New president keen to promote equine dentistry
"As a first opinion practitioner working in equine dentistry, I am particularly keen to support the drive to secure legislation concerning paraprofessionals."
The BEVA's newly appointed president, Vicki Nicholls, says she wants to promote the role of equine vets in dentistry and has spoken out in support of legislation concerning paraprofessionals.
Commenting on her priorities as president at this year's BEVA congress, she explained: "As a first opinion practitioner working in equine dentistry, I am particularly keen to support the drive to secure legislation concerning paraprofessionals; our role as vets is to safeguard the welfare of horses and it is paramount that this is reiterated in our aim to legitimise and unite paraprofessionals in horse health care."
Nicholls added that she "wholly supports" the need for many equine vets to achieve a better work-life balance.
She took up her post as the 2016/17 president at the end of BEVA Congress (10 September), taking over from former president Mark Bowen.
Nicholls is part of the University of Liverpool's veterinary postgraduate unit and has sat on the BEVA council for six years. She studied zoology at the University of Leeds before qualifying as a vet at the Royal Veterinary College in 2001.
After an internship in New Jersey at the Mid Atlantic Equine Hospital, she joined the equine team at Bristol University, where she developed a particular interest in equine dentistry.
She joined Wright and Morten in Cheshire following a period several years in a busy first and second opinion hospital in Wiltshire and passed the BEVA/BVDA dental exam in 2010. Subsequently, she acquired advanced veterinary practice certificates (Cert AVP) in equine medicine and dentistry.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
