We went on a trip to Dobšiná to a horse breeding farm where they produce Noriker draught horses which are used for working in the forests.

They’re big chunky horses with lots of muscle and a good temperament so ideal for their work.

The foals are kept with mares for three years before being broken at four years old for basic training.

They had wooden stocks set up into which they brought the mares for transrectal ultrasound for early pregnancy diagnosis.

We were able to determine the gestational age by measuring the fetus length and how the heart was beating.

Vaccination Day

Céline has been to the vets for her second DHPPi vaccination and wormer

She's had a little bit of a gunky eye for a few days which I was cleaning with eye cleaner from the pet shop which wasn't working so we have antibiotic and steroid eye drops to give five times a day to clear it up.

It seems a little excessive to give five times a day but best to get on top of it early and she's been really good about putting them in

Céline the Foster Pup

A friend has been fostering a dog with the hopes of adopting her when she graduates this summer but the job she has taken has long days so not ideal for having a dog! She is moving apartments this weekend and asked me to take her on as a foster.

She came over and was super nervous as she's only lived with girls before so it took a lot of treats to make friends but she settled in the evening.

Dobre Pivo

When I left before Easter a few weeks ago it was snowing and suddenly Spring has arrived and it's 28oC!

We've had a few credit tests this week and everyone's been stuck inside studying so we spent the afternoon on Hlavna drinking with friends and getting a tan...

Back on the farm

Happy to be back at the school farm with this lot...

We've been to the school farm so many times now that we know the drill and work really well together. We started off with clinical examination of calves doing TPR, taking swabs of nasal discharge or diarrhea if required, then going along and giving Triavit vitamin injections.

We spotted one calf which had an umbilical hernia so we flushed that with Betadine to disinfect it and it will be coming back to the university Ruminants clinic for surgery.

Another calf had a poo-ball (like chickens get on their feet) which had dried and stuck to it's tail so we soaked that in warm water to try and soak it off, took a while but the boys eventually got it off and left a bit of a sore so we cleaned that up too.

Grey Squirrel orphans

A member of the public brought these babies into the clinic last week, we said they need to be taken back to their parents which they refused to do, so one of the nurses took them on.

They are grey squirrels which are technically vermin and should have been euthanised but the nurse is in contact with a wildlife rescue who have a licence to rehab and release them.

They’re über cute and need bottle feeding around the clock but they have already grown so much in the week that I’ve seen them!

BSAVA Manual of Avian Practice A Foundation Manual

I’m clucking eggcited to have finally got my hands on the new BSAVA Manual of Avian Practice

🐔🐧🦆🦅🦉🐓🦃

I've been waiting a while for this book which was written by John Chitty who came over to speak at our Exotics and Wildlife Weekend last year and finally got my hands on a copy at BSAVA Congress.

Pictured with my Burchell's Zebra skull 'cos why not aha

BSAVA Congress 2018

April is finally here which means one thing, BSAVA Congress!

The way Easter fell this year worked out really well as I could come home for Easter, see practice and then stay home for Congress which is held in Birmingham.

There were about 15 students from UVM Košice who flew over and I had four friends staying at my house as my parents booked a holiday so we had a free house.

Congress is awesome as there are about 500 sessions (lectures and practicals) spread over 59 streams arranged by subject so truly something for everyone. The ones we found particularly interesting and useful were the Student Stream which covered the transition from classroom to clinic, giving advice on client communication, your first bitch spay and case discussions. It meant we could also socialise with other vet students, not that people did much of that, but I caught up with friends from my undergrad degree and others who I've done EMS with which was nice.

There was a big focus on Brachycephalic breeds (Pugs, Boxers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) and their associated problems this year; from illegally imported puppies from Europe and Ireland to ocular problems which was really interesting. Vets are working really hard with the media to stop using poor examples in advertising, focussing on healthy dogs and breeding towards individuals with longer noses and faces which can breathe. #BreedToBreathe

It sounds silly but as we study abroad our lecturers are amazing at what they do and their English is great but when you listen to native speakers they crack jokes and keep your focus so much better. My favourite speaker this year was Yolanda Martinez Pereira a Spanish vet working in Edinburgh who has the most awesome accent and had the whole room laughing.

We also attended PetSavers practical workshops on suture practice, placing of surgical wounds and nasogastric tubes.

There is a social event at the end of each day where we caught up with many Košice graduates and definitely had our fair share of the 15,000 complementary drinks served over the weekend! The best one is Thursday evening as we're International delegates we're invited to the Sea Life Centre for drinks and canapes.

Congress is awesome value for money at £94 for students which includes entry to the exhibition, all lecture streams and lunch each day. It is a great chance to speak to recruiters and graduate schemes to learn about career prospects, both in the UK and further afield. We spoke to several companies and hope to bring some out to Košice for talks and workshops which will help raise the international profile of our university.

We were a bit disappointed with the freebies in the exhibition compared to last year, mainly just got pens, but we got some great water bottles and reusable coffee cups. There was a big push to reduce plastic and we didn't take as many leaflets etc which we'll never read - all the drinks served in the exhibition were compostable 'plastic'!

It's surprising how many people you notice walking around, be it from local practices or social media - it's a bizarre concept introducing yourself to people you've spoken to quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook but everyone was really nice. We also saw loads of Kosice graduates who are all loving their jobs so that's a confidence boost.

I popped to see WVS who I went to India with last year and after I hosted a World Spay Day bake sale at vet school raising €222 they surprised me with a certificate...

Overall we had a great week and I can't wait for next year.
Thank you to all the BSAVA staff and volunteers who work hard all year to make Congress what it is.