Injuries rob us of time, add medical costs and diminish the joys of life. While accidents happen, some injuries are easily avoided. Rose Kennedy describes the most common injuries from the most important areas of your life: home, work and sports < It’s not likely that Kennedy considered the challenges of an equine surgeon. A questionnaire survey of equine veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom sought to understand injury risks and consequences. Most injuries were described as bruising, fracture and laceration. . . 31% of respondents said they had chronic injuries or illnesses attributable to equine veterinary work. . . Source: Equine Veterinary Education, January 29,2018. Link. Over a working lifetime of 30 years, a veterinary surgeon working with horses may expect to sustain between eight and nine injuries that require (self) treatment and/or result in time off work. 44% of respondents were unable to return to work immediately after their ‘worst’ injury. The median length of time off work was 7 days. The median length of time to return to a full range of duties was 18 days and the median length of time to become fully recovered was 21 days. INSIGHTS: So, horsework is dangerous. No surprise. But information provided by survey respondents clearly shows opportunities for improving safety. Eighty seven percent of those surveyed gave details on how they thought equine veterinary related injuries could be reduced. Here are the top five responses: