Veterinarian, Welfare Advocate Looks Back In New Memoir ‘My Friend, The Horse’

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Equine welfare and the global monitoring of horse diseases are critical areas of concern in the horse world. But 35 years ago, when Irish veterinarian Dr. Alex Atock began his first job in regulatory veterinary medicine as a racing official, he would not have guessed that one day his lifelong affection for horses would impact how horse sports are conducted worldwide, and that his stalwart advocacy for their welfare would improve their treatment near and far.

As a pioneer of international equine health regulation and welfare for organizations such as the Federation Equestre Internationale, World Horse Welfare, the Irish Turf Club and the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, Alex Atock initiated programs and wrote policies still endorsed and followed by regulatory veterinarians and stewards around the world.

Atock’s role made him the top-ranking advocate for the horse on the global stage. His assignments from his employers and the racing or veterinary associations he served ranged from determining how disease outbreaks affect the movement of horses around the world, and how traveling horses may put others at risk, to affecting improvement of conditions for the sport of endurance in the United Arab Emirates, establishing the first horse inspections at international equestrian events, strategizing the welfare effects of summer heat at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and many welfare and safety aspects of sports conduct that are now taken for granted.

Now retired, Atock has put away his passport, and picked up a pen...

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