Routine Healthcare
Vaccination | Passport and microchip | Dentistry | Worming | Castration
Vaccination
We recommend that all horse, pony and donkey owners regularly vaccinate their animals in order to prevent some serious and potentially life-threatening, diseases.
Horse owners wishing to compete must vaccinate their animals in accordance with the rules of the appropriate sporting governing bodies under which they are competing (e.g. FEI, British Eventing, British Dressage, British Showjumping, Pony Club, BHA etc). It is important to note that it is the owner's responsibility to ensure the horse is up-to-date and complies with the relevant bodies' rules; however, our office staff and vets are happy to assist you to ensure your horse is within these guidelines.
Tetanus
All horses and donkeys should be vaccinated against this potentially fatal disease. Tetanus is caused by toxin production from the bacteria Clostridium tetani which is found in your horse's everyday environment. Clinical disease usually occurs following sustaining a wound or in foals shortly after birth.
Vaccination protocol for tetanus is as follows:
- Primary course of 2 vaccinations given 4-6 weeks apart
- Followed by a booster vaccination within 12 months of the second vaccine
- Subsequent vaccinations are then given every 2 years thereafter
Primary vaccination courses can be started from a minimum of 5 months of age.
Tetanus vaccines are often given as a combined vaccine with Equine Influenza. See below for more details.
Equine Influenza (Flu)
Similar to 'the flu' in humans, equine influenza is a disease characteristed by respiratory signs and caused by a virus. Although rarely causing fatality it can be an extremely debilitating disease, especially for populations of horses with naive or weakened immune systems (particularly young horses). Clinical signs in horses include fever, runny nose and coughing. In recent years, this disease has caused large-scale outbreaks in unvaccinated populations.
It is very important for horse owner wishing to compete their animals to be strictly up-to-date with equine influenza vaccinations. Owners are advised to check the requirements for your particular discipline before starting a vaccination course.
Primary vaccination courses can be started from a minimum of 6 months of age.
For pleasure horses we recommend following the vaccine manufacturers protocol for equine influenza vaccinations which is as follows:
- Primary course of 2 vaccinations given 4-6 weeks apart
- Third vaccine given 6 months later
- Annual vaccinations thereafter
As influenza and tetanus vaccinations are often given in combination, a horse to be vaccinated for both diseases with no prior vaccination history would start the following course:
- 1st vaccination (flu and tetanus)
- 2nd vaccination (flu and tetanus) (4-6w)
- 3rd vaccination (flu and tetanus) (6m)
- Annual booster (flu) (12m)
- Annual booster (flu and tetanus) (12m)
For up-to-date information on the rules for influenza vaccinations of your relevent competing body please use the following links...
British Horseracing Authority (BHA): https://www.britishhorseracing.com/equine-influenza-updates-and-reminders-november-2022/
Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI): https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/veterinarians/biosecurity-movements/vaccinations
Pony Club: https://pcuk.org/media/eibpycgm/the-pony-club-equine-influenza-vaccination-rule-2023.pdf
British Dressage: https://www.britishdressage.co.uk/media/6951/rule-clarifications_3feb23.pdf
Equine Herpes Virus (EHV)
A common virus that occurs in horse populations worldwide. Disease caused by this virus include neurological, respiratory and reproductive symptoms. It is generally recommended that all young horses that are travelled and all in-foal mares are vaccinated for this disease.
Competing horses:
- Primary course of 2 vaccinations, 4w apart
- Boosters every 6 months
In-foal mares:
- Vaccinated at months 5, 7 and 9 of pregnancy
Passport & microchip
Passports
All horses, ponies and donkeys must have a registered equine passport. This passport must be kept with the animal at all times (including when travelling) and acts to identify the animal, record vaccinations and medications as well as identify the registered keeper of the animal.
Foals must have a passport and microchip by the time they are 6 months of age or November 30th of the year they were born (whichever date occurs later).
Passports are issued by Passport Issuing Organisations (PIOs); of which there over 80 in the UK with over 1.2 million equid records! As the horse owner, it is your responsibility to present the passport documentation for your chosen PIO to the attending vet in order for passport documentation to be completed. If no documents are presented, our vets will use our standard PIO documentation.
Our vets will complete your passport documentation out on your yard - all they need is around 10 minutes (or more for coloured cobs!) and an area with good lighting. It is immensely helpful if you can present your horses to our vets in a clean and mud-free condition (when possible!).
Microchipping
This is what links your horse to its' passport (along with the drawing) and is necessary for identification purposes (e.g. when entering shows/competitions or if a horse is lost/stolen).
The microchip transponder is implanted in the left side of your hoses neck, in the nuchal ligament (at the top of the crest). It is a quick and easy procedure that takes less than 5 minutes to carry out. Again, cleanliness of the neck area prior to arrival is much appreciated by our vets.
Horse owners can check their horse's microchip details on the central database; follow this link.
Dentistry
We offer routine dental examinations and dentistry work for horses of all types and sizes. For the safety of you, your horse and our vets we insist on sedation for all dentistry work being carried out with the electric dremmel. Not only does this make all dentistry procedures stress-free for all parties involved, it allows our vets to carry out a more thorough examination and finish their dentistry work to a high standard.
Routine dentistry can be carried out on your yard. More advanced procedures may require a visit into our standing procedures clinic.
We recommend 6 monthly dental exams for horses between 1-4 years old and above 15 years of age; horses between 5-15 years of age are generally seen annually for dental exams. Depending on your horse's overall dental health, they may need more or less frequent examinations.
Our vets are able to carry out a variety of procedures, such as: routine rasping, incisor corrections, incisor extractions, cheek teeth extractions, wolf tooth removal, dental radiography and much more. Please get in touch with us if you have any specific queries.
Worming
A very important part of keeping your horse healthy and a vital component in yard management.
We offer faecal worm egg count tests as well as ELISA blood tests for encysted red worm and tapeworm. Using this information we are then able to prescribe the right wormer for your horse at the appropriate time of year.
To discuss worming protocols or how to organise a faecal worm egg count please call reception who will be happy to answer any questions.
A bit about internal parasites in horses...
Redworm
Horses pass out worm eggs in their droppings, onto pasture. On pasture, these eggs develop into larvae, which are then ingested during grazing. These larvae pass into the horse's intestines, where they develop into adult worms in the gut. These adult worms then produce eggs, where the cycle begins again as these eggs are egested.
Worm egg counts work on the basis that in most scenarios, the higher number of eggs in the droppings, the higher number of adult worms in the horse. However, during late autumn/early winter when immature red worm larvae are ingested on pasture, they enter the gut wall in a state of 'hypobiosis' (they become 'encysted' in the gut wall). This means, that because these larvae are not yet adults, they are not producing eggs and therefore cannot be picked up on a routine worm egg count. As the weather becomes warmer, during Spring, all of these encysted redworm larvae emerge from the gut wall at one time, causing massive intestinal damage and severe clinical disease.
For this reason it is therefore extremely important to select the correct wormer at the right time of year - as not all worming products will be able to kill off encysted redworm. To detect encysted redworm, there is a blood test available (red worm ELISA) which our vets can organise for you. To book in for this test, please contact reception.
Tapeworm
This type of worm is very difficult to detect on worm egg counts, therefore to investigate whether your horse needs to be treated for tapeworm, there is a blood test available (tapeworm ELISA). To book in for this test, please contact reception.
Castration
Our vets will carry out routine castrations on yards or at our clinic. This is usually done between 6-18 months old, but can be at any age if required. Most commonly carried out in early Spring or late Autumn, but can be done at any time of year if certain precautions are taken.
In order for our vets to minimise risk of possible complications we recommend the following:
- Colts/stallions to be already enrolled on a tetanus (or combined flu/tetanus) vaccination course; however, this is not essential.
- If possible and safe to do so, owners can start to palpate the scrotum from a few months old to check that both testicles are descended. In the event that only one testicle is descended into the scrotum ('rig'), more time must be allowed to allow for the testicle to descend or the horse must be referred for surgery under general anaesthesia (GA).
- On the day the vet arrives the horse should be presented in a relatively clean manner. It is a good idea to keep the horse in a stable the night before and the clean the legs/tail area before the vet arrives - this saves time and helps to keep everything clean!
- Post-castration it is vital that the horse be exercised to reduce swelling and therefore there must be a suitable area to exercise the horse (i.e. field, school, arena or hard standing for in-hand walking).
- Owners should take steps to reduce fly burdens where possible (e.g. regular poo-picking, fly sticky tapes and application of effective fly control).
- Our vets will require at least one bucket of fresh clean water.
01142645454
- Mon – Fri
- 08:30 am – 06:00 pm
- Saturday
- 09:00 am – 12:00 pm
- Sunday
- Closed
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