RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) · UK · RCVS, with modules through accredited universities
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe horse in health and disease: colic, lameness, respiratory and infectious diseases, dentistry, reproduction, neonatology, performance and welfare. Taught internationally; not a separate MSVE course.
In the exams: NAVLE equine 14.7%; RCVS SME equine 87 of 367 items; SAVC Paper 1 equine 30; ECFVG / NEB CPE equine section
How our questions for RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice spread across the units of Equine Medicine, Surgery & Practice. Difficulty: 1 easy, 14 medium, 13 hard.
| Sport and performance medicine | 7 | |
| Equine reproduction | 5 | |
| Respiratory disease: strangles and equine influenza | 3 | |
| Equine neonatology | 3 | |
| Colic | 2 | |
| Lameness | 2 | |
| Equine dentistry | 2 | |
| Equine welfare | 2 | |
| Equine infectious anaemia | 1 | |
| African horse sickness | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A 450 kg horse needs maintenance intravenous fluids at 60 mL/kg/day. What hourly rate delivers this?
B. About 1.1 L per hour
Daily volume = 450 x 60 = 27,000 mL = 27 L; hourly = 27 / 24 = 1.125 L, about 1.1 L/h. 27 L/h forgets to divide by 24, 2.7 L/h is a decimal slip, and 0.45 L/h confuses bodyweight with rate.
Further reading: Reed, Bayly & Sellon, Equine Internal Medicine
During a strangles outbreak the yard uses a 'traffic light' system. Which horses belong in the amber group?
A. Horses with no signs that have been in contact with clinical cases
Amber is for in-contact horses without signs, monitored by twice-daily temperatures; red is for clinical cases, and green for unexposed horses. Recovered horses cleared by guttural pouch testing can be released, not kept in amber.
Further reading: HBLB Codes of Practice
A new horse arrives at a busy competition yard. Which biosecurity step is most appropriate?
A. Isolate it for about three weeks with twice-daily temperatures and strangles screening
Isolation of new arrivals with temperature monitoring and, where appropriate, strangles serology or guttural pouch screening reduces the risk of introducing disease. Immediate mixing, vaccination without isolation and deliberate shared water all increase risk.
Further reading: HBLB Codes of Practice
A 24-year-old horse has gingival recession, draining tracts and bulbous swellings over the roots of several incisors and canines. What is the likely diagnosis and usual treatment?
C. Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis; extract affected teeth
EOTRH affects the incisors and canines of older horses with resorption, hypercementosis and draining tracts; affected teeth are extracted and horses usually eat well afterwards. The other diagnoses involve different teeth or ages.
Further reading: Easley, Dixon & du Toit, Equine Dentistry
A mare in oestrus has a 40 mm follicle and marked endometrial oedema. hCG is given at 8 a.m. on Monday to induce ovulation. When is ovulation expected?
D. From Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning
After hCG or a GnRH agonist, ovulation usually follows in about 36 to 48 hours: Monday 8 a.m. + 36 h is Tuesday 8 p.m., + 48 h is Wednesday 8 a.m. The other times are too early or too late.
Further reading: McKinnon et al., Equine Reproduction
An older mare repeatedly has free intrauterine fluid on ultrasound the day after breeding and fails to conceive. What is the most likely problem and first-line management?
D. Persistent breeding-induced endometritis; post-breeding uterine lavage and oxytocin
Failure to clear fluid and inflammation after breeding is persistent breeding-induced endometritis, managed by post-breeding lavage and ecbolics such as oxytocin. A persistent corpus luteum would stop cycling, progesterone would worsen uterine defence, and a Caslick's operation addresses pneumovagina, not a cervical tear.
Further reading: McKinnon et al., Equine Reproduction
Which sites are swabbed to detect Taylorella equigenitalis carriers?
A. Clitoral fossa and sinuses in mares; urethra, urethral fossa and sheath in stallions
Contagious equine metritis carriers harbour T. equigenitalis in the clitoral fossa and sinuses of mares and the urethra, urethral fossa and penile sheath of stallions, which are the prescribed swabbing sites. It is a venereal, not respiratory or faecal, organism.
Further reading: HBLB Codes of Practice
A stallion's ejaculate has a gel-free volume of 50 mL, a concentration of 150 million sperm/mL and 60% progressive motility. How many progressively motile sperm are in the ejaculate?
A. 4.5 billion
Total sperm = 50 mL x 150 x 10^6/mL = 7.5 x 10^9; progressively motile = 7.5 x 10^9 x 0.60 = 4.5 x 10^9. 7.5 billion forgets motility, 9.0 billion uses 60 x 150 x 10^6, and 0.45 billion is a decimal slip.
Further reading: McKinnon et al., Equine Reproduction
Under the FEI Equine Prohibited Substances List, what is the difference between Banned Substances and Controlled Medication?
A. Banned Substances must never be used; Controlled Medication has therapeutic use but must not be present in competition
Banned Substances have no legitimate use in the competition horse and must never be present, whereas Controlled Medication substances have recognised therapeutic uses but must not be present during competition. The list applies across FEI disciplines, not racing.
Further reading: FEI Equine Prohibited Substances List
A horse in the UK whose passport shows it is still eligible for the food chain needs phenylbutazone. What must happen?
C. The passport is signed to exclude the horse permanently from the food chain before treatment
Phenylbutazone is not permitted in food-producing equids in the EU and UK, so the horse must be declared permanently excluded from the food chain in its passport; the declaration cannot be reversed. No withdrawal period makes it acceptable for food.
Further reading: EU and UK equine identification and veterinary medicines rules
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