South East Veterinary Services

02/04/2025

📣📣A recent release of guidelines from the Australian veterinary journal provides an update on equine parasite control.

Why is appropriate parasite management in horses important?

⭐️Minimise parasite related disease
⭐️Reduce parasite transmission
⭐️Ensure we maintain effective treatments

What to do? 🤔

⭐️Faecal egg counts are vital to establish if your horse is shedding parasite eggs in their faeces.

⭐️Following a high result, your horse should receive a drench and a follow up egg count 14 days later to ensure the drench was effective.

Worming protocols

⭐️Interval worming (every 6-8 weeks). This practice is no longer recommended in adult horses. In regions with a high burden this remains the recommendation for foals and young stock.

⭐️Targeted treatment. Identifies the animals in your herd most at risk of shedding high egg levels and enables treatment of these animals more frequently to reduce pasture burdens. Involves establishing this threshold with an egg count once per season for the first year (spring, summer, autumn and winter).

⭐️Strategic treatment. Based on occasional FEC and recommendations based on egg shedding and seasonal conditions to ensure that if parasite numbers are low retreatment does not occur.

Other recommendations

⭐️Quarantine new horses and administer a triple combination product to reduce the risk of introducing resistant parasites. A 14 day post treatment faecal sample should be collected to ensure the treatment was effective.

Any questions call us on ☎️0260362374 ☎️

24/12/2024

We would like to wish our very loyal clients a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have a fantastic day, enjoyed with your family and beloved pets.

Thank you everyone for your support during 2024. A busy year for us professionally. Our goals for 2024 were to improve client and patient experience by building a consultation room and indoor resource area, invest and offer equine gastroscopy (for equine ulcers) and consolidate and build on foundational learning. Very pleased to say we achieved all three! We also attended a Veterinary Bull Breeding Soundness Examination (VBBSE) accreditation workshop in Charters Towers, which allows me to be more proficient in examining and assessing bulls in cattle operations.

Veterinary science is an increasingly dynamic and diverse world, and we appreciate the clinical discussions, challenges, encouragement and patience in the opportunity to provide your animals with the best care we can deliver.

Thank you to our Vet CX support staff Deb, Chloe, Jess', Alicia, Andrea, Keisha and Meagan for your communication, patience, dedication and skill in managing my very tricky schedule. Its extremely difficult booking jobs of variable length, interpret urgencies for about 5 different species in about 10 difference towns across 100km radius. I do understand our phone service does have its quirks, but the VetCX team does a great job under the circumstances. Thank you also to everyone for your patience in working with VetCX to ultimately provide you with the best care possible.

Thank you finally to my (new) fiancé Kate! She's often behind the scenes keeping us going. As ive become more experienced, i've placed increasing levels of pressure on myself to be a better vet. I really appreciate her sacrifice, positivity, and emotional support this year.

My idea of "success" has changed considerably over the years as a vet. Initially gauged as becoming a "full time veterinarian" then "fully financially supported" then "competent as a mixed practice vet". My dream has always been the later idea and probably achieved about 3 years ago, however, recently has become gauged on the special bonds and relationships ive cherished. My success and now favourite part of being a vet is NOT being "busy", how much money we do/dont make, being competent, but rather enriching lives of owners and their pets...whether its taking their dog to the beach, seeing a smile on a face at a campdraft, or winning sydney royal.

Our 2025 is looking very optimistic, hoping to build on experience and provide more services at home. My specific goals are to develop better skills and knowledge in equine reproduction and artificial breeding including mare management and ultrasonography, as well as canine internal medicine.

Again, thank you for a full, challenging, and successful 2024 and we cant wait to do it all again in 2025!

05/07/2024

Its finally here!

Its so good that we want to keep the name a secret and cant tell you exactly what it is (and also due to advertising legalities).

If you've had a canine health appointment with us over the past few months, we will have likely mentioned a "silver bullet" in tick and flea prevention.

As a pet owner, i know how inconsistent spot-on and chewable tick prevention is, dosing approximately every month-ish and hoping they like the chew! We also appreciate most tick paralysis occurs while waiting for chews to arrive in the mail or for the next trip to town. Thankfully, MSD Animal Health has developed a single injection that lasts an entire year!

It slowly dissolves under the skin and achieves 99.4% efficacy after day 6 and over 95% efficacy for over 12 months (on par with other monthly preventative chews and a significantly better than the 3-monthly chew and 6-monthly spot-on). Being an injection, it avoids inconsistencies of spot-on skin contact and acceptance of chews.

It is also very safe, the dosage is determined by your dog's weight, however, has no systemic effects given incorrectly: 5 times the recommended dosage every 4 months for 6 consecutive times. If your dog does have an adverse reaction (most commonly a transient non-painful injection site swelling), it is usually self-limiting and short lived. Though this is a new product, the active ingredient has been used very commonly for tick prevention since 2015.

This yearly injection can be administered at your dog's annual health appointment alongside other yearly vaccinations. This takes the stress out of remembering to give monthly tick and flea preventatives, and reduces risk of gaps in prevention of tick paralysis.

Because it is an injection and a prescription product, it is only available through veterinarians and highly recommended to be administer by us. As with all procedures, we will have records of the dose and date given and set reminders for re-treatment, so we wont forget.

We will offer this excellent product at our annual health appointment so you wont need to remember anything. Please give us a call on 0448634465 to book in an appointment if you cant wait or have any questions about this "Quantum" leap in parasite prevention!

08/02/2024

South East Veterinary Services is proud to sponsor and be a judge in the Working Horse Challenge of the Cobargo Show again this year.

It is a privilege to see owners enjoying time with their animals and definitely a highlight of our calendar. The Working Horse Challenge kicks off at 9am with some of the region's best riders and trainers, so make sure to come to the main arena to see them in action!

We are also honoured to oversee animal biosecurity of the show and offer veterinary assistance to show animals over the weekend. Please feel welcome to contact us if your cattle or horses require veterinary assistance.

Good luck to all competitors and we look forward to seeing you (socially) at the show!

🐴 COBARGO SHOW WORKING HORSE CHALLENGE 🐴

⏰ 9:00am Friday 9th February 2024

🟢 Martin & Judy Bourke's Beginner Rider Working Horse Challenge 🟢

This Beginner Rider Working Horse Challenge is open to riders who have not previously placed in similar challenge events. Their horse can be any level, even a very experienced horse.

​🤩 Thank you to our judge, Julie Peadon

🟣 Bermi Beachside Cafe's Novice Working Horse Challenge 🟣

The Novice Working Horse Challenge is open to any rider (no matter how experienced), who is riding a horse that has not won in a similar challenge event previously. For example, someone who is a regular competitor who may have won classes who is riding a young or inexperienced horse is eligible to compete in this event as well as a newcomer rider. But all horses in this event must be inexperienced.

​🤩 Thank you to our Judges, Chrissie French and Mick Otton


🔵 South East Veterinary Services Open Working Horse Challenge 🔵

The Open Working Horse Challenge is open to any horse and rider.

​🤩 Thank you to our Judges, Barbara and John Lee

🔴 Find the patterns and more information on our website: https://www.cobargoshow.org.au/copy-of-horse-events

❓Questions❓
Enquiries to Martin Bourke 0429 937 320. If you're not sure where you fit as a competitor, please reach out to Martin.​

Entries are being taken through GLOBAL from Saturday 6th January 2024, closing Wednesday 7th February 2024.

04/02/2024

Pinkeye! There has been a significant increase in cattle Pinkeye in the Bega Valley over the past month.

Pinkeye (also known as Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis, IBK), is a bacterial infection caused by Moraxella Bovis, which contacts the outer layer of the eye and produces a toxin. This initially causes increased blink rate and eye to be less opened, resulting in excessive tear formation, then a clouding and reddening and yellowing of the eye. If left untreated, cattle can become blind, causing significant production and welfare outcomes.

Transmission between cattle is rapid and predisposed by flies, dust, and bright sunlight, affecting up to 80% of a herd.

Fortunately, there is a vaccine available, though its efficacy is varied depending on the strain of bacteria,

There are various treatments and management practices that are available to assist tackling this very seasonal disease, and are best instituted very early to prevent the rapid spread. and associated high costs and time in treatments.

With another month of summer left, please be vigilant examining your cattle, and contact us if you have any questions about Pinkeye or suspect it in your herd.

Picture Credit: Amanda Radke, Beef Magazine

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas Everyone! Kate and I hope you have a fantastic day celebrating with your animal family. Trixie and Anna both loved their delicious treats, Moo was much entertained by her new mouse toy and all the exciting boxes and wrapping, and Ash devoured his carrot. We hope your pets enjoy their day more than ours enjoyed their outfits and this photo with us 🎅🎁🎄