Congratulations to Colin Mitchell (Scott Mitchell Associates) and Liz Jackson (Paragon Veterinary Group) who were married on 19th December 2009.
XLVet National Equine Meeting November 2009
The XLVet national equine meeting took place at Haydock races on the 5th & 6th November 2009. click here to see the race card from the race sponsored by XLVets. A full write up and photos will feature in the next issue of XLVets news!
Video Compilation of all Three Eastnor Castle Meetings
October 2009
XLVet National Practice Management Meeting
October 2009
The XLVet national Practice Management meeting took place on the 14th & 15th of October 2009 at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury. Below are a selction of photos from the meeting, more photos and a full write up will be in the next issue of XLVets news!
XLVet National Small Animal Meeting October 2009
The XLVet national Small Animal meeting took place on the 7th & 8th of October 2009 at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury. Below are a selction of photos from the meeting, more photos and a full write up will be in the next issue of XLVets news!
XLVet National Farm Meeting October 2009
The XLVet national Farm meeting took place on the 1st & 2nd of October 2009 at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury. Below are a selction of photos from the meeting, more photos and a full write up will be in the next issue of XLVets news!
Great North Swim
Congratulations to XLVet member Anne Abbs from Paragon Veterinary Group, who took part in this year’s Great North Swim. The Great North Swim is a one mile open water swim in England’s largest Lake, Windermere. Thousands of swimmers of all abilities followed in the waves of the elites and took on the one mile open water challenge against the stunning backdrop of the Lake District National Park.Anne managed to raise a fantastic £180 and because she was unable to take part in her practice bike ride she added her sponsorship to the practice fund. Great Effort!
Paragon AMTRA Success
Congratulations to XLVet members Karen Richardson and Andrea Longcake (pictured below), both from Paragon Veterinary Group. Who recently passed their AMTRA examination for E-SQP ( Small Animal and Equine) at Harper Adams
Coniston Challenge
On Saturday 12th September, two teams of six from Ardene House Vets took part in the Guide Dog Coniston Challenge.The Challenge comprises a 17K mountain bike route round Grizedale Forest, a 3K kayak circuit of Coniston Water and then the small matter of climbing the Old Man of Coniston – the steep way!As well as training for the event we also raised over £5,500 for Guide Dogs over the summer from bag packs, plant sales & a race night.
Having been well warned about the weather in the Lake District – rumoured to be even rainier than Aberdeen – the Dippy Dolittles & Only Fools Without Horses awoke to bright sunshine which meant hastily swapping the waterproof gear for sun screen and shorts.
After a strenuous pedal round what appeared to be a course comprising only of hills going up, we took to the water for what was the most peaceful 30 minutes of the day.The lake was flat can pleasantly cool and we all successfully dodged the assortment of steam yachts, dinghies and ducks which were sharing the water.
A short refreshment break and yet another change of kit, we headed to tackle the Old Man which sits high, too high for my liking, above the village.The sun was at its hottest and we were getting a little tired by the time we got to the top which was, according to all the people we met coming down, ‘just round the corner and up a wee bit more’.The walk down was tough on what were now very tired legs but the though of a cold beer waiting at the end saw us through.
It certainly was a challenge and amid the mutterings of ‘never again’ was a great sense of achievement both in the completion of the day’s events and the fundraising effort. One Mountain – Many Happy Memories (and 24 rather aching legs)!
BEVA Congress
First for BEVA - First for XLVets
Thursday 10th September at the ICC Birmingham saw BEVA launch their inaugural careers seminar which ran alongside the commercial exhibition during “happy hour” at the Annual Congress. The seminar was an opportunity for large equine practices to answer questions from job-seeking under- and recent graduates. The XLVets stand was, arguably, the biggest, best attended and most informative of them all. Five XLVets equine forum members were available for two hours to proffer wine, beer and advice on what a job in an XLVets practice could offer. The table display contained latest newsletters as well as a flier on how the “5 Pillars” support and improve life and work in practice as a new graduate. Reassuringly, the vast majority of the students visiting the stand had heard about XLVets or had positive comments about their seeing practice experience within the XLVets Group. The XLVets members present at the seminar had a great time and enjoyed meeting enthusiastic young vets of the future but did find it very thirsty work!
Jon Huxley'sJohn O'Groats to Lands End Walk
Message from Jon Huxley 13/08/09: "I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to all XLVet members who either sent me messages of support or donated. The total is at £8.5k and still going up at about £100/day!"
This summer Jon Huxley walked the length of the country, from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The walk was in memory of his mum, "Gill", who died from a type of leukaemia in 2007. After 18 months planning and 9 months training he started on the 27th of June and finished on the 1st of August. He walked the 913 mile route over five weeks and averaged just over 29 miles per day; six days per week and in total climbed 69,000 feet (twice the height of Everest) and took approximately 1.6 million steps.
On Monday 13th July Jon reached the Carlisle leg of his walk, David Black and Bruce Richards joined him on his walk through the city, pictures below:
Pictures of Jon Reader, Kingfisher Veterinary Practice on Day 28:
The Wright and Morten Welsh 3000 Challenge
Member practice Wright and Morten, decided to raise money for Peter Potts, who was their maintenance man up to August last year. Peter suffered a cardiac arrest on the 3rd August, and as a result is suffering with a severe brain injury. Headway, a brain injury charity at Stockport is helping Peter’s family with all sorts of things, so some of the money raised will go to them also.
The challenge is described in the words of Sue Wilson, Practice Manager;
We arrived at the camp site in North Wales on Friday 19th June along with thousands of midges and prepared for our marathon walk. Gareth Harries S/A Partner and Damian Chapman (husband of head nurse Emma Chapman) left camp at approx 3.30am as they were up for the entire 15 peaks in the 24 hours! The mist was down and the rain came and made conditions pretty horrendous. The rest of us were in two groups; Bridget Taylor’s group, to do the Carnedds and Helen Worth and Mark Tabachnik’s group, to do the Glyders.
At 7.30 we were on our way. We walked for 10.5 hours with practically no visibility, total cloud white out and driving rain and a relentless side wind. But true grit, team spirit and determination and the first part of our challenge was over.
Back to camp that evening for our BBQ and to share our stories of the day.
On the Sunday we all indulged in bacon and eggs and several cups of tea before setting off for Snowdon. 2.5 hours up and pretty much the same to come down. Rain still coming down, but a great sense of achievement.
We are already over the £4,000.00 mark and the money is still coming in.
A fantastic weekend for everyone involved.
XLVets AGM
17th-18th June 2009
This year's XLVets AGM was held at Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District. The two day event covered the formal AGM and there was time for interaction and discussion between group members and a visit to Honister Slate Mine. Below are pictures from the event:
Thanks to Intervet Schering Plough who supported the XLVets AGM 2009
NSA North Sheep
Wednesday 3rd June 2009
This year’s North Sheep event was held at Laund Farm, Preston. The event was extremely well attended and the XLVets stand enjoyed a very busy day, with over 300 visitors to the stand.
The XLVets stand promoted farm health planning and held a competition to determine the extent of farm health planning being undertaken by those visiting the event. Of the 96 entries to the competition, 76% of entrants claimed they had a flock health plan, however only 56% of these farmers meet with their veterinary surgeon to review flock health management.
Many thanks to Iain Richards (Westmorland), Judith Lee (Westmorland), Ian Cure (Lambert, Leonard & May), Vicky Bushby (Paragon) and Lucy Hindmarsh (Paragon) who all helped on the XLVet stand at this years’ North Sheep event.
Beef Expo, Malvern
Thursday 21st May 2009
A very big thank you to Anne (Paragon), Bill (Belmont), James (LLM), Helen (Wright and Morten), Jo (Scott Mitchell) and David (Paragon) for their sterling efforts at this year’s Beef Expo held at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern in May. We had over 400 farmers attend the stand and it is very clear that the message of “quality veterinary service” attached to your brand is making its mark. Large banners and a newsletter which reported on the excellent case studies from the farm health planning projects were displayed and distributed.
The pre-Expo farm visits had been to two farm clients of XLVet member Belmont Veterinary Centre. The opportunity was taken to produce and display banners on these farms to coincide with the visits: many thanks to Matthew Pugh and Bill Main for their work in coordinating this.
The Expo also provided the opportunity to interact with a number of key players within the Industry, including breed societies, agricultural journalists and other agricultural suppliers. In addition, James Allcock and Andrew Curwen separately gave presentations as a part of the Seminar programmes that were running during the day, leading to coverage in the agricultural press.
NSA Welsh Sheep
Tuesday 19th May 2009
XLVet member Ben Pedley of Willows Veterinary Group attended and presented a bluetongue seminar at the recent NSA Welsh Sheep Event.
Ben commented: “The event was very well attended, despite the awful weather. I even met a couple of our clients there. The interest in BTV though is poor and I feel that this is mainly due to the lateness that Wales became a PZ and vaccination started last year. Uptake of the vaccine is minimal and I spoke to guys from Merial and Intervet to gauge the feedback they had received on their stands - they agreed with me.
“Despite the price drop last week, farmers still don’t feel it’s necessary. What they need is some evidence that it will affect their business. I showed them slides of the devastation in France when they didn’t vaccinate and also what happened to the number of cases in Holland when they did vaccinate. Perhaps they will have to wait until it’s evident again in the UK!!
“As regards the rest of the seminars there was a lot of interest in electronic ID which is coming in next year, and the advantages and possible swing to selling more in the markets at market price rather than direct to the supermarkets etc.
“A good show though,” concludes Ben
National Cattle Mobility Event
April 2009
The second, annual, National Cattle Mobility Event was held on the 26th March at the University of Nottingham Veterinary School.
The National Cattle Mobility Event is a registered charity, whose aim is to advance the education and training of farmers and allied professions in the subject of cattle mobility, with the aim of reducing the incidence of lameness in cattle in the UK, and thereby improving animal welfare.
The morning session consisted of two lectures, the first given by Dr Joep Driessen, from the Cow signals training company.
Joep gave a presentation en- titled “Claw signals- every foot tells a tale”, where he identified four key factors for good claw health.
· Reduce pressure on feet - decrease standing times, increase lying times, and optimise underfoot surfaces.
· Decrease infection pressure from the environment - improve building and foot hygiene.
· Early and appropriate treatment of lame cows and record what the problem is.
The second lecture was by Dr Jon Huxley, from the Nottingham University Veterinary School, on “Lameness and cow comfort in the modern dairy herd”.
The theme of this lecture was that the incidence and prevalence of lameness in some dairy herds has remained at an un-acceptable level, whereas great improvements have been made in other areas of the dairy industry, such as mastitis and cell count control.
Mobility scoring is currently the most widely accepted method for identifying lame cows and the four point scoring system was recently accepted as the “UK standard” at a cross industry meeting.
Based on the results of mobility scoring, the proportion of lame cows on UK dairy farms has recently been demonstrated as 30% by Jon Huxley. This figure varied on individual farms from 0% to 70%, the point being that lameness can be managed effectively on some dairy units.
The afternoon session was held at the University dairy unit, where the 240 cow, 9,700 litre herd is milked through four Lely astronaut robots and housed in buildings designed for the highest standards of cow comfort.
There was a series of workshops, around which the delegates rotated, covering mobility scoring, foot trimming demonstrations and practical sessions on Cow signals and Claw signals.
XL Vets had a stand in the trade hall and received a lot of interest during the day from farmers and their advisors. The professional, informative, fact sheets proved particularly popular.
Above: Pictured on the XL Vets stand are, left to right; Becki Hayes, Paula Wilson, Rose Jackson (All Scarsdale) John Cammack (Glenthorne).
XLVets National Equine Dental Awareness Month
April 2009
XLVets will be running its first national equine dental awareness month, covering horses across the country, from Orkney to Penzance, throughout April 2009.
The promotion will be offered by all equine XLVet member practices; to help to ensure that all horses and ponies have the opportunity to enjoy the best quality of life that they can and not suffer the discomfort of dental problems. The XLVet National Equine Dental Awareness Month will include a series of educational workshops promoting dental care in the horse, pony and donkey.
As part of the campaign there will be a focus on the condition Diastema, a problem that is rising in horses and particularly affects younger horses. The extent of Diastema in horses has been previously underestimated, it is a nasty condition that develops from food gathering in between teeth.
The importance of thorough veterinary examination to identify and treat this condition will be discussed with horse owners. With correct identification and treatment from your veterinary surgeon, good results can be expected.
For further information on Equine Dental Awareness Month please contact your local XLVets practice.
AMTRA success
Congratulations to XLVet members Zoe Pearson and Sally Jones (pictured below), both receptionists with Macpherson O'Sullivan, who recently passed their AMTRA examination for G-SQP (Farm Animals and Equine) at Harper Adams.
Semex Conference - 11-13 January 2009
XLVets attended the recent Semex Conference, held at Glasgow. An interesting and enjoyable time was had by XLVets delegates and the event provided a good platform to promote the activities of XLVets and to discuss future opportunities.
Thanks go to David Black, Paragon; Richard Knight, Westmorland; Philip Alcock, Bishopton and John Dawson, Willows for attending and representing XLVets at the conference.
Orthopaedic Workshop days
A series of XLVets Small Animal Orthopaedics Workshops have been running across the country in conjunction with Andy Pound from Animalcare.
Day one was a Plates and Screws Workshop and day two was an External Skeletal Fixation Workshop; where delegates got a chance to reconstruct broken (plastic) bones using the latest orthopaedics kits. Feedback so far has been very positive. Many delegates commented that the practical hands on format was very useful, but this also stimulated a lot of discussion and sharing of experiences and expertise which was equally useful.
To date, meetings have been hosted at the Drove Veterinary Hospital in Swindon, and the Scarsdale Veterinary Hospital in Derby.
The photos below are from the the recent plates and screws workshop held at Clyde Veterinary Group, Lanark:
Below are photos from the external fixation workshop held in Derby:
XLVets Equine meeting Oct 2008
The recent XLVets Equine forum meeting was held on Wednesday 22nd October at Carlisle. The morning session was opened by meeting sponsor Merial Equine health, followed by an interactive discussion and workshop on 'Practical approaches to joint therapy' led by Cedric Chan. Then a lively presentation from Alison Lambert of Onswitch gave members an insight into 'the clients' view of the practice'. In the afternoon it was off to the races, with further opportunities for discussion between members, while enjoying the afternoons racing.
Below are a selection of photos from the meeting.
XLVets Small Animal meeting Oct 2008
The recent XLVets Small Animal forum meeting was held on Wednesday 15th October at Derby. After introductions, the meeting began with a CPD session, 'Advances in critical care and anaesthesia', presented by Richard Hammond from Nottingham University. This was followed by an overview of the XLVets activities and plans for 2009 and then Intervet/Schering Plough, sponsors of the meeting led a hands-on session on Chameleon; demonstrating the functions and possibilities the system can offer practices.
The evening saw the small animal team members split into groups for a fun-packed interactive quiz. Congratulations to the winners; Team 1, pictured below.
Below are a selection of photos from the meeting.
XLVets Farm meeting Oct 2008
The recent XLVets Farm forum meeting was held on Wednesday 8th October at Newlands Valley, Keswick. The event began with a team-building session; 'The Eggspert Challenge'. Split into teams and armed with an egg each (which somehow had to survive the days activities!), each team had to complete multiple tasks including, mountain walking, canoeing, archery, high ropes and abseiling, with initiative exercises along the way. The team with the most points - and least broken eggs won the challenge! Following the activities, a clinical session on 'Monitoring dairy cow performance in practice' saw several XLVet members and EBVC Limited present case studies demonstrating routine monitoring tools being used in practice. A presentation followed from meeting sponsor Intervet/Schering Plough on IBR - 2009 and beyond.
The first farm meeting was thoroughly enjoyed by the large number of XLVets farm team members attending and gave food for thought to many considering or furthering the use of monitoring tools and herd health planning in practice.
Below are a selection of photos from the meeting.
XLVets Practice Management meeting Sept 2008
The recent XLVets Practice Management forum meeting was held in York on Wednesday 24th September. The focus of the meeting was using Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) in practice. The first session from Hazelwoods covered benchmarking performance using data from a recent equine survey and showed how this links to KPI's. They concluded the morning session with 'Twenty minutes of top tax tips', with take-home messages for members. The afternoon included a presentation from Margaret Popplewell, the new XLVets training officer on competency framework and developing key management tools using this. A discussion followed which generated many items for action for the XLVets practice management group.
Photos from the meeting, below.
XLVets office - open for business
XLVets goes from strength-to-strength with the opening of a dedicated office function. The new facility, based at Dalston, Carlisle will provide a central communication point for members and, working closely with the forums, will also play a pivotal role in the co-ordination and execution of growth initiatives and campaign activities for the group.
Based in the office will be Joanne Dodgson, who recently joined the XLVets team as operations manager and Diane Armstrong, executive PA for XLVets. To contact the XLVets office please phone (01228) 711788.
Pictured below in the XLVets office are (L to R) team members; Joanne Dodgson, Dewi Jones, David Black, Diane Armstrong and Andrew Curwen
XLVets AGM 2008
The XLVets AGM 2008 was held on Friday 27th June 2008 in Cologne, Germany and was combined with a trip to visit the Bayer offices, research establisjhment and manufacturing plants in and around Monheim and Leverkusen. The "teambuilding" event was to design and perform a two minute long advert for a product or service provided by XLVets, using minimal props, and to include the whole team. Ten different sketches were perfomed on a boat "Live on The Rhine" to a variey of highly amusing themes, with the eventual winners being a team that designed a new canine slimming product called "FitBitch". The business part of the AGM was lively, while the whole trip had a very enthusiastic and committed feel to it as the group goes from strength to strength. Below are just a small selection of images from the trip.
Orkney Farmer Wins Beef Expo Survey
XLVets carried out a survey of over 100 farmers at the Beef Expo in Perth. Only two-thirds were engaged with their vet in active health planning and had consequently improved their herd’s health and profitability. The survey also revealed that of the diseases BVD, leptospirosis, IBR, Johnes and Campylobacter, the disease least well recognised was Campylobacter. Beef farmers without a herd health plan were four times less likely to know the disease status of their herd than those with a plan.
Survey respondents who correctly answered the question on recommended scrotum circumference for a 15 month old bull, were entered into a prize draw for a crate of wine. The winner was shorthorn cattle breeder David Scarth from Orkney with the answer of 30cm. Mr Scarth has been taking a proactive approach to herd health with his vet Bob Norquay of the Northvet Veterinary Group for the past years….. This has involved screening for Johnes, leptospirosis and BVD.
See Photo below of Mr Scarth being presented with one of the twelve bottles of wine he won, by his vet Bob Norquay of Northvet
Millcroft at Fellgather Event - June 2008
Below are some photos of a new initiative in Cumbria - a FELLGATHER
meeting which Millcroft Veterinary Group from Cockermouth attended and reprseted XLVets. This is an open event for farmers and public that had sheep and
cattle breeds on show, clipping and milking demonstations. A Butchery class,
auctioneering and cookery demonstrations were undertaken in the main rings. And there was also a farmers mart with local produce and craft stalls plus agricultural supplies and services exhibiting in the midst. An ambitious and busy 'field to plate' agenda that
worked well in this - its first year - and will be repeated next year.
Thanks to Rod and all at Millcroft - and great to see the branding!
XLVets at Beef Expo Event - Perth 2008
Attached some images of the stand etc at Beef Expo this week, the stand had a steady flow of farmers and industry related companies all day. We used the event to discuss health planning with farmers and how they relate to infectious diseases and the current status on their farms along with using data for benchmarking etc. We had a competition running on the stand with a case of wine to give away for spending a little time completing a simple questionnaire which allowed us to gather some useful data. We will share the results of the questionnaire and data with the group in due course.
XLVets Glasgow Meeting with BCVA November 2007
The six-monthly XLVets Meeting was held in Glasgow on 21st November to coincide with BCVA. The meeting was very well attended, with our highest turnout so far. We used the familiar format of a business meeting in the moring with an opportunity for Andrew, Dewi and The Board to update members on progress over the past 6 months and to highlight upcoming events and initiatives. There were also opportunities for open discussion on a variety of topics which generated some lively and enthusiastic debate.
In the afternoon, there was an opportunity for two of the meeting's sponsors - Schering Plough and NVS - to present to the XLVet group some initiatives; including leptospirosis vaccination initiatives and net net pricing software (with a practice based demonstration by Richard Craw) respectively.
Then following a very strenuous teambuilding event in Exeter in the summer, the more genteel sport of curling was chosen as the teambuilding event. The XLVet members and our meeting sponsors attended Braehead Ice rink, where after 40 minutes of instruction with "The Stanes" an extremely competitive "round robin" competition ensued - see images below.
Thanks to our meeting sponsors; Schering Plough, NVS and Novartis
Farm Vet Solutions – Beef Health Planning
Basil Lowman provided considerable food for thought to a packed meeting hosted by Farm Vet Solutions for their beef farmers from Rutland and the surrounding area. He was presenting as a part of the Beef Herd Health Planning project supported by Defra and being carried out by seven XLVet members. Basil reviewed many of the key issues facing beef production and he provided examples of where beef producers are working together to improve returns.
Farmers Weekly Livestock Adviser of The Year First and second in the Farmers Weekly Awards 2007!
Congratulations to Keith Cutler from The Endell Veterinary Group, Salisbury on winning The Farmers Weekly Livestock Adviser of The Year 2007 and to David Black from The Paragon Veterinary Group who was one of the two runner up finalists. The judges particulary noted Keith's "proactive approach...respected by peers...and providing inspiration and support for younger colleagues". The judges commended David for "Promoting co-operation between vet practices and innovative business solutions."
The second XLVets AGM was held in June at Woodbury Park near Exeter. The meeting consisted of the AGM itself, an update from Pfizer and then some "teambuilding". This was followed by an opportunity to discuss issues with directors, and a barbeque. The teambuilding was a unique event based at the nearby Royal Marine Commando training course - 6 teams competed through a variety of events including the famous "sheep dip" as seen on TV. A selection of photos is shown below including all the participants and the winning team - Charlie's Lambs!
XLVets Directors Complete 284 Munros
On 1st September Donald McMillan and John Macfarlane, both founder directors of XLVets, and from the Minster and Alnorthumbria Practices respectively, completed their final Munros. The Munros are the highest of Scotland's mountains, 284 mountain tops named after the man who first catalogued them, Sir Hugh Munro, and are among the finest mountains in Scotland. Don and John coordinated their final climbs for the same weekend, to be on two neighbouring Munros and over 70 supporters climbed the final summits, celebrated there and then with Champagne and Whisky in the driving rain (it IS Scotland after all) and then later with many more family and friends joined for a fine ceilidh in Killin in the evening. Well done to both!!.
Kingfisher and Dairy Group Workshop 2007
Kingfisher Veterinary Practice and The Dairy Group recently teamed up to provide a Technical workshop for dairy farmers in North Somerset. Both organisations provide specialist healthcare and management advice to dairy farmers in Somerset, Dorset and Devon.
Small Animal Ultrasound Days
The series of Small Animal Ultrasound Days, organised by Mark Overend of Cain have started and so far have been very successful, and have sparked many suggestions for follow up meetings. Mark reports;- "So far, meetings have been hosted by Drove Vets and Paragon Vets. The next available dates are : 20th June- Aln Vets; 27th June-Minster Vets; 4th July Chapelfield Vets; 11th July-Cain Vets and 15th August-Scarsdale Vets.More details are available from emma.atkins@xlvets.co.uk .Thanks to Novartis for their kind sponsorship of the meetings, and Fraser Yule from MIUS (Mount International Ultrasound) who supplied a top spec ultrasound machine for delegates to get some "hands on" scanning. ( I know whats going to be on the next practice wish list after experiencing the superb images these machines can produce!)
A special thanks to Julian Hoad, the speaker who kept us all entertained throughout the day."
Below are some images from the day held at Paragon Vet Group in Dalston
XLVets go to Beef Expo
We were delighted to see so many old friends and meet many new ones at this year’s Beef Expo held in Skipton. The focus this year was on the importance of restoring profitability to the beef industry following the de-coupling of support from production and exposure to the free market.
Six thousand visitors to the show enjoyed the opportunity to discuss ways of improving efficiency and maximising returns from the market by precisely meeting buyers’ specifications for weight, grade and quality. The range of trade stands, educational and advisory exhibits, practical demonstrations, beef breed exhibits and seminars that featured at Beef Expo 2007 provided an unrivalled opportunity to assess all the latest technical and marketing developments in the industry – and the overall mood was very upbeat.
Phil Allcock, Bishopton Veterinary Group, delivered a very positive and well received message of “improving herd fertility to improve returns” within the Healthier Returns seminar that ran at the Expo. Producers visiting the XLVets stand also took the opportunity to discuss the issues raised within the Bull Health and fertility booklet co-authored by David Black and supported by Keith Cutler, and published by the EBLEX Better Returns Programme document.
Below are a variety of images from the day including some of the cattle on display, the judging and the XLVet stand
Telephone Skill Training Days
The first of a series of round the country telephone and reception skill training days were held in April - these were very interactive and were great fun
Some of the delegates who attended the North West Training Day
Small Animal Marketing Launched
The launch of a variety of small animal marketing initiatives got underway at Derby - many members who are mainly involved with the samll animal sides of their practice had observed the success of XLVets within the farm sector and after some focus groups and discussion fora, the launch meeting was underway!
Andrew Curwen gets the Meeting Underway
The Meeting was Chaired by John Turkington who has helped drive the Small Animal Forum
Mark Overend has set the CPD rolling by organising Small Animal Ultrasound days
Andrew Turkington, with his customary enthusiasm, and in his role as Marketing Director of XLVets outlined some of the current and upcoming campaigns.
His colleagues at Drove Veterinary Group described how they conducted vaccine amnesties.
And Andrew went on to detail progress that is being made on the XLVet Webshop
XLVet Inaugural Challenge (North West)
The inaugural running of the XL Vet Challenge Cup (North West Region) was a great success. Held at Rheghed, the only "underground" conference centre in the UK, teams of clients from Westmorland (Kendal), Millcroft (Cockermouth) and Paragon (Carlisle) competed in a quiz following supper and drinks on tap. It was a game of two halves, kindly sponsered and run by CEVA - the question master was a very capable Martin Gough. The first part was questions based on aspects of fertility, while the second half was more light hearted with local topics and general knowledge featuring!
Paragon Won the overall event, but by foul means the trophy has ended up in Cockermouth. Clearly the stage has been set for the future challenges! All our farmers and staff had a great evening - and we would encourage you to get similar things going with XL Vet practices in your area.
A Triumphant Paragon Receives The Trophy
Rod Welford makes his Intentions Clear!!
Martin Gough with the Individual Winners
Clients and Staff enjoy the meal prior to the quiz!
Andrew Curwen Joins XLVets
To support the activities of XLVets we are delighted to announce the arrival of Andrew Curwen as Commercial Manager, seen below being welcomed by MD David Black. Here is a short interview with Andrew just after he joined;-
Q. Andrew, What’s your connection with the industry? A. I graduated as a vet from the Bristol Vet School in 1990 and spent three years in general practice. I then joined Grampian Pharmaceuticals providing technical support to vets and farmers across the UK. For the last seven years I have been with the Animal Health Division of Bayer HealthCare latterly as the Marketing Manager for UK and Ireland.
Q. What areas have you most enjoyed working in? A. Without doubt the most exciting part of my career so far was to be involved with the launch of the first BVD vaccine for cattle. BVD is not the most straightforward of diseases to
understand or explain and so it became simpler to break it down into the idea of white, green and red cows.This seemed to make on-farm health planning an easier exercise. Should you now hear an Orkney farmer explaining their BVD eradication scheme as ‘the hunt for the red ones’ I must apologise - I actually like all types of red cattle, especially Herefords! More recently, I have enjoyed the experience of operating within the international global marketplace and I look forward to bringing the skills learnt there to my new role.
Q. What is the role of Commercial Manager? A. My main task is to support both the board of directors and the XLVet practices in the objectives that they have set. These include being highly competitive in the health and
medicines market, the provision of quality educational and training materials, and involvement with the general commercial aspects to ensure efficiency and excellence in practice.
Q. What else do you do with your time? A. With three young children to entertain me, there doesn’t seem to be much time to spare! I am currently Senior Vice-Chairman of the Association of Vets in Industry and enjoy
mountain climbing and cycling. Having recently completed the 85 mile cycle ride from Oxford to Cambridge in aid of the British Heart Foundation, I have got some training in early for any follow up to the very successful XL ride to the Royal Show this year!
Q. How can you be contacted? A. I can be contacted directly on 07834 268137
or andrew.curwen@xlvets.co.uk
XLVets Present cheque to RABI for £20,000!
XLVets Stand at The Royal Show;-
Thanks to all those who contributed to the stand at The Royal Show - we feel it was a great success, especially in combination with the RABI sponsored bike ride which has raised well over £20,000. The activities on the stand were tackled with enthusiasm by many visitirs to the stand - some persuation was required on occasion, but john Mac., Geoff, James, Peter and many others all did their bit to involve people. We also had one or two "famous" people attempted the "bovine rectal"!! See the photos.....!!
XLVets Go To The Royal!! Relays Completed!!
608 Vet Group
The 608 Group from Solihull was the last to arrive at The Royal Show - but absolutely not least - a lone effort by Deborah Hope on a very hot day has to be applauded (see photo of Deborah at the RABI stand above). We would still like to have seen Steve B. arrive en-cycle, but maybe too much to ask!! Well done 608!!
Rutland
Hook Norton
Hook Norton and Rutland both completed their stints to arrive at a very hot and sticky Royal Show - banners were proudly displayed on arrival and the teams were so keen they almost immediately took to manning the stand! Rutland made it from Uppingham and Nicki reported that they had "almost" enjoyed it, while Hook Norton made the 30 miles in the hot sun, one puncture and a brave 10 miles along the Fosse way, but made it to the Show. Cool drinks and frozen orange on the XL Vets stand were much appreciated - especially by Lucy!
Hexham - Scott Mitchell Associates
Roger and his team made it from Hexham to Dalston on the Sunday prior to The Royal Show - sweltering hot weather and a couple of punctures did little to dampen the enthusiasm. The Blue bell pub in Dalston was surprised to host the arrival of yet another group of tired sweaty cyclists with a plastic life-sized calf in tow!! Well done Hexham!!
Friars Moor
On a rather a hot day Friars Moor completed their leg of the relay, and got us one more big step closer to The Royal Show. They received welcome refreshments on arrival!! The second photo is again looking for the symapthy vote - was the hill REALLY that steep - and was this an entry in "Cyclist Rear of the Year"? asks Iain Richards of Kendal!!
Scarsdale
Scarsdale made the trip successfully to 608 in Solihull - but at Tom Craig's request (insistance) had to stop at each available hostelry along the way. Some WD40 was required to keep Tom's hips moving and prevent a build up of friction heat, but he still made the distance. Emma and team provided the back-up - who mentioned "mother hen"?? Well done Scarsdale - we are getting closer to Stoneleigh!!
Southfield
Southfield completed a hot and scenic trek through the beautiful Dorset countryside last Saturday. Cold beer and nosh from Sarah, Julian and team at Friars Moor was very welcome and disappeared very quickly!
Special mention must go to the youngest member of the team 12 yr old Master William Burnell whose stamina put the oldies to shame! The cows head proved a slight handicap to his Dad but not as much as the shirt! An excellent day, thanks and well done to all!
Lambert, Leonard & May
They did it!!! The Lambert, Leonard & May contingent braved near tropical conditions to cross 3 counties and ascend several hundred feet of gruelling, sinew stretching routes, to arrive at Uttoxeter 2 hours ahead of schedule. As a result a significant 3 figure sum will be added to the RABI coffers. Pictures to prove that a massive effort was involved, particularly for those required to stay in Den's slipstream....
Editors Note;- Despite assurances from the trusty Charles Lambert that the calf had been towed ALL the way (only 40 miles) we have uncovered photographic evidence to the contrary!! There are also several photographs of the honourable Dennis Leonard's attire that cannot be published for reasons of good taste. Sterling effort LLM!!
Kingfisher;-
Kingfisher did things a little differently by cycling between their different centres. Had they just cycled to Shepton it may have only included 2 people. Get a good look at "Marlene" the KVP cow. She will hopefully be making an appearence at this Royal Show. Geoff reported that his thighs & crutch were suffering! - too much information Geoff - but good show all the same!
Westpoint;-
Saturday 24th in a hot, actually sweltering 25+ degrees, Wespoint managed to get from Leaden Roding in Essex to meet Mike Thorne at Huntingdon (63 miles) in 4 hours and no broken bones but with a few oil stains! Every pub on the way was either closed or had stopped serving! They didnt go all the way but due to drop-outs (Mr Dobbs) we were slightly depleted in numbers attempting the feat and in the end 3 vets managed the route.
Westpoint were at the local RABU dinner and fund raiser (til 1am) the night before and got over £700 just from there in donations. Overall have £2,500 and hope to beat £3,500 by the end. Well done Westpoint!!
Shepton;-
Peter Morley and Paddy Gordon from Shepton Veterinary Group cycled 70 miles from Shepton Mallet to Swindon. This marathon 7 hour effort was carried out as a relay with one on the bike and one navigator in the car. Sarah Wheadon, a small animal colleague found them a route avoiding the M4! The journey took in Radstock, Bradford-on-Avon, Corsham, and Avebury and the route included some steep climbs at Vobster, Bradford, Bowden Hill and the Ridgeway. The high points were some of the beautiful Somerset and Wiltshire countryside, especially along the Kennet and Avon canal. The low points included being overtaken by a runner up Vobster hill and negotiating the deep ruts on the Ridgeway. They were relieved to be welcomed by the Drove Vet Group in Swindon with a barbecue and beer.
Paragon;-
Paragon took over the baton (and borrowed the excellent support vehicle) from Millcroft and made their way to Kendal - this was done in 2 stages! The first was from Dalston to Penrith and was a family orientated affair and relatively sedate. Then 4 bikes were taken in a "sprint relay" to Kendal - over the top of Shap - they had to contend with driving rain (horizontal sleet according to David who can be prone to exageration!) before a coast down into Kendal to be met by Westmorland Vets, the local RABI rep and a tray of cold beers - well done team - good effort!!
Millcroft;-
Millcroft made the steep climb over the fells to Dalston - with an age range of 8 to 58! The support vehicle was awesome, and really caught everyone's attention. David from Paragon was there at the outskirts of Dalston to welcome them in and guide them to the local cold beer supply outlet!! along with Chris from RABI who had come all the way from Thirsk to welcome Millcroft home. Apart from a pair of skinned knees, it was a very successful day, and the reconstructed and rebranded calf made it in one piece!
Aln;-
Aln get under way - led off by John Mac - whose dastardley idea this whole thing was in the first place. And a special guest appearance from "The Doctor"!! Please note that the East Coast calf is looking in much better condition than the West Coast calf - must be the air!!
Castle;-
Castle Vets from Barnard Castle had a very scenic but arduous route over The Pennines on their way to Hexham. Some of these photos have been included for their symapthy value (steep climbs) but we also note a rather unorthodox shortcut!! And to think that Bob rode the whole route on that calf (which incidentally Clyde, looks like it made it in one piece!!) Supreme effort from the Barney team - we are getting closer!
Drove;-
One of the Southern Legs of the relay set off from Swindon and made it all the way to Hook Norton - kitted out with appropriate cow-like leggings and specially designed T-shirts. Rupert opted not to fly this time and used only leg power - good effort Drove!
Clyde;-
The Northern leg started at Lanark and they were met at Gretna by Paragon who then set off South. The Clyde boys arriving clad in Lycra, tanned and muscle bound somewhat intimidated the Paragon ladies who, (after a mild swooning attack) decided a team talk and some training was required immediately! Due to a sudden cornering incident (allegedly) the calf arrived somewhat battered. missing an ear and with some serious fractures! Undaunted paragon set off to apply some surgical and fibreglass skills to repair the wounds. Well done Clyde - you have set us a standard!
XLVets AGM
Photos of some of the "hustlers" spotted at the recent XLVets AGM!!
Veterinary Nutritionist retained by XLVets
Richard Vecqueray is now retained by XLVets to provide unlimited free independant nutritional support by telephone with additional rationing and nutrition input on an hourly basis - see more information and contact details on the links page.
Second XLVets Meeting - Coventry 29th/30th November
We had our second meeting at Coventry at the end of November which seemed to be a great success - a full report is on the Forum, under Managing Directors Report 3. However, the main social event was the "Making Movies" teambuilding which involved making a short XLVets themed movie - won by Tom's Tyrants - some photos of the event are below;
Some of The Audience at Coventry listening to a presentation from Charlie
The Board answering questions from members!
The Oscar Winners - "Yes Steve - You Won!"
Richard V, Richard C, Andrew, Tom, Steve and Owen!
Secret Out-take from the making of "Harry Potter and The Udder of Doom"
Richard Vecqueray - Dairy Nutritionist - giving his presentation
Bath and West Show
XLvets was represented at the South West Dairy Even by 2 practices - Shepton Mallet and Kingfisher. As Kingfisher were celebrating their 100th anniversary, they decided to dress up in period costume - see the photo. It is hoped that we will attend more events next show season and get our message heard!
CEVA Challenges
As part of the marketing support from CEVA for the Sheep Abortion Vaccination Campaign, some interactive farmer meetings were held. The photograph below shows the team captains along with Martin Gough of CEVA (second right). On this occasion The Northumberland Challenge Trophy was taken by the Aln vet group Stormtroopers headed up by John Macfarlane over the Scott Mitchell Deviants - led by Roger Scott, but probably named by John Mac! This win was probably down to some covert coaching of the Aln team members!
Joking aside this is a great example of XLVet members working together and having a lot of fun along the way
Carden Park - 8th June
On June 8th, we had the initial meeting of the first XLVets member practices - held at Carden Park in Cheshire. There was representation from most member practices, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
We started with a meeting to discuss the progress XLVets had made, and four new directors were approved. There then followed an inflatable based "It's a Knockout" with 8 competing teams (see photographs below) - who said vets and their colleagues were not competitive? Following this, and a few restorative drinks, we were entertained by a motivational speaker, before dinner was enjoyed.
Prior To The Tournament Commencing!
The Michellin Man
The Pirelli Man!
The Goodyear Man!
Vets and Kangaroos?
This One's Got a Funny Gait!
Who Would Think Vets Would Have Trouble with Wellies?
.jpg)
.jpg)
