February Field Knowledge 2026

Gerard grew up in an Irish horse family, his early years were spent fox hunting and show jumping. He began working with the local farrier while in junior high school in 1973. Entered an apprenticeship with the Irish Horse Board in 1976 and graduated in 1979. He spent two years as a journeyman farrier travelling in the U.S.A. from 1981-1983. Then moved to northern British Columbia to run a farrier business. In 2003 he began teaching at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retiring from KPU in 2023.

Gerard believes he has been fortunate to be part of a great industry during a period of redevelopment and growth. He expects the changes we have seen over the last forty years will be nothing compared to those we will see going forward. Some very interesting research is again being done on the horse after a lapse of fifty or sixty years and many of those studies are going to give us answers to questions about the hoof and the diseases we see.

Gerard has been one of farriers involved developing a multi-year apprenticeship system for Canadian farriers. He believes farriers of the future will need to have excellent horse management skills and a strong foundation in equine anatomy and physiology, complemented by forge work and hoof trimming.

Dr. Chavarria graduated in 2005 from the Free University of Berlin, Germany. After vet school she spent her first year out in a busy equine practice in Northwest Germany followed by 1.5 years in a mixed practice in Wales, GB.

However, her passion for the equine world led her in 2008 to Saskatoon, SK, Canada which is her current home base. When arriving at the WCVM she completed an internship in Large Animal Medicine and a combined Master’s and residency program in Equine Practice at the WCVM. At the end of her residency in 2012 she had her daughter and continued to stay on at the WCVM Equine Field Service Department as a clinical associate. Dr. Chavarria has many years of practice experience in all aspects of equine medicine and is teaching 4thyear veterinary students in their final rotations where they learn hands on skills and expertise in equine practice.

Dr. Chavarria enjoys all aspects of equine practice with a special interest in alternative medicine such as TCVM based acupuncture and laser therapy.

Dr. Chavarria’s husband is an avid polo player and spends every winter in Indio at the Polo club. Since 2021 Dr Chavarria has spent the winter months as well working in Indio and Thermal during Polo and horse show season.

Lecturer/Clinical Faculty Member, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, WCVM

After graduating from the WCVM’s veterinary program in 2012, Dr. Husulak completed an internship in large animal medicine and a residency in equine field service at the WCVM. She received her Master of Veterinary Science degree in 2016 and received board certification in equine practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2019.

Dr. Husulak was a clinical associate in equine field service at the WCVM from 2016 to 2021, primarily going out on equine field service calls and teaching fourth-year veterinary students, interns and residents. In fall 2021, Dr. Husulak became a lecturer/clinical faculty member at the WCVM, which added lectures and teaching labs for veterinary students to her equine field service responsibilities. While Dr. Husulak finds all areas of clinical practice to be interesting and exciting, she especially enjoys equine dentistry.

Eleanor graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2021 and has since gained a broad experience in providing for both the physical and emotional needs of her patients in a variety of settings, including within equine hospitals, first opinion ambulatory settings, and within equine charity practice. Eleanor completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Animal Behaviour in 2024 and is now undertaking a residency in Equine Behavioural Medicine at the University of Edinburgh Equine Hospital, where she is training under the supervision of Dr. Gemma Pearson. Eleanor enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, but her particular areas of interest are the provision of low stress veterinary care, the relationship between pain and behaviour and human behaviour change for animal welfare. She also has a strong interest in research, with her first study focusing on how equestrian’s understanding of learning theory relates to their response to problematic behaviour, and an ongoing project exploring the complex link between pain and behaviour.

Eleanor Girgis, BVM&S PGC (clinical animal behaviour), AFHEA, MRCVS

Ella MacGregor resident in Equine Behavioural Medicine, Dick Vet Equine Hospital, University of Edinburgh

Dr Linda Greening, Senior Lecturer/Head of Inclusivity, Hartpury University

Linda graduated with a BSc (Hons) Equine Science in 2003, completed her Masters in the same topic in 2006, and successfully defended her DPhil thesis titled “Applied quantification of equine sleep behaviour and environmental factors affecting its occurrence” in 2023 following +ten years of research. She has lectured in the field of behaviour and welfare at Hartpury since 2006 and currently leads on equality, diversity and inclusivity at the University as Head of Inclusivity. From 2013-2017, Linda held roles on the International Society for Equitation Science Council, and currently chairs the Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Accessibility committee for the International Society for Applied Ethology. Her principal research topic area is equine behaviour and welfare, with particular interest in the field of environmental factors influencing equine sleep and nocturnal behaviour. You can read more about the research conducted as part of the DPhil here https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10892682 and a selection of recent publications can be found below:

Chapter 3. Zoo ethics vs. welfare – Complimentary or conflicting?

Greening, L. & Cameron, L., (2025) In: Zoo Animal Welfare. Rose, P., Newnham, Z. & Hickey, I. (eds.). nhbs

Influence of lighting on sleep behaviour, circadian rhythm and spontaneous blink rates in stabled riding school horses (Equus caballus)

Greening, L., Harkin, E., Kyriazopoulou, P., Heppelthwaite, Z., Aragona, F., Browne, J. A., Hemmings, A. & Williams, J. M., 2025. PLOS One

Emerging Practices and Technologies for the Other 23 Hours of Equidae Management

Greening, L., Schork, I. G., Cameron, L., Randle, H. & Wolframm, I., 2025, International Journal of Equine Science. 4, S1, p. 1-2

A review of equine sleep: Implications for equine welfare

Greening, L. and McBride, S., 2022. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, p.916737.