Chairman’s Report
Angela Rogers
Chairman SA Equine Veterinary Association Cell: 082 857 8224
We are already a quarter of the way through 2020 and it
is abundantly apparent that we have an uncertain and
challenging year ahead.
By the time you receive this edition of the EHU we will be
in lockdown for three weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic is
affecting us all and we need to play our role in being part of the
solution to “flatten the infection curve”, and hopefully prevent
overwhelming our healthcare system. We, as veterinarians,
are considered an essential service and as such should be
responsible in the way we utilize this privilege. Unlike many
other professions, we have the benefit of being able to
continue to earn an income, all be it reduced.
It is going to be a trying time for all of us but let us make the
most of it and take the opportunity to complete projects for
which we never seem to find time. Spend valuable time, so
often in short supply, connecting with our loved ones and
reflecting on the value of friends and family.
“There is never a setback or a challenge without an
opportunity” - JdM
SAVA, in collaboration with SAEVA, has issued a set of practice
guidelines for equine veterinarians. Please remember we need
to be able to justify that whatever work we do constitutes an
emergency which, if delayed for three weeks, would negatively
affect the health or welfare of the patient or the community.
Moving on to where my report initially began:
I took over the position of chair at the annual congress this
year and Terry is now past chairman. Thank you to him for all
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the time and commitment he dedicated to SAEVA over the
last two years. Thanks to Terry and Manfred, SAEVA now has a
new structure with a Board of Directions and a Federal Council
which will streamline processes and improve efficiency. We
also have a team of committed members serving on the BOD
and FEDCO who will help to make my term much easier.
The SAEVA congress was held in February at Skukuza and
I believe it was successful on both an academic and a social
level. It was held from Thursday to Sunday to try to disrupt
delegates’ work week as little as possible. This is also the plan
for future congresses.
Our international speakers had a wealth of knowledge which
was presented in a practical way for all of us to be able to apply
something in our day-to-day work. Parallel sessions were
offered on most days, allowing delegates a choice of topics.
There were also a few out of the ordinary sessions, notably
a talk by Nicky Weimer, senior economist at Nedbank, and a
panel discussion with equine insurance companies.
In a very interesting and hard-hitting presentation Nicky
confirmed that we should expect a difficult few years ahead,
largely due to power constraints depressing our economy.
Congress was interrupted on a number of occasions by ESKOM
load shedding (probably better termed LESKOM) and this is
expected to continue for at least 3-5 years. For anyone who
missed this, it will be available on the SAEVA website and
you can also Google Nicky and find a number of interesting
presentations by her.
The panel discussion with the insurance companies can go
on record as being the only presentation which has ever
resulted in the golfers postponing their golf day in order to
• Equine Health Update •