AFTER almost 30 years of working as a vet, Peadar Ó Scanaill is one of the fortunate few that have

remained truly passionate about their profession.

In conversation with the Dublin native, it is evident that the welfare of the animal is always paramount in his thoughts; he really cares about the animals he treats.

“I come from a long line of vets. I think there are eight or nine in my family-line. My late father Tadgh’s family come from Clontarf in Dublin and he and his older brother both became vets.

“Dad set up a practise on the Main Street in Swords in 1948 while his brother based himself out West in Connemara.

“My mother Maureen’s late brother, Pat Moran, was also a vet, as well as my younger brother Conor. My daughter Orla is currently in her third year of veterinary college in Budapest.

“My mother’s family were farmers, I remember my granny milking cows on the land where the Wright Venue is in Swords now. Another of my brothers, Padraig, is a successful dairy farmer in north County Dublin.

“I began my studies in the 1980s. I took one year off and went to London where I worked on the building sites, which I really loved. On my return to Ireland, I finished up and qualified in 1988, I then began working at a practise in Cornwall.

“After just eight months my time in Cornwall was cut short when sadly my Uncle Pat died unexpectedly, aged just 48. He was a large part of the practise so that meant I had to return home and help out.

“I loved Cornwall and am still in touch with the practice, even though I had to leave it after such a short time. You build strong bonds in your first job as a vet. You either sink or swim.

“Back then there was a far bigger demand for large animal vets; the small animal practise would have been the weaker one, while the farm animal side was the stronger.

“That has all changed. Back then TB testing made up a huge part of any practice’s business. There were about three or four million breeding animals that had to be blood tested every year so it was a great source of income for vets.

“I consider myself a GP, but in truth I spend most of my time with horses. Our team in Ó Scanaill Veterinary Hospital is made up of four full-time vets with two specialists, one orthopaedic, one dental as well as four full-time veterinary nurses.

“We don’t have any ‘lay’ people working front of house and this was a conscious decision by us, whenever you speak to someone, be it on the phone or in person, they are a qualified vet.

“The Veterinary Practice Act 2005 put down a new world order for the profession. It laid down what exactly a vet is and what a vet does. It also recognised veterinary nursing as a profession which I think was a very positive step.

“I can see a time where the vet nurse will develop into a much bigger role and with that allow for a better division of labour; and the profession will be all the better for it.

“The Act also includes standards for professional development; it is now obligatory for each vet to keep themselves up-to-date with developments in the industry.

“Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen a massive amount of changes in the business. Although the amount of cattle in the country has remained pretty much the same, the smaller farms are gone, the herds have just gotten bigger.

“TB was pretty much cleared up five or six years ago so that testing is gone. The economic downturn in 2008 pretty much killed the half-bred breeding in this area; it has recovered somewhat but isn’t the same.

“Now it’s the equestrian centres which keep us going. It’s funny how horse owners have changed. Economics go out the window when people are dealing with something that has become much more part of the family, almost akin to a pet if you like.

“There are a lot of professional people keeping sport horses, and with that comes a different source of income for vets. These horses aren’t expected to make money but their owners are willing to spend their disposable income on their hobby.

“We have always been involved in the thoroughbred industry. I spend many of my days as the course vet in Leopardstown and Navan. I’d say the thoroughbred side of things takes up about 40% of my time with the other 60% being with the half-breds.”

Veterinary surgeon Peadar Ó Scanaill

\ Lafayette Photography

Dublin Horse Show

Peadar continued: “I’ve been involved in the Dublin Horse Show since the very beginning of my career; my Dad was the show vet and the year I qualified, he broke his leg. I was drafted in to help out, to be his legs for the week, if you like; and then the other show vet broke his arm just as the show began so they were stuck.

“They asked my Dad if he had anyone to help and he said, ‘well Peadar is qualified so he can do it as long as we can find someone to take over as my legs for the week’, so that’s how it began and I’ve been delighted to be show vet every year since.

“The changes I have seen in the sport at the show have been huge, but I must say I think the show has always been forward thinking and has moved well with the times.

“They encourage a level playing field, the fact that testing is carried out not just on the international jumpers in the main ring, but across the board over all the outside rings too shows how committed they are to maintaining standards of excellence, not just in riding, but also in horse welfare.

“During the second half of my 30 years, I’ve become involved in veterinary politics. Since 1999 I’ve been a council member of the Veterinary Council of Ireland and through this have been involved in education.”

Harness racing

The veterinary surgeon added: “For many years now, I’ve followed the standardbred racing or ‘trotters’ as they are more commonly known. There has been harness racing at the track in Portmarnock since the 1960s and ‘70s and my father volunteered as the vet.

“This is a fantastic sport that has got a bad reputation. I understand why people may think that the horses are mistreated.

“Guys can be seen on public roads, and maybe with animals which are too young to be used and this throws a bad shadow over the sport.

“But what happens on the track differentiates itself completely from what takes place on the road.

“What happens on the road must stop. It is a welfare issue and a problem. Trotting is the opposite end of the spectrum.

“When the guys come to the track, we try to bring them in and educate them about the horses. On the whole they are very receptive and want to learn as much as they can. They care about their horses and do want the best for them.

“The way I look at it is I was very lucky to grow up surrounded by people that knew all about how to look after animals properly. As a child I came up through the Ward Union Pony Club and there I learned all about horsemanship.

“These are the things that most people in the equine world take for granted, we are exposed from an early age to the correct way; most of the lads involved in trotters don’t have that background, there was no pony club for them. So although they have the passion for the horses, they don’t have the education to look after them properly.

“I have found that, on the most part, the lads involved are dying to learn. They want to know how best to do things. They are like sponges picking up as much as they can in order to do better.

“The sport is huge in France and I think it is on its way up. I feel sure that there will be an explosion in its popularity in the years to come,” said Peadar.

See next week’ issue for part two of this interview.