Straight from the horse’s mouth: SVS at BEVA
Staff and student, Hannah Shanks-Boon, represented the University of Liverpool at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2023.
The University of Liverpool was very well represented at the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress (13-16 September 2023).
Professor Peter Clegg (PhD 1997) was awarded the prestigious BEVA Honorary membership by The Princess Royal at the awards ceremony in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the equine veterinary profession in his role as Associate Editor of the Equine Veterinary Journal.
Harry Carslake, Tamzin Furtado (PhD 2019), April Lawson, Alison Talbot, David Stack, Chris Baldwin and Becky Smith between them gave 16 presentations at congress and helped to run a number of workshops.
Veterinary student Hannah Shanks-Boon
Fourth year student Hannah Shanks-Boon presented her 3rd year research project “Soft palate angle and basihyoid depth are related to tongue size and body condition score in the horse”. Hannah explained more about the project: “The project involved taking measurements from the CT scans of 44 horses and comparing the values with the horses’ body condition score (BCS). A significant correlation was identified between increasing BCS and increasing soft palate angle. Furthermore, increasing BCS led to an increase in basihyoid depth, meaning the basihyoid sits more dorsally at rest in obese horses. There was also a significant correlation between increasing tongue size and increasing soft palate angle.”
Hannah told us, “Presenting at BEVA congress was nerve-racking but also incredibly exciting. I am so grateful to have been selected to present at congress and I learnt so much from the process and experience. The support from Alison Talbot, Chris Baldwin, Tom Maddox and Hattie Barnes was invaluable and I cannot thank them enough for their guidance. Although presenting at BEVA was daunting, I am so pleased I took the opportunity and I definitely recommend other students present their projects if an occasion to do so arises.”
Hannah was recently selected as one of just four finalists for the British Equine Trade Association (BETA) Equine Thesis of the Year Award. The online final was at the end of October and judges commended Hannah’s ability to translate a scientific subject for a wide audience. You can watch a recording of Hannah’s presentation on YouTube here.
Following these experiences, Hannah said, “Following graduation in 2025, I would like to work in equine first opinion practice or a mixed farm and equine practice. Carrying out my research project, presenting at congress and listening to the other speakers has really inspired me to carry out further research so I would like to incorporate this into my future career.”
BEVA Congress 2024 will be in Liverpool! Don't forget alumni can benefit from exclusive discounts when visiting Liverpool.