Workshop Identifies Priorities for Equine Respiratory System Research

The AAEP Foundation released today the findings of its 2010 Equine Respiratory Research Workshop, held July 20-21, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The report sums up future objectives identified by leading researchers of upper and lower respiratory diseases, immune responses, genetics, diagnostic priorities and treatments.

The report is now available here. Each section of the report includes a statement of issues followed by a list of research priorities.

The workshop, hosted by the AAEP Foundation, provided an opportunity for practitioners and researchers to discuss the future of equine respiratory research and the priorities that the industry should invest in for the future. Held in conjunction with the AAEP’s 2010 Focus on Respiratory Disease educational meeting, the workshop included the presentation of abstracts by 12 panelists as well as a round table discussion and breakout sessions with 21 panel researchers. The goal of this panel was to answer specific questions about the direction and cost of future research of the equine airway system. The panel was divided into two groups representing upper and lower respiratory disorders and was moderated by Norm Ducharme, DMV, MSc, Dipl. ACVS, and Dorothy Ainsworth, DVM, Ph.D, Dipl. ACVIM.

“I want to thank Drs. Ducharme and Ainsworth and all the researchers who volunteered their time to help develop this important document,” said Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, Ph.D, DSc, FRCVS, Diplomate ACVS, AAEP Foundation Chairman. “I look forward to the equine and veterinary communities embracing and using this information to help horses through much needed equine respiratory research.”

Similar to other research panels organized by the AAEP Foundation, the meeting allowed multidisciplinary equine respiratory researchers to prioritize the most important diseases that cause airway dysfunction. The panel was also challenged to develop a plan for investigator collaborations in airway research for the next five to 10 years.

Sponsors for this meeting included the AAEP Foundation, American Quarter Horse Foundation, Barbaro Fund for Equine Health and Safety Research, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Morris Animal Foundation and Pfizer Animal Health. This cooperative effort is helping to identify priorities for equine airway research and will benefit the owner, veterinarian, supporting industries and, most importantly, the horse.

If you wish to support this or other similar workshops that support equine research, please visit www.aaepfoundation.org or call toll free in the United States or Canada at (800) 443-0177 or direct at (859) 233-0147.

For the past 16 years the AAEP Foundation has allocated more than $1.8 million in grants to programs that promote the health of horses. Grant applications for 2011 will be available at www.aaepfoundation.org in early February.

The AAEP Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, was created in 1994 as the charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. The AAEP Foundation’s mission is to improve the health and welfare of the horse through support of research, education, benevolence and the equine community.