Veterinary surgeons

Alasdair grew up on a working croft on the beautiful Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where he developed a passion for working with horses. After graduating from Glasgow University in 2006, he began his career in a "James Herriot style" mixed practice in North Yorkshire, before moving to a large equine practice in Kent in 2009 where he developed a particular interest in how combined factors such as lameness, medical conditions and dental discomfort can affect performance in horses.

Alasdair moved with his family to the Frome area in 2015, where most recently he worked as a clinical director at B&W Equine Vets. His spare time is spent engaging in a myriad of family activities with his wife and two young daughters, and when time allows, indulging in his passions for rock climbing and music.

Alasdair holds RCVS certificates in both equine medicine and equine dentistry and is an RCVS advanced practitioner in equine medicine. He is passionate about equine dentistry and the impact that this can have on welfare, and regularly visits other veterinary clinics throughout the Southwest of England to perform advanced dental procedures.

Pippa Smith is the most recent vet to join the team at Frome Equine Vets. She is a hugely experienced equine vet who enjoys all areas of equine practice particularly dentistry and care of the geriatric horse and pony. Pippa grew up in North Wales where she evented to four star level and produced and rode show hunters and working hunters at county level with multiple successes at Horse of the Year Show. She qualified from Liverpool Vet School, after having completed a physiology degree at Newcastle University, then worked in an equine practice in N Wales for two years before moving down to Somerset.

Pippa loves her skiing and cycling but most of her spare time is taken up with supporting her two teenage boys in their numerous sporting activities or walking her 3 dogs.

Sophie qualified from the accelerated graduate programme at the Royal Veterinary College and then completed a hospital internship at South West Equine Referral Practice in Devon. She stayed for another year as an Equine Fellow, gaining further exposure to a wide range of surgical, medical and intensive care cases. Prior to training as a vet Sophie spent eight years at the University of Oxford reading a BA in Physiological Sciences, MSc and DPhil (PhD) in Neuroscience. Her main interests therefore lie in internal medicine, and she will begin her Advanced Practitioner in Equine Internal Medicine Certificate shortly. Sophie grew up with horses, competing in dressage at international FEI pony level and training on the Great Britain Squad with her very naughty Welsh pony. While at university she worked at dressage, racing and event yards in West Sussex, and looks forward to engaging with all aspects of practice with the team at Frome Equine Vets.