Professor Derek Knottenbelt is a specialist in equine internal medicine and a Diplomat of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine. Derek retired from a personal chair in Equine Medicine at the University of Liverpool in 2010 having run a sarcoid referral service for over 20 years.

Derek established Equine Medical Solutions Ltd and offers a consultancy service for vets in equine oncology and other challenging clinical conditions. His main interests are in oncology, ophthalmology, wound management and dermatology. He is the primary author of 10 equine veterinary text books and over 100 refereed scientific papers.

He received the Animal Health Trust Scientific Award in 2003, the BEVA (Blue Cross) Welfare award in 2004 and the Merk -WEVA Welfare Award in 2006.

In 2005 he received the OBE from the Queen for his services to Equine Medicine. In 2018 he was awarded the RCVS Inspiration Award, and in 2019 he was awarded an honorary membership of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in recognition of his lifetime’s contribution towards the improvement of the health and welfare of the horse worldwide.

Derek is actively involved in animal and human charity work both in UK and abroad and is a founder member of the Vets with Horsepower team raising money for charity through provision of high quality CPD to vets and horse owners.

Dr Morna Knottenbelt qualified from the RDSVS & went on to teach veterinary medicine & dermatology at the University of Zimbabwe before returning to the UK to work in private practice in the Wirral.

She was awarded the certificate of small animal dermatology in 1992 & working in practice she specialised in dermatology. On her move to Scotland, she took up the challenge of a walled garden with a special interest in herbaceous borders.

She has ridden & owned horses all her life & is enjoying being closely involved as a Director in the running of the company EMS Ltd.

Jenny grew up in Kinross, Scotland. She spent a lot of her childhood around horses and was involved with Equestrian Vaulting & Team GB – both in the team and individually for many years, competing across Europe.

She graduated in 2005 from Glasgow University Veterinary School. This took her to work in a number of prestigious equine hospitals in England – Valley Equine Hospital, Lambourn and Rainbow Equine Hospital, Malton, before returning to her native Scotland where she spent 6 years working locally at Loch Leven Equine Practice, during which time she passed her Certificate in Equine Practice in 2011.

She joined the team at EMS Ltd in October 2017 to help Derek with the ever growing case load. During her career in first opinion and referral practice, she has concentrated her time on internal medicine, anaesthesia and advanced dentistry.

Jenny has also been part of the ‘Vets with Horsepower Team’ mentored by Derek since 2014, where she learnt to lecture and give CPD to vets across the UK, mainland Europe and South Africa.

In her spare time Jenny loves to ride her trusty BMW800GS across the countryside with her father Trevor, baking bread, undertaking gundog training and walking miles with her two Labradors Tay and Fern and spending as much time with family and friends as she can.

She gained her certificate in equine internal medicine in 2008. Emma has since travelled extensively around the world , spending a large chunk of time in South Africa working in first opinion and referral practice. She has also been involved as an equine vet in Mongolia , providing veterinary care for the Mongol Derby between 2014 and 2018.

Emma’s main interests are equine anaesthesia and neonatology.
In her free time, she loves open water swimming , hiking , mountain biking and spending time with her family.

Shannon started working with Equine Medical Solutions in July 2019, she has had an interest in horses from a very young age.

She attended Oatridge College for 2 years attaining her HND in Equine Studies, whilst studying she also achieved her BHS Stage 1 and a UKCC teaching certificate. She has previously worked in customer service roles.

In her spare time, Shannon enjoys riding her horse and also loves spending time with her dog Isla.

Susan graduated in 1996 from Napier University, Edinburgh with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies, and went on to work in various roles in Customer Service and Retail Account Management.

Susan joined EMS in April 2018, having ridden and owned horses since a young age. Outside of work, Susan enjoys riding her horse Blyth, and is on the Committee of a local riding club Glenbrae, and enjoys spending spare time with her husband out walking their dog Otis.