FEWER THAN one in ten veterinary students are opting to go into equine practice – prompting the British Equine Veterinary Association to offer free membership to veterinary students in a bid to attract more of them into the sector.

President of the Association of Veterinary Students, Katie Roberts, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for students. Anecdotally, we know that some students can feel very daunted by equine practice, especially if they don’t come from a traditionally horsey background. Being able to become involved with BEVA at no cost means that they can get a true taste of the equine veterinary world in addition to their experiences on EMS, and I’m sure this will pique the interest of our members.”

Student members will have access to a network of almost 3000 members, BEVA being one of the largest equine veterinary associations in the world. Other benefits of membership include:

• Online access to BEVA’s Equine Veterinary Education journal;

• Access to a special student rate to attend BEVA Congress - the largest equine veterinary conference in Europe;

• Free access to the BEVA online learning platform – which hosts a range of equine veterinary learning resources;

• Free access to BEVA’s practical veterinary apps.

This year BEVA will again be touring all the UK vet schools and some international schools to give talks on getting into equine practice. The sessions are rounded off with pizza and beer, giving students the chance for one-to-one chats with speakers.

For further information about student membership of BEVA visit https://www.beva.org.uk/Join-BEVA/vet-student