Louise Jolliffe

Louise is one of our senior vets at Kessock Equine. She is very popular with clients and was nominated for the PetPlan equine vet of the year award in 2010.

My first young experience of being around horses was in 1986/87 in Cairo, Egypt where we lived as a family for 18 months. Riding in the desert in those days I realised I was destined to be involved with horses.

After graduating from Glasgow vet school in 2002, I had my first job in Wolverhampton. After a year of mixed work, I decided to join the equine team within the practice. The work was busy and varied so I gained a wealth of experience from treating gypsy ponies and trotters in the Black Country to pleasure horses, competition horses and racehorse in the Shropshire - Staffordshire countryside. On weekends and evenings I would regularly work at local horse trials, endurance rides and at Wolverhampton racecourse either professionally or riding my trusty ‘Uncle Neil’ Irish Sportshorse.

Five years later I moved to Kessock Equine Vets where I am thoroughly enjoying the variety of the work involved. Currently I do not have time for riding but my little companion Betty, a Jack Russell Border Terrier cross, manages to take up most of my spare time. I also enjoy keeping fit and in the past have completed the Three Peaks Challenge in 24hours and cycled from John O Groats to Lands End. Last year a team of us completed the First Monster Challenge which involved a relay run/cycle around Loch Ness and Inverness.

Last year I had the opportunity to join the BEVA Council where I can bring a true general practitioners’ perspective to discussions and topics. I have also been personally involved with BEVA Trust when they awarded me a grant in 2009 to travel to Australia where I spent a month at Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital and gain valuable experience.

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