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.
