Working horse and donkey charity Brooke is inviting vets and animal health professionals to its new online learning platform, to boost equine welfare knowledge.

The Academy for Working Equids (AWE) platform will help provide vets with equal access to animal welfare education in low-resource settings, including low and middle-income countries.

Animal health professionals are often the most trusted source of welfare advice to communities globally. Improving access to training allows them to offer better advice to owners, who in turn can support their animals. 

Brooke, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of working donkeys, horses and mules, has already trained over 4,000 vets and animal health experts globally through its flagship Animal Health Mentoring Framework.

Laura Skippen, Head of Animal Health and Welfare at Brooke, said: “I am thrilled to announce the launch of the AWE as a dynamic way of bringing trainers or trainees together quickly to share knowledge.

“Everyone should have access to high-quality education, but I know this doesn’t always happen in practice.

“We want to ensure many more working animals, even where Brooke doesn’t work, have access to compassionate professionals, who have learnt to understand these hardworking animals and know how to provide them with the best possible care.”

The platform includes more than 15 bite sized courses available, with topics ranging from recognisingequine emotions, to how to calculate medicine dosages correctly.

How will AWE benefit vets?

• Freely accessible to users globally in multiple languages, breaking down barriers to education and training and designed for self-paced learning. 

• Available to download via browser or smartphone, supporting busy vets on the go, especially female vets who typically have many other roles to play in their household in the areas Brooke works

• Courses can be downloaded using Wi-Fi to then access offline, so even when internet or electricity is unreliable, no-one is left behind. 

How will AWE benefit working animals?

• Top-down learning approach: AWE is already being used in training institutions where Brooke works, to enhance the local curriculum and ensure animal welfare and behaviour takes centrestage in vet training.

• Inspire a new generation of animal welfare advocates: Who have the confidence to treat working equids and promote their importance. By making this learning freely available, Brooke can spread its knowledge as a leading voice in the animal health sector.

AWE will also contribute to strong animal health systems and promote One Health, by promoting training on medicines, vaccines, disease diagnosis and surveillance. 

Brooke will continue to develop training resources and support professional learners, who are critical to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules around the world. 

Register for the AWE platform here.