AAEP 2012

The Purina Horse Group spent the first week of December attending the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention in Anaheim, CA. Not only does this meeting provide us a great opportunity to visit with veterinarians from all over the country, but it is also our chance to demonstrate our support of current and future veterinarians alike. At our trade show booth, we showcased our premium Purina feeds with a special emphasis on those developed with a veterinary focus, such as our Wellsolve family of products (L/S, W/C, and W/G). We also “unveiled” our new Hydration Hay product and exclusive supplement line to the veterinary community (stay tuned for more details on these in future blog posts). I am really excited about these products, and it was great to see that the vets were also enthusiastic after learning more about the unique features of the Hydration Hay and the technology behind the supplements.

Purina has been a long-time sponsor of the vet student luncheon held at the AAEP Convention, and this year Dr. Gordon and I also participated in the roundtable discussions following lunch. Our table topic was “The power of nutrition in your practice”, and it was refreshing to see how many future vets recognize the importance of nutrition in the overall health and wellness of the horse. Purina also sponsored an afternoon session that focused on orphan foal nutrition, behavior, and care.

One of the highlights of the week for me was to attend the featured lecture delivered by the world renowned expert on equine muscle disorders, Dr.Stephanie Valberg of the University of Minnesota. She discussed the latest developments related to tying up in horses. I definitely learned some things that I will utilize in my work with horses diagnosed with PSSM or RER. There were many other educational talks at the convention, and TheHorse.com did a good job of covering those that are of interest to horse owners (just search “2012 AAEP” from their homepage). All in all, attending the AAEP convention this year gave me a renewed appreciation for the many dedicated equine practitioners who are truly committed to keeping our horses healthy.