AVE Practical Examination requirements for cattle, sheep and horses

The CATTLE Practical Examination assesses competency in the following procedures:

• Pregnancy testing per rectum of 3 cows –(non-pregnant, pregnant < 4 months and pregnant > 4 months);
• Putting a halter on a cow in an appropriate way;
• Safely examining the oral cavity;
• Safely and correctly passing a stomach tube;
• Restraining a cow and injecting a solution into the jugular vein;
• Collecting a blood sample from the tail vein;
• Administering an epidural anaesthetic;

Please note that the Examiner may include one or more of the following tasks:

• Aseptically collecting a milk sample;
• Lifting and restraining a cow's front or back leg;
• Collecting a urine sample from a cow via a urinary catheter;
• Collecting a sample of rumen fluid by rumenocentesis;
• Thoroughly examining a cow’s foot.

The SHEEP Practical Examination assesses competency in all or some of the following clinical procedures:

• Conducting a distance examination of a pen of sheep and reporting the findings;
• Catching and restraining a sheep and carrying out a clinical examination;
• Taking the temperature per rectum;
• Demonstrating collection of a jugular blood sample;
• Examining mouth and teeth;
• Examining feet and using a searcher knife to check for footrot;
• Taking a faecal sample for culture;
• Conducting an examination of a scrotum and scrotal contents of a ram and discussing the findings.

The Equine Practice Examination assesses competency in all or some of the following clinical procedures:

• Humanely and appropriately catch and restrain a horse using a halter or bridle;
• Describing the horse in terms of markings, gender, colour and breed with an approximate estimate of age;
• Safely conducting a thorough clinical examination of a horse. This will include obtaining TPR (temperature, pulse,respiration), auscultation of lungs and abdomen;
• Discussing how disease may affect clinical findings;
• Examining a horse's mouth and assessing the condition of the teeth with a mouth gag;
• Examining the eye with, or without, an ophthalmoscope;
• Describing how and where to perform an abdominocentesis;
• Describing the procedure and discussing the indications for performing a rectal examination and describing the structuresthat may be palpated;
• Describing the procedure of passing a nasogastric tube including method of differentiating if tube is in the oesophagus ortrachea;
• Indicating suitable sites for giving an intramuscular injection to a horse;
• Describing how to take a blood sample for haematological analysis and interpret results;
• Picking up a horse's fore or hind limb and examine the hoof;
• Effectively using the hoof testers;
• Identifying location of various joints;
• Examining by palpation the major soft tissue structures of the distal limb;
• Positioning a horse for radiographic examination of the distal limbs;
• Identifying the sites for applying local anaesthetic to block:
  regional nerves to the distal extremity, motor nerves to the eye, sensory nerves to the eye;
• Recommending a protocol for sedation and/or general anaesthesia by considering animal temperament and health status, and procedure to be performed.