Establishing and maintaining an active, functional veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) is the cornerstone to providing the best care for horses, said Richard Lesser, DVM, of Equine Clinic at OakenCroft, in Ravena, N.Y., during a recent veterinarian discussion on ethics. This VCPR is a legal "contract" between the veterinarian and the horse owner and/or trainer (client), and it implies that they will consult each other about the health of the horse (patient) following an examination.

Several veterinarians described the VCPR from a sport-specific practice point of view during the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) convention, held Dec. 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif.

Harry Werner, VMD, of Werner Equine, in North Granby, Conn., explained that the VCPR implies that the veterinarian has assumed responsibility for making clinical judgments, that the owner has consented, and that the veterinarian has sufficient information about the horse to make appropriate clinical decisions