January Good Works Honorees Extend Care to Abused, Neglected Horses

The American Association of Equine Practitioners has named Drs. Mary Beth Hamorski and Christina Wilson of Califon Animal Hospital in Lebanon, N.J., as the January honorees of its Good Works Campaign.

Drs. Hamorski and Wilson provide low-cost veterinary care to Mylestone Equine Rescue, a sanctuary for 34 abused, neglected and relinquished horses in Warren County, N.J. For the past 17 years, Dr. Hamorski has acted as the veterinary backbone of the rescue, treating horses recovering from complicated medical conditions, including starvation, lameness, founder and deformities resulting from brutality. Nominator Susan Kelly Thompson says Dr. Hamorski came to her aid when she founded the rescue out-of-pocket in the early 1990s and has never charged the rescue for a routine veterinary visit.

Dr. Hamorski also serves in an advisory role on Mylestone’s board of directors. She and Dr. Wilson actively support the rescue by participating in annual fundraising events, hosting public education events about unwanted horses and promoting the rescue’s mission to their clients. For more information about Mylestone Equine Rescue or to sponsor a horse, visit www.mylestone.org.

Horse owners, veterinary professionals and members of the public are encouraged to nominate an AAEP-member veterinarian for February’s Good Works recognition by Feb. 28. Throughout 2011, the AAEP’s Good Works Campaign will spotlight AAEP-member practitioners whose volunteer efforts are improving the health and welfare of horses. Monthly honorees will be considered for the 2011 Good Works Award, to be presented during the 57th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Nomination forms are available at www.aaep.org/goodworks.htm.

The Good Works Campaign is sponsored in part by AAEP Educational Partner, Pfizer Animal Health. Pfizer Animal Health strives to improve horse health by helping to build strong relationships between veterinarians and horse owners and providing a range of products backed by the highest standards of scientific research.

To discover the Good Works of AAEP veterinarians, nominate a Good Works candidate or find out how you can get started volunteering, visit www.aaep.org/goodworks.htm. For more information on nominating a veterinarian for this program, contact Elizabeth Troutman, publications coordinator, at etroutman@aaep.org.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse.  Currently, the AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 10,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.