About
Dr Ian Fulton
Ian graduated from Melbourne University Veterinary School in 1983 with first class honours and undertook his first private practice role with the Kyabram Veterinary Clinic in north eastern Victoria. From 1985 to 1987, Ian worked in Adelaide under the tutelage of the revered equine practitioner, Dr Howard Mortimer. A 3-year surgical Residency followed at Michigan State University (MSU) where Ian also completed a Master of Science degree with his thesis on the technique of laryngeal reinnervation for laryngeal hemiplegia (“roaring”) in horses.
In 1990 Ian returned to the Ballarat Veterinary Practice (BVP) in which his father Len had worked from 1954 to 1989. Ian joined the BVP Partnership in 1993. Following examinations in 1992, Ian become a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS) and then registered as a Specialist in Equine Surgery after completing his Fellowship of the ANZCVS in 2009.
While at the BVP Ian, with the help and support of the partnership, continued to build and develop the equine hospital. This included establishing the first full scintigraphy unit (bone scanner) for horses in Victoria in 1999. In 2003, Ian and Dr Brian Anderson instigated an equine surgery internship program of which some graduates have continued on to become equine surgical specialists.
Ian has a special interest in upper airway surgery of horses, in particular laryngeal reinnervation. The original procedure was modeled on the technique developed by Dr Harvey Tucker used in people utilising a nerve and muscle transplant. This technique was an alternative to the traditional “tie-back” procedure and has allowed many horses to return to the racetrack or performance arena. The surgical technique has been refined over the years working initially in collaboration with Dr John Stick and Dr Fred Derksen from MSU and more recently with Dr Fabrice Rossignol from the Grosbois Equine Clinic in Paris and the French National Veterinary School of Maison-Alfort. Ian has presented at Australian and international meetings on the subject of laryngeal reinnervation, along with other surgical topics. In 2011, Ian and Dr Brian Anderson co-authored the chapter on the larynx in the preeminent text on horse surgery, Auer and Stick’s “Equine Surgery”.
From 1999 to 2012 Ian traveled frequently to Singapore, Macau and Kuala Lumpur to perform surgery and consult for the champion trainer Malcolm Thwaites. Ian served as President of the Ballarat Turf Club for 4 years and in 2015 was President of Equine Veterinarians Australia, the professional body representing equine veterinarians. In 2020 Ian was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian Veterinary Association for his service. Ian retired from the partnership of the Ballarat Veterinary Practice in July 2020 and is now providing specialist surgical services to the clinic through his new business Fulton Equine Consulting.
In 2020, Ian was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian Veterinary Association and also the Provet Award for Excellence in the Equine Veterinary Field presented by Equine Veterinarians Australia.
