FEEVA acknowledges that appropriate dental care is integral to optimal health and well-being at all stages of a horse’s life. In Europe, dental care of horses is currently provided by a diverse range of personnel including veterinarians, equine dental technicians with varying qualification standards, informally trained equine dental technicians and unqualified lay persons.
In many countries there is no provision under national legislation for the registration and regulation of persons providing equine dental care, which risks jeopardising the health and welfare of our horses.
FEEVA strongly encourages harmonised, Europe-wide standards of education and regulation to ensure that equine dental care is provided only by veterinarians or appropriately qualified and regulated equine dental technicians working in cooperation with veterinarians and in compliance with all relevant European and national legislation including use of medicines.
* Note: ‘horse’ is used to include other equine species such as donkeys and their hybrids. **Note: Equine dental technician is used here as a general term to describe a qualified non-veterinary person performing equine dentistry. Qualifications and training vary between countries where they exist.
Read the position paper HERE
