Special - Equine Pre-winter check up
You want your equine partner to be in the best of health coming into winter whether they are continuing in work or being turned out. It’s a great time to get up to date with dental treatments, vaccinations, sheath cleaning, worming and selenium testing. At the same time, have a chat about any other issues or questions you might have. Get 25% off the whole visit if you make a booking before 30 April 2024. My commitment is to do all I can to make these procedures as stress free as possible for both you and your equine friend and partner.
-
Most horses will develop sharp points on the molars that can cause cuts and ulcers on the cheek or tongues. Many horses also have teeth that are not 100% aligned or wearing evenly. This can be seen as hooks, ramps, tall teeth or excessively worn teeth. A basic dental exam and float will help to correct these issues. Older horses often develop gaps between the teeth or pockets in the surface of the tooth that can trap food and twigs and cause decay and injury. While we can’t grow back new tooth, we can help keep your horse comfortable by cleaning out these pockets.
-
Does my gelding really need his sheath cleaned? This wouldn’t happen in the wild would it? Most geldings will probably get by OK without having their sheaths cleaned but I have seen enough issues with infected penis, accumulation of huge amounts of debris within the prepuce and even flystrike inside the sheath. All of these are very uncomfortable conditions. Sheath cleaning is a simple procedure that may or may not require sedation. Once the horse experiences the relief of having the offending material removed, they often are quite happy to have the procedure performed.
-
The main diseases that most pleasure ponies are vaccinated against are tetanus and strangles. Keeping up to date with these vaccines can easily prevent these distressing and sometimes fatal diseases. Tetanus requires a sensitiser vaccination programme that includes 2 doses one month apart and a 3rd dose 9 to 12 months later and then boosters every 5 years. Strangles also requires a sensitiser vaccination programme of 2 shots 4-8 weeks apart and then annual booster. Tetanus is present in manure and in the environment and gains entry through cuts and puncture wounds whereas strangles is a respiratory disease that is only passed from horse to horse.
-
This is a good time to treat for bots and other internal worms if they are present. A faecal egg count can be a useful indicator of the general worm burden in your horse but it cannot tell us about encysted cyathostomes or bots. If your horse is difficult to worm, we may be able to help with injection, stomach tube or sedation. Worming paste is an expensive investment and it doesn’t work if its spat out on the ground.
-
Selenium is the most common trace element deficiency of horses. Blood tests are a simple and effective way of determining whether your horse requires supplementation or whether the current programme is adequate. Selenium is also highly toxic if overdosed so while many feeds contain selenium, care should be taken not to add extra if it isn’t needed.
-
What else can we asses? We will listen to your horse’s heart, lungs and gut sounds. Assess body condition, coat condition and anything else you might be concerned about. We can even make a preliminary assessment of muscular tightness or soreness and refer for massage therapy. This is a lovely way to finish off the session with your horses as they usually really enjoy some nice massage of areas that have been tight for a while. Just like we enjoy a nice shoulder rub after a long day.
