Foundations fuel equine education

SEATTLE - 12/05/05 - The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) are launching a public-education initiative called HORSE FACTS.

"The goal of this program (is) to promote the little-known fact that biomedical research involving lab animals plays a key role in advancing veterinary medicine as well as human medicine," says FBR President Frankie L. Trull. "The fact that horses, house pets, wildlife and endangered species benefit from biomedical research involving lab animals is one that has long been missing from public discussion on this subject."

The program, planned to be announced today during the 51st-annual AAEP Conference, is geared toward those who ride, raise, train, race and show horses, as well as other equine enthusiasts.

"America's horses, including equine athletes, can live longer, healthier lives thanks to recent, remarkable developments in veterinary medicine," says AAEP Past President Larry R. Bramlage, DVM. "The discovery and development of new equine vaccinations and infertility treatments, medications for ulcers and seizures, as well as orthopedic surgical techniques and innovations in post-surgical care, are just a few of the ingenious innovations for equine health that were developed as a direct result of biomedical research conducted with animals in the laboratory."

The AAEP Foundation, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Foundation, Merial and Pfizer Animal Health provide funding for the program.