New members join American Association of Equine Practitioners board

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) announced new members of its board at the association's 60th Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, according to an association release. G. Kent Carter, DVM, DACVIM, will serve as president, R. Reynolds Cowles, DVM, will serve as vice president and Jack Easley, DVM, DABVP, DAVDC, will be treasurer. Robert Franklin, DVM, DACVIM, Vivian Freer, DVM, and Katherine Garrett, DVM, DACVS, were installed as board members as well. All will serve terms that last through 2017. Here's some background on the folks who will be filling these posts:

President: Carter is a native of Levan, Utah. He earned his DVM degree from Colorado State University and also completed a large animal medicine residency at Texas A&M, according to the AAEP release. While on faculty at Purdue University he became certified in internal medicine. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 1984 and later served as section chief of internal medicine. Carter also founded a rotation for students dedicated to foot care and its connection to lameness. He has been an AAEP member since 1980 and has worked with the Abstract Review, Farrier Liaison, Infectious Disease, Leadership Development, Nominating and Student Relations committees as well as a term on the board of directors from 2006-2007.

Vice president: Cowles is founder and past president of Blue Ridge Equine Clinic in Earlysville, Virginia. He earned his DVM degree at Oklahoma State University and established his clinic in 1979, where a large amount of his practice focuses on lameness in race and performance horses, according to the release. Cowles is also the chair of the AAEP's Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee, and previously served as treasurer and a member of the board of directors. He has served on several committees as well, including Educational Programs, Finance, Foundation Advisory, Nominating, Political Liaison, Practice Management and Public Policy. 

Treasurer: Easley is a private practitioner and equine dentistry specialist in Shelbyville, Kentucky, who received his DVM degree from Tuskegee University, according to the release. He was an associate professor of surgery at Kansas State University and at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine before entering private practice. Easley's practice has an emphasis on dentistry, and he is a founding diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College's equine specialty. He is a past president and current board member of the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners. Easley serves on the AAEP's Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee and Foundation Advisory Council. He previously served on the board of directors, as chair of the Dentistry and Dental Education Committee, and on the Computer Applications, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Hospital Planning and Public Relations committees. 

Member: Franklin is the owner of The Foundry Veterinary Services in Weatherford, Texas, and a graduate of Texas A&M University. He established intensive care units in equine referral hospitals in Australia, Florida and Texas before starting his consulting practice, according to the release. He is the co-founder and past-president of the Texas Equine Veterinary Association and past president of the Marion County Florida Veterinary Medical Association and former director of the Florida Association of Equine Practitioners and Ocala Equine Conference. Franklin is the a founding director of the Equitarian Initiative and co-founder of Animal Stewards International. He has served on the AAEP's Educational Programs Committee and the Western Performance Horse Drug Rules Task Force and Regional Equine Veterinary Organizations Task Force.

Member: Freer is a solo practitioner and owner of Freer Equine in Tryon, North Carolina, who earned her DVM degree at North Carolina State University, according to the release. She holds “Farrier Jam Sessions” to support the veterinarian-farrier relationship in which veterinarians and farriers work together to evaluate, radiograph, shoe and discuss two cases a month. Freer serves on the AAEP's Veterinarian-Farrier Task Force and is a volunteer instructor of Farrier Short Courses at AAEP student chapters across North America. She previously served on the Membership Development Committee and Veterinarian-Farrier Committee, according to the release.

Member: Garrett is an associate veterinarian and director of diagnostic imaging at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. She is a graduate of Cornell University and has authored textbook chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles, and she has spoken at national and international veterinary conferences, according to the release. Garrett is chair of the Educational Programs Committee and also serves on the Continuing Education Steering Committee. She previously served on the Governance and Journal task forces and as program chair of the AAEP's 2011 Resort Symposium continuing education meeting.