Dr Rebecca Mouncey

BVetMed PhD PGCert FHEA MRCVS
Equine Postdoctoral Fellowship

Department: Pathobiology & Population Sciences

Campus: Hawkshead

Research Groups: Animal Welfare Science and Ethics

Research Centres: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health

Rebecca is a veterinary surgeon and post-doctoral research fellow, currently investigating early-life determinants of performance and the economics of Thoroughbred breeding. Her fellowship is funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Racing Foundation.

Rebecca graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the RVC in 2003. She worked for 16 years in clinical practice in various roles, predominantly involved in Thoroughbred racing and breeding in the UK and Middle East. During which time she worked as a treating veterinarian at Lingfield Park Racecourse and the Olympic and Paralympic games in London, and was head of veterinary services at the Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club in Bahrain. In 2018 she returned to the RVC, to undertake a PhD investigating the epidemiology of disease and injury in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings, which she was awarded in July 2022. She is currently a Horserace Betting Levy Board funded Post-Doctoral Research Fellow investigating early-life determinants of performance and the economics of Thoroughbred breeding and the epidemiology and genetics of congenital muskuloskeletal dissorders in neonatal Thoroughbreds. 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_RBubfoAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1

Mouncey RR, Alarcon P, Verheyen KL. (2024) Determinants of Thoroughbred yearling sales price in the UK. Vet Rec Open. e81. https://doi.org/10.1002/vro2.81

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, Rathbone P, Scott CJ, de Mestre AM. (2024) Prevalence of Microbial Isolates Cultured from Endometrial Swab Samples Collected from United Kingdom Thoroughbred Mares from 2014 to 2020. Veterinary Sciences 11(2):82. https://doi.org/doi:10.3390/vetsci11020082

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Verheyen KL. (2023) Associations between turn out practices and rates of musculoskeletal disease and injury in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the United Kingdom. Equine Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14038

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Verheyen KL. (2023) Gestation length is associated with early-life limb deformities in Thoroughbred foals. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 129:104896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104896

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Verheyen KL. (2023) Incidence of disease, injury and death in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the UK and Ireland. Veterinary Record 192(12)e2994. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.2994

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Verheyen KL. (2022) Descriptive study of medication usage and occurrence of disease and injury during gestation in Thoroughbred broodmares. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 118:104104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2022.104104

Mouncey R, Arango-Sabogal JC, de Mestre AM, Foote AK, Verheyen KL. (2022) Retrospective analysis of post-mortem findings in Thoroughbreds aged from birth to 18 months presented to a UK pathology laboratory. The Veterinary Journal 281:105813. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.43_13492 

 

 

  • Early-life determinants of performance and the Economics of Thoroughbred breeding

    Thoroughbred mare and foal

    The project aims to improve understanding of the impact of Thoroughbreds’ early-life health and management on later-life racing performance and the financial viability of Thoroughbred breeding enterprises.

    Findings from the project will align with key priorities from the Thoroughbred industry’s welfare strategy. Firstly, by increasing transparency around the fate and welfare of Thoroughbreds bred for racing during their early-life stages, and secondly by informing strategies to reduce musculoskeletal disease and injury and improve industry retention and economic viability.

  • The epidemiology and genetics of congenital musculoskeletal disorders in neonatal Thoroughbreds

    The project aims to investigate the contributions of gestational exposures and genetic variants to the risk of congenital developmental orthopaedic disorders (cDOD) in Thoroughbred foals.

    The project will provide novel insights into the development, incidence and genetic basis of cDOD in Thoroughbred foals. The project outputs will inform evidence-based management modifications for Thoroughbred breeders to reduce the risk of cDOD in foals and improve broodmare fertility and welfare long-term. 

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