ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´

Contact

• workRoom B21 Gateway Building
  Sutton Bonington Campus
  Sutton Bonington
  Leicestershire
  LE12 5RD
  UK
• work0115 951 6422
• fax0115 951 6440
• sarah.freeman@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

Sarah Freeman graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London in 1994. Following a year working in mixed practice in Suffolk, she returned to the Royal Veterinary College in 1995 as a postgraduate student in the Equine Hospital. She obtained a PhD in equine anaesthesia, the RCVS Certificates in Veterinary Anaesthesia, Veterinary Radiology and Equine Soft Tissue Surgery. She became a lecturer in Equine Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College in 1999, and became a Member of the Institute of Teaching and Learning in 2002. Between 2002 and 2005, Sarah was self-employed undertaking consultancy veterinary education and clinical work. She became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2005. She joined the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ in 2005, and was involved in much of the early planning and delivery of the new curriculum.

Current role at Nottingham includes undergraduate teaching in Yrs 1-5. Current research is based around welfare and clinical disease in horses (including colic, wounds, end-of-life decision-making, AI monitoring of health and welfare and working equid welfare).

Sarah was awarded a personal Chair in 2014, and is a Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. She was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2017 for meritorious contributions to clinical practice, and won the RCVS Impact award in 2019 for her work within the REACT colic campaign.

Expertise Summary

Current role at Nottingham includes teaching, research and clinical work.

Sarah Freeman is a Professor in Veterinary Surgery at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. She holds RCVS Certificates in Equine Soft Tissue Surgery, Veterinary Anaesthesia and Radiology, and the European Diploma in Large Animal Surgery.

Sarah primarily teaches in Musculoskeletal 2 (Year 4 module), and Musculoskeletal 1 (Year 1 module), but also contributes to teaching and assessment in other years and modules. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was awarded an Individual Lord Dearing Award for Teaching and Learning in 2007 and in 2013, and Team Lord Dearing Awards in 2021 and 2024.

Research interests are centred around clinical disease and welfare in horses and dogs. Sarah currently supervises three postdoctoral researchers (Amelia Cameron, Freya Rooke and Jess Burridge), 2 PhD students (Anna Heritage and Martyna Jankowska) and an MRes student (Elise Rodden).

Sarah leads the Nottingham Equine Colic Project. This research group has used a co-production methodology to work with vets and horse owners to generate new evidence and recommendations on the recognition and assessment of colic (funded by World Horse Welfare). The project team has collaborated with the British Horse Society to produce the 'React now to beat colic' campaign, a highly successful evidence-based equine health initiative to help horse owners with the early recognition of colic www.bhs.org.uk/welfare-and-care/colic, which won the Veterinary Record Evidence award in 2017. The research group has also developed educational materials on colic specifically for veterinary surgeons and practices (www.beva.org.uk/Guidance-and-Resources/Practice-Managers) and for undergraduate veterinary and equine students (www.worldhorsewelfare.org/equine-colic-form). The Colic Champions scheme was launched with The British Horse Society in 2018, and currently has 88 veterinary practices signed up as champions (www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/our-campaigns/react/vet-react-colic-champions). Colic awareness week runs annually with The British Horse Society to help raise awareness of this campaign.

A new initiative, The Equine Wound project was launched in 2018 in collaboration with The British Horse Society, and is starting a similar process for wounds in horses. This has completed evidence reviews, collected data on injuries in horses (www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/wounds-project), held workshops and focus groups with vets and owners to identify priorities, and PhD student Anna Heritage is currently trialling new resources which will underpin a new educational campaign.

We are also currently trialing at end-of-life decision-making tools to help vets and owners with critical decision-making in the horse. This continues the work done during Amelia Cameron's PhD funded by Horse Trust, and the implementation trial is now led by Amelia, with funding for a two year Fellowship from Morris Animal Foundation.

We have worked extensively with World Horse Welfare on a range of UK and international based projects. Jess Burridge has recently completed a PhD developing an educational intervention for colic in working equids in Cololmbia. Currently, post-doc researcher Freya Rooke is leading a project to refine and validate a working equid welfare assessment tool, funded by World Horse Welfare. Amelia Cameron has recently completed post-doctoral work generating scoping reviews to identify and collate evidence on working equid research.

The latest research to start is working with VetVision AI to develop computer vision AI monitoring of stabled horses, with Martyna Jankowska funded through an AI DTC PhD studentship.

Previous research has encompassed a broad range of methodologies, including both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Current and previous collaborations have included the School of Education and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´), the Royal Veterinary College (University of London), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (University of Calgary), Hong Kong Jockey Club, the British Horse Racing Authority and the NCARE team at Nottingham (www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/ncare). Sarah is involved in publication and grant reviews for a number of journals and charities. She is part of the Equine Veterinary Journal ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Design and Data Analysis Board, and is a member of the organising Committee for the International Colic Symposium.

Research Summary

Sarah's research interests are in welfare and clinical disease .

She is currently supervising a Masters studentship on Castration complications in the horse (Elise Rodden), and PhD studentships on Educational resources for wound management in horses (Anna Heritage) and Computer vision AI analysis of stabled horses behaviour (Martyna Jankowska).

Current Postdoctoral researchers are working on: End-of-life decision-making in the horse (Amelia Cameron - Morris Animal Foundation Fellowship), Refinement and validation of a working equid welfare assessment tool (Freya Rooke) and colic prevention programmes in working equids (Jess Burridge).

Selected Publications

• LIGHTFOOT, KATIE L., BURFORD, JOHN H., ENGLAND, GARY C. W., BOWEN, I. MARK and FREEMAN, SARAH L., 2020. PLOS ONE. 15(9),
• BOWDEN, ADELLE, BOYNOVA, POLINA, BRENNAN, MARNIE LOUISE, ENGLAND, GARY C W, MAIR, TIM S, FURNESS, WENDY A, FREEMAN, SARAH L and BURFORD, JOHN H, 2020. Retrospective case series to identify the most common conditions seen 'out-of-hours' by first-opinion equine veterinary practitioners. The Veterinary record.
• BOWDEN, ADELLE, ENGLAND, GARY C W, BRENNAN, MARNIE LOUISE, MAIR, TIM S, FURNESS, WENDY A, FREEMAN, SARAH L and BURFORD, JOHN H, 2020. Indicators of 'critical' outcomes in 941 horses seen 'out-of-hours' for colic. Veterinary Record.
• FREEMAN, SARAH L., ASHTON, NEAL M., ELCE, YVONNE A., HAMMOND, ANNA, HOLLIS, ANNA R. and QUINN, GREG, 2020. EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL.

• View all publications

Past Research

Previous research has been on clinical disease in the horses and dog, undergraduate education, and human-animal interactions.

Completed PhD students:

Liz Mossop. Defining and Teaching Veterinary Professionalism. 2012

Abigail Clutterbuck. Nutritional targeting of inflammatory pathways and catabolic mediators involved in equine osteoarthritis 2013

Sarah Williams. The effect of management regimes on large intestinal motility in the horse. 2012

Claire Mann. An ethnographic study of the student experience of making meaning and identity through a new Veterinary curriculum 2013

Kate Cobb. The impact of assessment on the constructive alignment of a modern veterinary curriculum. 2014

Laila Curtis. Developing evidence on the primary case presentation and assessment of acute abdominal pain (colic) in the horse 2016

Claire Vinten. The development of clinical reasoning in veterinary students 2016

C Whelan. Causes and impact of premature retirement of guide dogs - the guide dog owner's perspective. 2017

Erica Gummery. An investigation into the impact of anatomy teaching in the veterinary curriculum through the perceptions of students and teaching staff 2018

Adelle Bowden. Maximising the impact of evidence-based medicine on equine health and welfare 2018

Purba Islam. Effects of resveratrol and its metabolite piceatannol on equine osteoarthritis using an explant cartilage model. 2019

Katie Lightfoot. Building a 'toolkit' for change: Evaluation of horse owner behaviour and knowledge transfer in response to an educational campaign. 2020

Caroline Quarmby. Investigation into risk factors for overweight status and the use of behaviour change interventions for weight management in dogs. 2022

Freya Rooke. Excellence is expected : quality monitoring and improvement in veterinary medicine. 2023

Amelia Cameron. Let's talk about euthanasia: developing a shared decision-making guide to support health and end-of-life care decisions in the horse. 2024

Jess Burridge. Using human behaviour change interventions to improve the welfare of working equids in Colombia. 2024

Rachel Moxon. A prospective cohort study to investigate the impact of neutering bitches prepubertally or post-pubertally. 2024

Completed Masters students:

Hilary Audretsch. Premature Retirement in Guide Dogs: Behavioural Reasons for Withdrawal 2013

Daisy Jones. Understanding why guide dogs fail to meet their predicted qualification outcomes. 2016

Rafa Azola. Retrospective study of ultrasonographic features of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries in 469 Thoroughbred racehorses in Hong Kong, and their relationship to outcome. 2016

Isabella Wild. Disseminating evidence to equine practitioners 2017

Harriet Clough. Exploring the Horse-Human Relationship 2018

Richard Birnie. An owner questionnaire and prospective cohort study on equine wounds and their management. 2021

Therese de Souza. Investigating factors that affect survival of horses following treatment for synovial sepsis. MVM thesis. 2023

Luke McLinden (2024) Exploring Persistent Streptococcus equi subspecies equi Infection in Equids

Jo Dwyer (2024) The Effects of Weaning Related Stress on the Emotional Health of Horses

Adam Redpath (2025) Paracetamol in Horses: Current use and future perspectives

• LIGHTFOOT, KATIE L., FROST, ELLIE, BURFORD, JOHN H., ENGLAND, GARY C. W. and FREEMAN, SARAH L., 2024. Equine Veterinary Journal. 56(1), 147-158
• DE SOUZA, T.C.,, BURFORD, J.H., BUSSCHERS, E., FREEMAN, S.L. and SUTHERS, J.M., 2024. Veterinary Surgery. 53(6), 1083-1092
• RODDEN, E.B.K., SUTHERS, J.M., BUSSCHERS, E., BURFORD, J.H. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2024. 56(6), 1115–1128.
• BURRELL, K.L., BURFORD, J.H., ENGLAND, G.C.W. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2024. 56(6), 1216–1228
• DWYER, J., ROSHIER, A.L., CAMPBELL, M., HILL, B. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2024. Equine veterinary journal.
• BURRELL, K.L., CAMERON, A. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2024. 56, 1100-1102
• SIDWELL, A.E., DUZ, M., HILL, B., FREEMAN, S.L. and HOLE, S.L., 2024. Veterinary Record.
• MOXON, RACHEL, FREEMAN, SARAH L., PAYNE, RICHARD, CORR, SANDRA and ENGLAND, GARY C. W., 2023. Veterinary Record. n/a(n/a), e2882
• MOXON, R., FREEMAN, S.L., PAYNE, R.M., CORR, S. and ENGLAND, G.C.W., 2023. Vet Record. e2882
• RACHEL MOXON, SARAH L. FREEMAN, RICHARD PAYNE, JASMINE GODFREY-HUNT, SANDRA CORR and GARY C. W. ENGLAND, 2023. Animals. 13(9), 1431
• MCLINDEN, LA, FREEMAN SL, DALY J, BLANCHARD A, KEMP-SYMONDS JG and WALLER A, 2023. Advances in the understanding, detection and management of equine strangles Equine Veterinary Education. 35, 662–672.
• CAMERON, AMELIA, POLLOCK, KRISTIAN, WILSON, ELEANOR, BURFORD, JOHN, ENGLAND, GARY and FREEMAN, SARAH, 2022. Scoping review of end-of-life decision-making models used in dogs, cats and equids VETERINARY RECORD. 191(4),
• FREEMAN SL, 2022. Equine veterinary journal. 54(6), 1011–1012
• ROOKE F, BURFORD J, FREEMAN S, MAIR T, SUTHERS J and BRENNAN M, 2021. Veterinary Evidence. 6,
• WILD, I., FREEMAN, S., ROBLES, D., MATAMOROS, D., ORTIZ, M., RODRIGUEZ, J. and BURFORD, J., 2021. Owners’ Knowledge and Approaches to Colic in Working Equids in Honduras. Animals. 11, 2087
• DE SOUZA, T.C.,, SUTHERS, J., BUSSCHERS, E., BURFORD, J.H. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2021. Equine veterinary journal. 00, 1–14
• BOWDEN, ADELLE, ENGLAND, GARY C W, BRENNAN, MARNIE LOUISE, MAIR, TIM S, FURNESS, WENDY A, FREEMAN, SARAH L and BURFORD, JOHN H, 2020. Indicators of 'critical' outcomes in 941 horses seen 'out-of-hours' for colic. Veterinary Record.
• BOWDEN, ADELLE, BOYNOVA, POLINA, BRENNAN, MARNIE LOUISE, ENGLAND, GARY C W, MAIR, TIM S, FURNESS, WENDY A, FREEMAN, SARAH L and BURFORD, JOHN H, 2020. Retrospective case series to identify the most common conditions seen 'out-of-hours' by first-opinion equine veterinary practitioners. The Veterinary record.
• LIGHTFOOT, KATIE L., BURFORD, JOHN H., ENGLAND, GARY C. W., BOWEN, I. MARK and FREEMAN, SARAH L., 2020. PLOS ONE. 15(9),
• FREEMAN, SARAH L., ASHTON, NEAL M., ELCE, YVONNE A., HAMMOND, ANNA, HOLLIS, ANNA R. and QUINN, GREG, 2020. EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL.
• BOWDEN A, BURFORD J, BRENNAN M, ENGLAND G and FREEMAN S, 2019. Veterinary Evidence. doi.org/10.18849/ve.v4i2.199,
• R. ALZOLA and S.L. FREEMAN, 2019. Veterinary Evidence. 4(3),
• L. CURTIS, J.H. BURFORD, G.C.W. ENGLAND and S.L. FREEMAN, 2019. PLoS One. 14(7), e0219307
• H.G.R. CLOUGH, J.H. BURFORD, A. ROSHIER, G.C.W. ENGLAND and S.L. FREEMAN, 2019. Veterinary Evidence. 4(4),
• I. BARKER and S.L. FREEMAN, 2019. Veterinary Record. 185(16),
• A. BOWDEN, J.H. BURFORD, M.L. BRENNAN, G.C.W. ENGLAND and S.L. FREEMAN, 2019. Equine Veterinary Journal. 53(2), 262-267
• ALZOLA R, EASTER C, RIGGS CM, GARDNER DS and FREEMAN SL, 2018. Equine veterinary journal. 50(5), 602-608
• ALZOLA R.D., RIGGS, C.M., GARDNER, D.G. and FREEMAN, S.L, 2017. Ultrasonographic scoring system for superficial digital flexor tendon injuries in horses: intra- and inter-rater variability. Veterinary Record.
• VINTEN, C.E., COBB, K.A., FREEMAN, S.L. and MOSSOP, L.H., 2016. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 43(4), 398-405
• AGAR C, GEMMILL R, HOLLANDS T and FREEMAN SL, 2016. Veterinary record open. 3(1), e000154
• GEMMILL, R., AGAR, C., FREEMAN, S.L and HOLLANDS, T., 2016. Veterinary Record Open. 3, e000155
• LEA RG, BYERS AS, SUMNER RN, RHIND SM, ZHANG Z, FREEMAN SL, MOXON R, RICHARDSON HM, GREEN M, CRAIGON J and ENGLAND GC, 2016. Scientific reports. 6, 31281
• FREEMAN SL and CURTIS L, 2015. The Veterinary record. 176(2), 38-40
• WILLIAMS, S., HORNER, J., ORTON, E., GREEN, M., MCMULLEN, S., MOBASHERI, A. and FREEMAN, S. L., 2015. EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL. 47(1), 96-100
• CURTIS, L, TREWIN, I., ENGLAND, G.C.W., BURFORD, J.H. and FREEMAN, S.L, 2015. Veterinary Record Open. e000145
• AUDRESTCH, H.M., WHELAN, C.T., GRICE, D, ASHER, L., ENGLAND, G.C.W. and FREEMAN, S.L, 2015. Disability and Health Journal. 8(4), 469 – 474
• CURTIS, L., BURFORD, J.H., THOMAS, J.S.M., CURRAN, M.L., BAYES, T.C., ENGLAND, G.C.W. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2015. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. 57(69),
• PUTNAM, J. R. C., HOLMES, L. M., GREEN, M. J. and FREEMAN, S. L., 2014. EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL. 46(2), 194-197
• ENGLAND G, GEBBELS T, WHELAN C and FREEMAN S, 2014. In Practice. 36(9), 435-442
• JENNINGS, K.M, CURTIS, L, BURFORD, J.H. and FREEMAN, S.L, 2014. BMC Vet Research. 10(S2),
• WILLIAMS, S., COOPER, J. and FREEMAN, S.L, 2014. BMC Vet Research. 10(S2),
• RIJSSELAERE, T., ENGLAND, G. C. W., FREEMAN, S. L., MAES, D. and VAN SOOM, A., 2014. REPRODUCTION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 49, 2-7
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., RUSSO, M. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2013. Veterinary Journal. 195(2), 179-184
• FREEMAN S.L. and ISSAOUI L., 2013. Equine Veterinary Education. 25, 245-246
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., BURGESS, C.M., CLUTTERBUCK, A.L. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2013. Veterinary Journal. 195(2), 185-191
• FREEMAN, S.L. and ENGLAND, G.C.W., 2013. PLoS ONE. 8(2), e57006
• FREEMAN SL, GREEN MJ and ENGLAND GCW, 2013. Theriogenology. 80(2), 73-6
• FREEMAN S L, GREEN M J and ENGLAND G C W, 2013. The Veterinary Journal. (In Press.)
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., MOXON, R. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2012. Theriogenology. 78(7), 1611-1617
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., BURGESS, C.M. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2012. The Veterinary Journal. 194(3), 314-318
• 2012. Reprod Dom Anim (Suppl. 6). 47, 1–5
• STEPHENSON, H M, GREEN, M J and FREEMAN, S L, 2011. The Veterinary record.
• WILLIAMS, S, TUCKER, C A, GREEN, M J and FREEMAN, S L, 2011. Equine veterinary journal. 43 Suppl 39, 93-7
• MAGNIER K, WANG R, DALE VHM, MURPHY R, HAMMOND RA, MOSSOP L, FREEMAN SL, ANDERSON C and PEAD MJ, 2011. The Veterinary Record. 169(26), 682
• HECKER K, READ EK, VALLEVAND A, KREBS G, DONSZELMANN D, MUELLING CKW and FREEMAN SL, 2011. Journal Of Veterinary Medical Education. 37(4), 395-402
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., PHILLIPS, L. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2010. Theriogenology. 74(7), 1136-1140
• SUTTON, SASKI, CLUTTERBUCK, ABIGAIL, HARRIS, PAT, GENT, THOM, FREEMAN, SARAH, FOSTER, NEIL, BARRETT-JOLLEY, RICHARD and MOBASHERI, ALI, 2009. The Veterinary Journal. 179(1), 10-24
• ENGLAND, G.C.W., RUSSO, M. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2009. Reproduction in Domestic Animals. 44(S2), 53-58
• ENGLAND GCW, FREEMAN SL and RUSSO M, 2007. The Veterinary Record. 160(9), 293-6
• MOSSOP L, FREEMAN S and COBB K, 2007. The Veterinary Record. 160(5), 171
• ENGLAND, G., BURGESS, C.M., FREEMAN, S.L., SMITH, S.C. and PACEY, A.A., 2006. Theriogenology. 66(6-7), 1410-1418
• ENGLAND, G.C., FREEMAN, S.L. and RUSSO, M., 2006. Veterinary Record.
• BETTSCHART-WOLFENSBERGER, R., FREEMAN, S.L., BOWEN, I.M., ALIABADI, F.S., WELLER,R., HUHTINEN, M. and CLARKE, K.W., 2005. Equine Veterinary Journal. 37(1), 60-64
• FREEMAN, S.L., 2005. Radiology of the equine foot. Veterinary Times.
• BETTSCHART-WOLFENSBERGER, R., BOWEN, I.M., FREEMAN, S.L., WELLER, R. and CLARKE, K.W., 2003. Equine Veterinary Journal. 35(3), 308-313
• MCGOWAN, C. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2003. Clinical commentary. Abdominal pain in an aged pony. Equine Veterinary Education. 15, 179-181
• FREEMAN, S. L., 2003. Diagnostic ultrasonography of the mature equine abdomen Equine Veterinary Education. VOL 15(PART 6), 319-330
• FREEMAN, S.L., BOWEN, I.M., BETTSCHART-WOLFENSBERGER, R., ALIBHAI, H.I.K. and ENGLAND, G.C.W., 2002. Research in Veterinary Science. 72(2), 123-129
• FREEMAN, S., 2002. Ultrasonography of the equine abdomen: findings in the colic patient IN PRACTICE -LONDON- BRITISH VETERINARY ASSOCIATION-. VOL 24(PART 5), 262-273
• FREEMAN, S.L., ARCHER, D.C. and STALEY, C., 2002. Comparison of the ultrasonographic and histologic appearence of strangulated intestine. In: 7th International Colic Symposium.
• FREEMAN, S., 2002. Ultrasonography of the equine abdomen: techniques and normal findings IN PRACTICE -LONDON- BRITISH VETERINARY ASSOCIATION-. VOL 24(PART 4), 204-211
• NICHOLS, V. and FREEMAN, S.L., 2002. The effect of management on equine gastrointestinal motility. In: 7th International Colic Symposium..
• FREEMAN, S.L. and ENGLAND, G.C.W., 2001. Equine Veterinary Journal. 33(6), 570-576
• BETTSCHART-WOLFENSBERGER, R., BOWEN, M. I., FREEMAN, S. L., FELLER, R., BETTSCHART, R. W., NOLAN, A. and CLARKE, K. W., 2001. American Journal of Veterinary Research. VOL 62(PART 9), 1428-1435
• FREEMAN, S.L., MCGAHAN, J.S., GARLAND, E. and CUDDESFORD, D., 2001. Effect of water intake on gastrointestinal function in the horse. In: 40th Annual Congress of the British Equine Veterinary Assocaition.. 213
• BETTSCHART-WOLFENSBERGER, R., FREEMAN, S. L., JAGGIN-SCHMUCKER, N. and CLARKE, K. W., 2001. American Journal of Veterinary Research. VOL 62(PART 4), 500-507
• FREEMAN, S. L., 2001. Veterinary Record. VOL 148(PART 26), 812-813
• BURRELL (NEE LIGHTFOOT), KATIE, SUTTON-WALKER, GEORGINA, ENGLAND, GARY C. W., BURFORD, JOHN H. and FREEMAN, SARAH L., Veterinary Record. n/a(n/a), e3615
• COBB, M.A., COBB, K.A., ENGLAND, G.C.W. and FREEMAN, S.L., Active Rotation Management: Managing Clinical Veterinary Students in a Community-Based Teaching Model. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. p.e20240039
• CAMERON A, GELDARD, M., MAIR, T., ENGLAND, G.C.W., BURFORD, J.H., FREEMAN, S.L., POLLOCK, K. and WILSON, E., Animals.