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Horses kept for 5,500 years
Origins of horse domestication have been traced back to the fourth millennium BC.
A team of archaeologists, led by the Universities of Exeter and Bristol, has uncovered the earliest known evidence of horses being domesticated by humans.

The origins of horse domestication have been traced back around 5,500 years to the Botai Culture of Kazakhstan and the fourth millennium BC. This is about 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, and about 2,000 years before horses are known to have been kept in Europe.

Exeter University has said that the findings could point to the very beginnings of horse domestication and the origins of the horse breeds we know today. The research has been published in the academic journal Science.

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

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News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."