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The ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Clinic for Equine Health provides specialist care for horses, ponies and donkeys. It is the only veterinary clinic in the Netherlands that offers highly qualified care thanks to a unique combination of specialists, modern facilities and a wide-ranging programme for clinical research and teaching. Veterinarian and lecturer Fred Smit tells us how students are being involved in the daily practice, and veterinarian specialist Robin van den Boom discusses his new role as head of the largest equine clinic in the Netherlands.

It is 7:45 on Monday morning and still dark at the entrance to the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Clinic for Equine Health. The large parking area, which will soon be filled with cars, vans and horse trailers, is empty and desolate. In the long and broad corridors, a coffee machine beckons in the distance. It won’t be long before these corridors are full of a variety[DT1]  of horses and their owners, as well as veterinarians and students.

A group of seven students and a lecturer sit down together in a small office. Stethoscopes and notebooks lie on the table while veterinarian and lecturer Fred Smit explains the day’s programme: at 09:00, they’ll leave in fully equipped practice vans to see patients at horse yards in the region. Smit talks to the students and explains how they can best prepare themselves. They need to get up to speed with the cases and consider possible questions from the owner. He also gives the students tips like paying proper attention to their clothing before they leave, checking whether they are wearing the right footwear, and ensuring they take their stethoscope with them. While he closes the meeting and checks that the vans contain the required medical equipment, the students check the patients’ records in the system before they walk in groups to the vans and drive away.

Valuable education

All students who are doing a master’s take part in this type of practical training. Under the guidance of a supervisor, they focus on all types of primary care: for example, treating wounds and lameness, giving vaccinations, providing advice about nutrition and housing, and they also deal with emergency cases like colic. The Equine Ambulatory Clinic is available 24/7 for emergency cases in the region. Smit explains: “I’ve had my own veterinary practice for 30 years, and in 2021, I decided to combine that with my current role as veterinarian and lecturer at the Equine Ambulatory Clinic. This part of the university clinic provides care on horse yards in the region. Students can learn so much from daily practice; It is such a valuable way of teaching. Students really appreciate this kind of practical training within the Equine Ambulatory Clinic, which, in this form, is unique in Europe.”

Smit continues: “While we are in the vans on the way to the patients, we prepare and challenge students to take part in the consultation. And when we return to the faculty, they have experienced a lot, so we talk about their experiences and how their fellow students can learn from these. We want to give them tools, and we supervise them based on real-life scenarios.”

Doing and learning together

This practical approach to learning together as part of your education is a recurring theme within the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Clinic for Equine Health. If you walk around the clinic, then you immediately understand what Smit means: in the stalls, two students are talking with an owner to record a patient’s symptoms. During the castration of a ridgling, students and specialists in training are jointly involved in anaesthetising a horse, and everybody has a clear role in this task. A little further along, two students are arranging extra medication for a sick horse that was found to need more pain relief than was originally thought. Everything here revolves around ‘doing and learning together’ while at the same time providing high-level care.

Meanwhile, veterinarian specialist Robin van den Boom carefully listens to a patient’s heartbeat with his stethoscope. Working to a tight schedule, he examines horses of all types and sizes with internal organ diseases. ‘In this instance too, the students note down the case history by listening to what the owner can tell them about the history, circumstances, or cause of the disease or disorder. Van den Boom: “We let the students note down the case history. A supervisor is always present when this happens, but they maintain a certain distance. How much distance is needed depends on the individual case. Afterwards, the supervisor gives the students feedback about what went well in the contact with the owner and where there is still room for improvement.”

Doing shifts and facilitating

With effect from 1 November, Van Den Boom has been appointed chair of the Division of Equine Sciences within the Department of Clinical Sciences. Besides his role as chair of the division, he feels it is important to continue to do shifts. Van den Boom: “It’s a fantastic division with a great group of people. I think it is important to continue to do shifts even though I am the chair of the division. That is the only way I can continue to participate in the care we provide and remain a tangible part of everything we offer. I do not want to lead the division from the top down, but mainly by working together with my colleagues. The Division for Equine Sciences disciplines benefit from being self-managed as much as possible. In my role as chair of the division, I mainly want to enable people to do their work to the best of their abilities.”

Unique perspective

Between September 2014 and February 2017, Van den Boom led the Department of Equine Health at the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� of Adelaide in Australia and subsequently returned to the Department of Internal Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��. He wants to apply the lessons he learned in Australia to Dutch veterinary practice. Van den Boom: “The diseases and disorders that horses have are the same here as in Australia, and they are largely treated in the same way. I learned a lot about collaboration in Australia. For example, I learned that there are many more ways of doing something well or even better. I worked there in an international team and so I regularly asked: “Why are you doing it this way?” Everyone had a different perspective because everyone is unique and had been trained in a different country. You can learn a lot from each other in such a situation.”

Exchanging knowledge

Within the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� Clinic for Equine Health, the Discipline of Reproduction is a good example of an international team with people from different backgrounds, countries, languages and cultures who engage with each other and collaborate well. The team gained experience in Germany, Italy, the United States and Australia, which is something Van den Boom would like to see more often at other departments as well. Van den Boom: “Of course, we are a Dutch faculty, but we should not let things like language get in the way when it comes to international collaborations. Each year, we exchange about 10 to 20 students with other faculties. Besides exchange students, I’d also like to see the exchange of lecturers in the future. And I aim to do more to make that possible.”

Van den Boom concludes: “This way of thinking could also be implemented for the exchange of education. For example, I could lecture at a university in the UK at any time without having to fly there. Conversely, we are also open to lectures from foreign faculties. I think the exchange of knowledge with other countries could be very valuable.”

Text: Jelle Boontje | Photography: Bas Niemans

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