Newbury Veterinary Discussion Panel - 'The Relevance of Orthopaedic Disease from a Veterinary Perspective'

As part of the series of Thoroughbred Growth Forums, we hosted a live Veterinary Juvenile Discussion Panel to talk about the relevance of Orthopaedic Disease from a veterinary perspective.

The veterinary panel at the Newbury session were Robert Dallas (Rossdales), Fil De Oliveira (Donnington Grove Equine Vets), Jess Dicks (Baker McVeigh) and Pat Sells (Orbital Vet Services) alongside Nick Wingfield Digby (Rossdales) and Dr. Joe Pagan (Kentucky Equine Research).

Robert Dallas

BVSc, CertES(Orth), MRCVS

Clinical Director responsible for Rossdales Lambourn

Robert is the clinical director responsible for providing veterinary services to racehorse trainers and the wider Thoroughbred community in and around the Lambourn area. He also attends all the major bloodstock sales on behalf of clients in the UK and in Europe.

Robert, who is from Northern Ireland, graduated from the Bristol School of Veterinary Science in 2003 and spent a year in mixed practice before joining Rossdales as an intern at our Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in 2004. On completion, he undertook a season’s internship in equine stud medicine with Sidney Ricketts before joining our stud and racing teams. He became a partner in 2012 and clinical director in 2021.

He was awarded the prestigious RCVS Certificate in Equine Surgery (Orthopaedics) in 2010. His casebook submitted as part of the examination additionally was selected for inclusion in the Royal College’s library, for reference by future candidates.

Filipe De Oliveira

BVSc, CertAVP, MRCVS

Donnington Grove Equine Vets

Filipe qualified from Bristol University in 1997. He started his career in mixed practice in Suffolk, before spending 5 years at Rossdales, Newmarket, under the guidance of Peter Rossdale and Sidney Ricketts. Following time working in Dubai and then Surrey, he joined the practice as a locum in 2006, before taking on a full-time role with primary responsibility for developing the stud side of the practice. Fil has special interests in foal medicine and (developmental) orthopaedics, foetal sex determination and care of the high-risk pregnant mare. He offers second opinion referral services to vets in the area, including advice of foetal sex testing, mare problems, and foal/yearling orthopaedic issues, and has lectured at several CPD meetings in the UK.

Jess Dicks

BVSc, MRCVS

Baker McVeigh

Jess was raised in South Africa and studied her first year BSc at Rand Afrikaans University. She then went on to Onderstepoort in Pretoria, where she worked in a sports horse/repro practice for two years. After a spell in the UK performing locums with similar practices, she returned to South Africa to join the Baker McVeigh practice in Summerveld, in 2009. She fulfilled the duties of senior racing and repro vet, servicing many of the top yards, and is now part of the team providing veterinary services for clients in and around the Lambourn area.

Pat Sells

BVSc, BSC (Hons), CertAVP, MRCVS

Orbital Veterinary Services

Pat Sells worked at Rossdales in Newmarket for several years before setting up a stud and racing practice for a large owner-breeder in New Zealand. On his return in 2016, he settled in Surrey, from where he now runs Orbital Veterinary Services at Chasemore Farm, the base of owner-breeders, Andrew & Jane Black. Whilst being on the management team that runs the stud, Pat provides clinical services to local farms and Epsom training yards. His areas of specialist interest include theriogenology, neonatology, podiatry and youngstock sales work.