Cape Equine Veterinary Services

11/01/2024

Saddle fit is a huge contributor to the biomechanics of the spine 🐴 Saddlefit 4 Life ® have some excellent resources for those of you who want to learn more about the importance of correct saddle fit!

09/01/2024

Tooth Tuesday 🦷 Horses will lose 24 teeth between the ages of 2 and 5 years old!! This is one of the reasons why it is important to schedule 6-monthly dentals until they are above this age 🐴

07/01/2024

NEW Blog Post - Arthritis in Horses! Find out more about the condition causing over 60% of lameness issues in horses 🐎🦴 Click to read at www.capeequine.com.au/blog/arthritis-in-horses/

22/12/2023

And that’s boots up for 2023! I had a classic day in the life of a general practice horse vet today to round out my year - from stitch-up, to pre-purchase exam, to chiropractics, as well as a bit of poo thrown in 😂💩 Thank you to all my clients for a fantastic year - I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and will look forward to seeing you next year 🍾❤️ ###

19/12/2023

Christmas & New Year Closure 🎄✨ We will be closed for all routine appointments until 8th January 2024. Our emergency service will still be available during this time by calling 0467 485 976. We look forward to seeing our clients in the new year and wish you all a safe and happy holidays ❤️

07/12/2023

Monthly Blog Post - December 2023 🌲 Equine Neck Pain 🐴 Read our blog on common conditions causing neck pain in horses, their clinical signs and how they are diagnosed 👀 www.capeequine.com.au/blog/equine-neck-pain

There has been an increase in research into the equine neck over the last few years, leading to an increased clinician-focus on pain originating from this region. This article will explore a few of the conditions that we are starting to observe as equine clinicians.

02/11/2023

👀 Our new online booking system has launched! You can now make a booking directly with us through our website, and with automated travel times, you can catch us whenever and wherever we are available! 🎉 Book now at www.capeequine.com.au/contact

01/11/2023

Did you know that every month we release a new blog post covering an important horse health topic?!

This is a completely FREE resource to all our clients and followers, to ensure that you are up to date with the latest research on common health conditions in horses 🤓🐴

We are covering Equine Asthma this month, so click the link to find out all about this condition that makes it hard for your horse to breathe!

Everyone knows that humans can get asthma, but did you know that horses can get it too? Read on to find out more about asthma in horses - including how we diagnose, treat and manage asthmatic horses.

22/10/2023

We are now taking bookings for Biomechanical Medicine appointments ✨ Swipe to find out more about these appointments and how you can book in your horse!

20/10/2023

PRODUCT RECALL: All FiberFresh products.
A directive has been issued by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, prompting the immediate securing of all FiberFresh products within the supply chain due to isolated instances of animal contaminants in specific batches. The direction to secure product, applies to all FiberFresh products, including Fiber Protect, Fiber Ezy & Fiber Mix. Australia ONLY. For more info see 👇
www.fiber-fresh.com.au/productrecall

14/09/2023

Even horses get workplace injuries! Duckie was doing his “job” as a working stallion when the mare decided she didn’t want a bar of him! Cue a bit of pe**le injury 😅 lucky Duck’s owner rang and we stitched him up right away, he’s healing well and will be “back in action” soon 😂🦆

08/09/2023

Dr Alex’s partner surprised her with a trip away 🥺❤️ However this means Cape Equine will be unavailable between the 15th - 25th of September. We still have some bookings available for next week so please get in touch if you need something urgently before we go away ✈️

06/09/2023

We are so excited to be adding to the toolbox! Sleip is an AI-powered gait analysis software developed by university researchers in Sweden which provides objective data on gait asymmetries in horses 🐴 We are stepping our lameness exams into the future and can’t wait to show our clients this new addition 😁🎉

05/09/2023

Case of the week: skull fracture 🫣 Young “Harry” was found by his owners with a sudden onset of facial swelling, tearing up of his eye and depressed mentality. Fluoroscein stain was applied to the eye to rule out any concurrent eye damage (picture 1) before a diagnosis of a skull fracture was made. After a week of anti inflammatories, Harry developed nasal discharge (picture 2) so was referred for CT Imaging at to further investigate the fracture🐴 CT found a comminuted fracture of the orbital, lacrimal and zygomatic bones of the skull (pictures 3 & 4). Thankfully, Harry is healing well and is expected to make a full recovery 😊❤️‍🩹

28/08/2023

Reminder that we are away until 5th September! Please email any non-urgent enquiries to [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you upon our return!✈️

23/08/2023

Mesotherapy or “meso” is a relatively non-invasive treatment involving multiple injections of a combination of medications into the mesoderm layer of the skin, and inhibits pain signals to the brain via acting on the nerves of the skin - known as “gate control” theory. This technique is widely credited to Dr Jean-Marie Denoix (ISELP) for introducing it into modern sports horse practice 🤓🐴

20/08/2023

Eye injuries in horses 🚨‼️ This beautiful girl presented at 5pm on a Friday (always the way) as her owners had noticed she was squinting.

Upon presentation she was squinting her eye, with reddening of her conjunctiva and discharge coming from the inner corner of her eye. Notice also the blueish tinge to her eye (indicating corneal oedema.)

Fluorescein stain was applied to the eye (picture 2) which revealed a classic “windscreen wiper” corneal ulcer. Corneal ulcers with this appearance are usually due to a foreign body entrapped behind the third eyelid…

And lo and behold, behind the third eyelid we found the culprit… swipe to the end to see! 🙀

If you notice anything abnormal with your horse’s eye phone us IMMEDIATELY ☎️ Eyes are ALWAYS an emergency - waiting to see if they get better could result in your horse losing their eye! 😣

03/08/2023

An honour and a privilege to work alongside RSPCA WA in the South West, particularly to help horses like Spirit of India. I work with some of the most amazing people in their fields and this was such a rewarding result for all involved 😇

12/07/2023

ANNOUNCEMENT – ZONE DAYS 🛻🐴

We are going to be trying out Zone Days for the next few weeks, starting Monday 17th July. This means we can see more horses in the day, and spend less time driving between horses! 😊

To encourage bookings on these days - if we have more than 2 bookings within a Zone on a designated Zone Day, there will be DISCOUNTED TRAVEL for these appointments. Bookings for Zone Days will need to be made in advance and ideally with some time flexibility (allowing us to plan our route).

If you can’t book in on one of our Zone days due to your own time commitments, we are still happy to see you on another day, this just means the standard travel charge will apply 😊

Mondays: Margaret River (Purple)
Tuesdays: Dunsborough/Yallingup (Yellow)
Wednesdays: Forest Grove (Orange)
Thursdays: Cowaramup (Blue)
Fridays: Vasse/Busselton (Red)

30/06/2023

Sunny winter afternoons at work done right (especially according to these two!) ☀️❄️

22/05/2023

We have been inundated with calls for colics lately 😔 Sadly, we lost a patient last week who had been noted by their owner the day before we saw them for severe sand colic to be quieter than their usual self. If you notice anything abnormal about your horse at all e.g. they’re less interested in food, they’re not waiting at the gate for dinner, or even they just “don’t seem themselves” - don’t wait to call us, pick up the phone 📞 Often it’s the small signs that indicate something much bigger is going on. Please - don’t wait until it’s too late 💔

21/05/2023

A recent ultrasound image from the new Logiq E Ultrasound - the latest bit of kit to be added to the truck 🛻❤️ and we are obsessed!!!!! Who can have a guess at what structure is shown in this image? Hint: it’s a very commonly injured structure in human AFL players (and horses alike!) 🐴🏉

18/05/2023

All things bright and beautiful, all horses great and small! 🌸 We treat them all at Cape Equine, and cuddles are complimentary!

15/05/2023

We are back and already in the swing of things! Learnt some amazing new skills as part of the GradDip ABM and already putting them into practice 💕

05/05/2023

Hello beautiful boy! Definitely a Friday afternoon kind of patient 💕

04/05/2023

A picture of our patient Caballo explaining to his friend what happens when the block comes out! ❤️ Dr Alex is away next week May 8 - May 14 in Victoria for another in-person module of her Grad Dip of Animal Biomechanical Medicine. She’s looking forward to coming back with a whole suite of new skills for patients just like Caballo to benefit from 🤩

13/04/2023

Winter is here 😆☔️ Most appointments can go ahead as planned but extended appointments such as lameness exams and dentistry rely on having some shelter from the rain, or clear skies! If we need to reschedule your appointment due to inclement weather we will endeavour to rebook you as soon as it dries up! 😊

06/04/2023

Why does sand colic happen? Does the traditional “oil drench” actually do anything? How can we help to prevent sand accumulation? Read our recent blog post on sand colic to find out! 🐴

Most West Australian horse owners know all about our sandy soils, and how this predisposes horses to sand impaction colic. But why does this happen? And does the traditional “oil drench” actually do anything? How can we help to prevent sand accumulation? Read on to find out.