Caring for all of your animals, at all times.

 Horse Services

Phone (01423) 862121 to book an appointment or find out more.

horse and ownerVaccinations

Prices start from just £38 inc VAT for a flu vaccinaton, free health check and passport updating.
Price does not include visit fee.

We recommend routine vaccination against:
Tetanus, Flu, Herpes and Strangles.

Tetanus

Every horse and pony should be vaccinated against Tetanus. Tetanus is a disease that can affect any horse or pony at any time. It is contracted from contamination of wounds (even minor ones) with bacteria (Clostridium tetani) that live in the soil. The toxin produced by the bacteria produces painful muscle spasms that can be severe enough to cause convulsions. Vaccination is a very simple and effective way to prevent this severe and often fatal disease. Depending on the brand of vaccine used, booster doses may only be needed as infrequently as every 2 years.

Flu (equine influenza)

Whilst flu is not as serious to the individual horse as tetanus, it still has major implications for horse owners. Most horses infected with flu will get a mild fever and a persistent, long-term cough which prevents the horse from being exercised for at least 3 weeks. The flu virus is highly contagious, so the disease can spread rapidly between horses at shows, race meetings or where horses are kept together on a yard. Due to the disease's potential to severely disrupt all equine activities, most reasonably sized equine events will insist that all horses entered are vaccinated against flu. The benefit of this is that equine influenza has now become relatively uncommon. Booster vaccinations against flu are needed every year.

Herpes (equine herpesvirus 1 & 4)

In horses, herpes infection can cause one of three types of disease. The commonest effect of herpes is an unwell horse or pony that has a moderate fever and a runny nose (and possibly a cough). Most horses and ponies will recover from this without complication but, like flu it can result in your horse being unable to be exercised for several weeks. Very rarely, horses that are recovering from a herpes infection can develop the neurological form of the disease. Some horses can recover from the neurological form of the disease, but unfortunately some do not and have to be put down. The third form of the disease is abortion - obviously this can only occur in pregnant mares. Herpes infection in horses is quite common, vaccination is most effective at preventing the disease when all of the horses on an establishment are protected. Booster vaccinations are required every 6 months.

Strangles (Streptococcus equi)

This is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that spreads by direct contact between horses and ponies. It can also be spread via grooming kits, clothing, buckets, vermin and tack. The disease is fairly common and appears to be increasing in prevalence in the UK. Infected horses normally have a high temperature, a purulent nasal discharge and swollen lymph nodes in their head and neck. Unlike flu and herpes, strangles is a bacterial infection and can be treated with antibiotics. In rare cases, lymph nodes throughout the body can become abscessed. This is called 'bastard strangles' and can be difficult to treat. For more information on Strangles, see our October 2004 newsletter.

Click here for frequently asked questions about Strangles and the vaccine
More Information: www.equine-strangles.co.uk

Equine Health Plans

Our Equine Health Plans provide a way for you to spread the cost of routine health care and save money.

What is the purpose of the plan?

To ensure your horse is provided with the best possible protection against disease.

With so many vaccines and wormers on the market it is always difficult to be sure you are using the correct products, and, that they are used at the most effective times.

As a member of the plan we will provide your horse with a full vaccination programme.

On the plans which include wormers, we will also provide a full worming programme.

We will also ensure that as new developments occur in health care that we will incorporate these into the programme so you can be confident your horse is always provided with the best possible protection.

What are the benefits of the plan?

By making regular monthly payments you will be able to spread the cost of veterinary care more evenly throughout the year.

There are also significant financial savings to be made.

As a member of the scheme you will be provided with all of the following benefits:

 
  • Download our pet and horse health plan leafletsYour horse will be kept fully vaccinated to provide protection against the following diseases:
    • Tetanus
    • Equine Flu
    • Herpes Virus
  • The health plans that include wormers provide all the worming preparations necessary to control:
    • Red worms
    • Bots
    • Tapeworm
  • Full health check including dental and back examinations will be given on request every six months at the time of vaccination.
  • Laboratory worm egg count every 12 months on request.
    (To monitor the effectiveness of the worm control programme)
  • No visit fees AND 10% discount off all other fees for your horse!
  • If we have to attend your horse at any other time because of illness or injury we will invoice you for the consultation and treatment in the normal way, but we will not charge you our normal visit fee.
  • At present this will save you £37 or £52.50 (incl. VAT) every time we need to attend your horse!
  • This offer alone represents a big saving to your annual veterinary costs.

Diagnostic Facilities

Almost 50 years of combined veterinary experience together with a range of modern techniques and equipment.

Our four full time veterinary surgeons between them have a combined total of almost 50 years experience of diagnosing and treating horses. This is supported by a range of diagnostic tools and laboratory facilities in Wetherby and Newmarket.

horse x-ray
  • Portable ultrasound machines - suitable for fertility work and scanning soft tissues such as tendons or heart valves.
  • Portable DIGITAL X-ray facilities - you don't need to transport your horse to get it X-rayed. The highly detailed images are available to view immediately - there's no waiting to get the film developed.
  • Laboratory facilities - some samples are tested at the surgery, others are sent to Wetherby or Newmarket
  • Ultrasound with colour Doppler - suitable for investigating heart problems
  • Endoscope - to look in to those awkward places e.g. nose & throat
  • Electrocardiography (ECG)

Surgical Facilities

Many surgical procedures can be performed without transporting your horse.

Whilst major surgery in the horse still needs the full facilities of an equine operating theatre, many of the more minor procedures can be performed in your horse's stable or field. Some procedures such as castration or suturing wounds can usually be done with just a sedative and local anaesthetic. For more complicated procedures general anaesthesia may be required, but this is now possible without your horse leaving home. Recent advances in anaesthetic drugs have made this a realistic option for operations expected to take less than an hour, provided that you can supply a suitable space. For major surgical procedures we will refer your horse to one of the nearest equine hospitals or to Liverpool University.

Worming

Implementing a strategic worming plan doesn't have to be confusing.

Routine worming and pasture management techniques to reduce the contamination of your grazing land form part of the basic care that your horse or pony needs. You should choose your worming products in order to kill the correct types of parasite at the time of the year when they are vulnerable. You should also use wormers in such a way as to prevent the development of resistance to the wormer.

We can also discuss pasture management with you to try to reduce your reliance on wormers. Unfortunately, some parasites (e.g. bots and tapeworms) cannot be controlled in this way, so the use of some worming products is unavoidable.

We can provide:

  • A comprehensive worming programme for your horse or pony
  • The correct wormers to use in accordance with the worming programme
  • Advice on the correct dosage of wormers for your horse or pony
  • Faecal worm egg counts to check that your control measures are effective
  • Advice on the worming of newly acquired horses

Horse Passports

All horses, ponies, donkeys and other equine animals must (by law) have a full passport. There are many common equine drugs such as 'Bute' and most of the orally administered antibiotics that can only be given to horses that have had their passports signed to prevent them ever being sent for human consumption.

Any veterinary surgeon who intends to prescribe or dispense any of these commonly used medicines must firstly check that your horse's passport is suitably signed (otherwise the vet is committing a criminal offence). Please ensure that your passport is available for checking whenever your horse needs veterinary treatment. If your horse is on loan or someone else is looking after it for you then you should make sure that they also have access to the passport.

 For up to date information on horse passports: click here to visit the DirectGov website.
The full set of passport rules is here: The Horse Passports Regulations 2009