Presentation at the AVA Autumn Meeting 2026 in Thessaloniki

I had the great pleasure of personally presenting my veterinary dissertation, “Influence of horse breed and type on anaesthetic mortality: results from the multicentre CEPEF4 cohort”, at the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists (AVA) Autumn Meeting 2026 in Thessaloniki. The dissertation was supervised by Prof. Regula Bettschart-Wolfensberger at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, and the abstract is included in the conference’s abstract book.

Authors: Sarah Rebecca Meyer, José I. Redondo, Miguel Gozalo-Marcilla, Gordon Mark Johnston, Polly M. Taylor, Regula Bettschart-Wolfensberger

Equine perianaesthetic mortality remains higher than in other species, yet breed-specific anaesthetic risk had not been systematically quantified in large multicentre datasets. In this secondary analysis of the prospective multicentre Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Equine Fatalities 4 (CEPEF4) cohort, we looked at 47,396 horses and ponies undergoing general anaesthesia across 93 centres in 28 countries.

Draft, gaited and baroque horse types, as well as breeds such as Clydesdales, Shires and Friesians, showed higher perianaesthetic mortality, while Warmbloods showed a lower risk. Breed may therefore be associated with perianaesthetic mortality, and high-risk phenotypes may require special perioperative management. However, breed differences may also reflect other risk factors, such as horse management and occupation.

The full paper has been submitted and is currently under review.