Equine Veterinarian Dr Alaina Tessier. Source: NZ Equine Research Foundation.
As youngsters, many equestrians dream of one day becoming an equine veterinarian and Alaina Tessier was no exception. Growing up in New Caledonia, her grandfather used to own a beef farm where they had working horses and she would attend the occasional pony riding camp. But she knew she would have to leave her homeland to build her future career as an equine vet – either France or New Zealand – and chose Massey University for its strong international reputation.
Five years of study later, in 2015, Alaina graduated. She completed an equine internship at the Massey Equine Clinic and then travelled to the UK to work as an equine ambulatory vet in private practices in Devon and Norfolk, before settling back in Palmerston North at Massey University’s teaching hospital, where she is currently based.
“I now get my horse fix with work, I guess. All year round we get students coming through, so we’re teaching constantly on cases that come in. You never know how much you don’t know about something until you have to teach it!” says Alaina.
But the story doesn’t stop there. Alaina, who qualified as an FEI Level 1 equine vet earlier this year, was keen to upskill to Level 2. Currently, there are only twenty-three FEI vets in New Zealand, fifteen of whom have Level 2 status or above.
“To be able to get to FEI Level 2, there are multiple things you have to do, and one of them is to attend a ‘transfer up’ course in-person. You also have to shadow senior officials to multiple events which is something I still need to do more of,” says Alaina.
So, she applied for a New Zealand Equine Research Foundation scholarship and was awarded a “Special McLaren Fund” study grant to travel off shore and continue her journey towards becoming an FEI Level 2 vet.
Alaina Tessier (far right) is one of 27 students at an FEI Level 2 Transfer Up Course in Kuala Lumpar, 2025.
In May, Alaina travelled to Kuala Lumpur to attend three FEI Level 2 Official Veterinarian Transfer Up Courses at the Equestrian Association of Malaysia. Along with 27 other veterinarians from Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Taipei, she was taught by Dr Bashir Ahmad Fateh Mohamed, the only Level 4 veterinarian in Malaysia.
While in Kuala Lumpur, Alaina also attended the races at the Selangor Turf Club with Dr Shri Kanth. Eighty percent of the Thoroughbred horses at the Selangor Turf Club originate from Australia and New Zealand, and Dr Kanth travels to the Karaka sales in Auckland every year to acquire more horses.
“It was an amazing place, they had everything on site, including a race course, training stables with over 800 horses and an equine hospital with surgical facilities. They also had a dressage equestrian centre and an RDA, all in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. It was quite spectacular,” says Alaina.
One of the highlights of her study trip, was experiencing a totally different equine industry to that which she had been used to in New Zealand and the UK.
“Being able to meet all the vets and hearing that they have many more opportunities for practical experiences than we do, – especially in terms of endurance – was eye opening. They have an endurance competition every month throughout the year, and being quite close to other Asian countries, it is easy for them to travel to events nearby too,” says Alaina.
Dr Bashir and some of the other course attendants had just returned from an endurance event in Thailand, and were able to provide up-to-date details about the different ways the horses had been managed there.
“It was so hot and so humid, causing different diseases and issues to what we see in NZ. They have compulsory vaccinations, including one against Japanese B encephalitis, which we don’t have in this country. In terms of feed, they don’t grow that much grass because of the weather. So, it’s much harder for them to source horse feed and it’s more expensive because they have to import everything.”
Equine Veterinarian Dr Alaina Tessier observes a trot-up at the Endurance Nationals, Marlborough, 2025. Source: NZ Equine Research Foundation.
In comparison, New Zealand is somewhat isolated, making it harder to get to events beyond its neighbour, Australia. However, she says it has the benefits of being a relatively disease-free country with an abundance of grass and generally good weather.
“They were lovely, lovely people and are facing the same challenges as us, as they are also struggling to find enough vets that want to be equine vets.”
While in Kuala Lumpur, Alaina completed three courses, and now has to attend a range of FEI discipline events in order to complete her transfer up to Level 2. She may be able to do some of these in New Zealand, and hopes to complete her studies in the next year.
She says it is hard work to get there, but being an equine vet is a challenge she is thriving on. She encourages anyone interested in the vocation to turn their dream into a reality.
To those thinking of pursuing a veterinary career and worried vet school may be too hard for them, she says:
“If you don’t try, you don’t get. And sure, vet school may be challenging, you have got to be ready to work hard to get in and to stick to the end. There’s a lot to learn and to get through, but it’s a very rewarding career and I would not want to be doing anything else.”