An Oakbank-area man accused of performing unauthorized dental procedures on horses is facing a lifetime ban against practising veterinary medicine in Manitoba.

The Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association is seeking a permanent injunction against Kelvin Brent Asham, whom the organization accuses of diagnosing diseases and injuries in horses, treating the animals, and in one instance, administering a sedative — all without certification as a veterinarian.

In court documents, the veterinary association claims it's been trying to stop Asham from diagnosing and treating horses for three years to no avail, claiming he conducts himself as if rules don't apply to him in what one investigator described in court documents as "a display of lawless bravado."

The vets' association said it first became aware of Asham in 2015, when animal-protection officers investigated a complaint a 16-year-old castrated horse suffered "irreparable damage" after Asham filed down overgrown and sharp-edged teeth in a treatment known as "floating."

In an affidavit, animal-protection officer Leon Flannigan, a former Brandon police officer, said he investigated allegations Asham caused damage when he floated the teeth, sedated the horse, pulled one of its teeth and attempted to pull another, all without authorization from veterinary authorities.

Flannigan said he met with Asham at a Tim Hortons in Selkirk in 2016 and cautioned Asham he could be charged under the Animal Care Act.

Flannigan said he learned Asham floated the teeth of four other horses for the same owner, owned power tools to do the work, and had been floating horse teeth since 1996.

According to Flannigan, Asham said most veterinarians do floating improperly and that he possesses tools that are different from those used by vets.

"Off the record I do thousands of horses," Asham told Flannigan without being prompted, according to the latter's affidavit. "I do a good job. I am willing to fight this in court."

Cease-and-desist letter sent in 2017

In a separate affidavit, veterinary medical association registrar Andrea Lear said Manitoba's chief veterinary office investigated the 2015 incident and concluded Asham practised veterinary medicine without authorization.

She said her own organization sent Asham a cease-and-desist letter in 2017 because he is not permitted to work as a vet.

Then in 2018, when the vets' association became aware Asham was still receiving Facebook recommendations as a horse dentist, it hired private investigator Russ Waugh to attempt to procure Asham's services.

In an affidavit, Waugh said he took a horse to Asham for an examination and was told the animal could be treated for $200.

The vets' association is now asking a judge to declare Asham is not entitled to practise veterinary medicine and has acted as a vet without authorization. It's also seeking to ban Asham from acting as a vet on a permanent basis.

"By engaging in the unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine, the respondent effectively declares himself to be outside the law," writes Robert Dawson, the lawyer for the vets' association.

"The respondent has persistently defied the governing legislative framework and conducts himself as if those rules don't apply to him."

Asham told CBC News he is consulting with a lawyer.

A hearing was slated for Wednesday, but Dawson said he and the respondent's counsel have agreed to adjourn the matter to Aug. 7.