Dr Sue Dyson
‘A pioneer of life-changing research’
Dr Sue Dyson is a force to be reckoned with. As Head of Clinical Orthopaedics at the Animal Health Trust, she has been involved with more than 200 published research papers. This ground-breaking research has contributed to improving horse welfare standards across the board. Her research last year emphasised the importance of a correctly fitting saddle, showing how important it is to have a saddle that fits both horse and rider. If the saddle isn’t appropriate for the rider, it can make them unbalanced and affect where pressure is distributed on a horse’s back. But Sue hasn’t stopped there. Since that study, she’s been researching the effect that rider weight has on the performance of horses (read more about this on page 74). Sue has seen enormous changes in the equine veterinary profession over the years. “When I started as an equine vet, the industry was completely male dominated,” she says. “At vet school there was a 1:8 female to male ratio. It was extremely difficult to get started in the equine veterinary profession. I was fortunate to be offered a scholarship that took me to the USA, where I learned an enormous amount very quickly, working alongside world leaders in the profession. “Since then, the profession has been turned upside down, with female to male graduates now being 8:2, so women have been accepted and have proven themselves to be more than capable. “The proudest moment of my career was when I gave the Frank Milne Lecture at the American Association of Equine Practitioners annual convention in 2015. This is a special honour, recognising lifetime achievement in equine veterinary medicine, and to receive this recognition from my peers in a different country was a proud moment.”