Opening the 42nd Conference of the South African Equine Veterinary Association, George, South Africa, February 2010

Flying from UK and the coldest winter for 30 years to the warmth of Cape Town in late summer, with the iconic Table Mountain as a most dramatic city backdrop, was as wonderful as it sounds. George is a mere 50 minute hop by small plane to the north east at the junction of the Eastern and Western Capes. Equine veterinary surgeons from as far afield as Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia joined colleagues from South Africa to make approximately 120 delegates attending the meeting; in fact there was even a veterinary surgeon from the United Kingdom who had come with his family for a holiday. With several speakers from Australia, the UK and USA, as well as South Africa, there was a very international feel to the meeting and a busy lecture schedule was balanced by a diverse social programme which combined a variety of outdoor activities with serious socialising. During the meeting the two-year SAEVA Presidential baton was passed from Dr Dave Mullins to Dr Bennie van der Merwe, both well known equine practitioners.

Whilst much of the meeting was devoted to relatively specialised orthopaedic material, half a day was devoted to infectious diseases, with a potentially much greater impact on the wider equine population. On the back of global warming, diseases such as African Horse Sickness represent a significant challenge to equids even in the much colder climate of northern Europe.

As WEVA President I was privileged to open the Conference and to be provided with an excellent platform to profile the sort of work to which WEVA is committed. It is clear from several conversations I had with delegates from various southern African countries that there are local issues with working equids as well as a hunger for continuing education in general. I am confident that SAEVA's recent affiliation to WEVA will furnish us with much greater contact in this region in future. Clearly Africa as a continent represents the diversity of equine activity from elite sports and racehorses, through pleasure horses to the significant use of working equids in many parts of the continent. I had the opportunity to discuss SAEVA's possible involvement with our next biennial Congress in Hyderabad and left the meeting with firm assurances of their support for this venture.

My South African hosts gave me a very warm welcome and I am certain that WEVA will be able to rely on a proactive input from SAEVA in the years to come.

Tim Greet