Help us fight disease and injury in animals

OUR HISTORY

The Animal Health Trust was founded in 1942 as the Veterinary Education Trust by Dr W R Wooldridge, a veterinary surgeon who saw the advances being made in human medicine and wanted to apply them for the benefit of animals.

Throughout its existence the AHT, which was awarded its Royal Charter in 1963, has been a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of animal disease and its efforts are now concentrated on the prevention and cure of disease in horses, dogs and cats.

Here is a timeline of some of our achievements:

1940’s
1948 - The Veterinary Educational Trust becomes the Animal Health Trust; the Canine Health Centre and the Poultry Research Station are founded. In 1957 the Farm Livestock Centre opened (closed 1971).

1950’s
1959 - Her Majesty The Queen becomes Patron of the Animal Health Trust.

1960’s
1963 – Our Forensic Laboratory is opened, primarily to detect doping among racehorses. It is the first of its kind in the UK and is headed by an ex-Scotland Yard scientist.
1965 - 160 foals are protected from an outbreak of equine influenza with serum produced by the Equine Research Station.
1969 - HRH The Princess Royal opens the Small Animals Centre.

1970’s
1972- We save champion racehorse Mill Reef for stud duty by successfully operating on his shattered cannon bone and fetlock.
1978 - Dr Larry Owen of the AHT is a member of the team formulating ‘The TNM Classification of tumours in domestic animals’ - a valuable system for recording cancer cases and planning research programmes.

1980’s
1981 - Equine Virology Unit is opened and in 1986 the Equine Virology Research Foundation is founded; blood typing as a condition of entry into the Studbook becomes compulsory

1990’s
1991 - HRH The Princess Royal becomes President of the Animal Health Trust.
1992 – We introduced small animal orthopaedics and neurosurgery specialties. We also opened an MRI scanner unit and pioneered its use in veterinary medicine, especially in the diagnosis and management of cancer and the investigation of brain tumours in dogs and cats.
1994 - Researchers want to apply recent advances in the study of human cancers for the benefit of animals, so the AHT establishes the Cytogenetics Group. This Group studies the role genes play in cancer in dogs and cats - a vital addition to the AHT as many canine tumours contain chromosomes with defects.
1996-8 Our new Centre for Small Animal Studies, Centre for Equine Studies and Visitors’ Centre are opened.

2000’s
2000 - New MRI unit is opened.
2001 - The Trust helped DEFRA (Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) to analyse up to 40,000 sheep serum samples per week in order to deal with the Foot and Mouth crisis.
2002 - In collaboration with groups in the USA and France, the AHT published the most comprehensive genetic map of the dog currently available. We also played an important role in analysing outbreaks of West Nile Fever in horses. It is a virus which can cause paralysis and death.
2003 - The Trust successfully handled two major equine infectious disease outbreaks - equine herpesvirus and equine ‘flu. Our clinics reached new levels of clinical work, treating over 3,000 small animals and 600 horses in a year. The Trust also expanded its clinical training efforts, providing more opportunities for young veterinary graduates who wish to pursue specialisation.
2004 – We were able to buy a digital radiography machine for use in the Equine Centre and a hydrotherapy pool, an important part of the recuperation process after surgery or injury for small animals. We also began investigating the Epidemiology and control of orbiviral diseases in the UK, with particular reference to bluetongue and African Horse Sickness in collaboration with the Institute of Animal Health and Cambridge University.
2005 – We identify the genetic mutations responsible for Hereditary Cataract in the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and juvenile cataract in the Boston Terrier and developed DNA diagnostic tests that are now available to distinguish carrier, clear and affected dogs. With The University of Cambridge, and other national centres for animal diseases, we formed the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Consortium (CIDC).
2006 - We embarked on a new project to study the genetics of Hereditary Cataract and Progressive Retinal Atrophy in the Golden Retriever (see 2010), the American Cocker Spaniel and the Tibetan Spaniel. A three-year programme in Equine Genetics Research entitled ‘A study of inherited musculoskeletal diseases in the Thoroughbred’ is begun in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College. We are able to buy a state of the art Chemotherapy Isolator to ensure the safe handling of drugs used for our cancer patients.
2007 – We begin a campaign to fight Strangles. Also research begins into equine grass sickness, various types of canine and feline cancer and we become the European pioneers in using an ECP laser to treat canine glaucoma. We are able to buy a ceiling mounted microscope to further push the boundaries of veterinary ophthalmology. Our Equine Centre starts offering radiotherapy using Iridium-192 wires for the treatment of sarcoids, the most common form of equine cancer.
2008 - The AHT launch a new diagnostic test for Strangles which clearly identifies carriers and is ideal for screening horses prior to movement. The test proves very popular and the number of samples submitted soon runs to hundreds per month. DNA screening tests for cerebella ataxia in the Italian Spinone and hereditary cataracts in the Australian Shepherd are developed and made available to the public.
2009 - Ophthalmologists from the AHT are asked by the Animals Asia Foundation to save the sight of Moon Bears saved from bear bile farms in China. They do so using new portable eye surgery equipment. Their work is a great success and gains international recognition. The Suffolk Horse Society commission our equine geneticists to assess the genetic diversity of the Suffolk Horse, an iconic local breed but now listed as critically endangered. Their work will enable breeders to minimise the risk of health problems associated with a lack of genetic diversity from occurring. We also develop DNA tests to identify carriers of Primary Lens Luxation (PLL), a painful and blinding condition, affecting over 10 breeds of terrier. Within months over 6,000 samples from 36 countries are sent for testing. HM The Queen visits the AHT to celebrate 50 years of being its Patron.

2010’s
2010 - After 10 years of painstaking research, we launch a DNA test for the fatal condition Foal Immunodeficiency Syndrome (FIS) which affects two native UK breeds, the Fell Pony and the Dale Pony. In time this test could eradicate the condition. In addition, a DNA test is developed and launched which identifies Golden Retrievers who carry the genetic mutation causing progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a disease which causes blindness. A report on factors which cause lameness in dressage horses was completed by Dr Rachel Murray. It is well received by British Dressage and by the equestrian community. The AHT is asked by the Sandringham Estate to investigate a mystery illness causing dogs walked in woodland to become very ill and, in some cases, to die. The illness is given the name Seasonal Canine Illness (SCI). Three additional sites are identified, two in Norfolk and one in Nottingham.
2011 - The AHT launch Mate Select, a joint project with the Kennel Club. This toolbox, available online, allows dog breeders to make careful and well-informed breeding decisions in order to reduce health problems across all breeds of dog. The AHT launch a project designed to eradicate hip and elbow dysplasia in Labrador Retrievers. The AHT hope to receive 2,000 completed surveys but in fact many more are submitted. Work begins on a new Cancer Centre, which will allow us to give horses, dogs and cats the best possible treatment for cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.