The Horseman’s Clinic is one of the biggest fundraisers that the Illinois Student Chapter of the AAEP throws every year, with its profits going towards its members to help alleviate some of the costs that are associated with going to externships and conferences.

This year, the Horseman’s Clinic occurred in late February and had the theme of Disaster Preparedness. We had lectures on topics such as what a horse owner can do while they are waiting for a vet to arrive at their farm if they have an emergency, vaccines and physical exams, information about down horses, and a lecture on biosecurity and controlling disease outbreaks. We also had demonstrations to go along with these lectures that fit in with this theme.

We were also lucky enough this year to have SmartPak’s very own Dr. Lydia Gray! Dr. Gray came down to her old stomping grounds (she is an Illini alum for her undergraduate, masters, AND veterinary degrees), and she came down to school on Friday to give a lecture to the AAEP club about supplements and some of the work that goes into supplements and advertising them.

Dr. Gray also stayed for the Horseman’s Clinic on Saturday and was at the SmartPak booth to answer questions for the clinic attendees, in addition to providing many goodies for the attendees and also some silent auction items!

We also had a couple of other vendors at the Horseman’s Clinic this year. One was Praireland Feeds, a local pet supply store located in Savoy. Prairieland also brought with them many items to give away to our attendees and many silent auction items!

Another vendor that attended this year was MiniVisits, and they have miniature horses that they can transport to different locations such as to children with special needs, residential facilities, school programs, and other events that would benefit from the addition of the cute minis that they have!