Tweedie & Associates Equine Veterinary Services

13/06/2024

Webinar 2 : Guest Speaker: Professor Derek Knottenbelt

In the second in our series of education webinars for clients we have the greatest pleasure to invite Professor Derek Knottenbelt to speak to us all from the UK.

I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Knottenbelt when I was a student and he was a Professor at the University of Liverpool.

Professor Derek Knottenbelt is a specialist in equine internal medicine and a Diplomat of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine. Derek retired from a personal chair in Equine Medicine at the University of Liverpool in 2010 having run a sarcoid referral service for over 20 years.

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04/06/2024

Winter webinar series Part 1

In the first of our winter webinar series we will be starting off with a generalised topic covering one our more popular social media posts for the past year.

My horse is showing all the signs of gastric ulcers please just give me the meds.

In this webinar we will look at the signs of gastric ulcers and how they overlap with many other conditions. We also start to consider are ulcers the cause or are they the symptom of a problem?

We will delve in to the these in more detail as we progress through the webinar.

We look forward to your attendance.

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Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

09/05/2024

My horse has all the signs of gastric ulcers…… just give me the meds 💉

We often find people enquire that their horse has all the signs of ulcers so let’s just treat and not investigate. But I just wanted to remind you that not all horses that have those signs have gastric ulcers. These are some of the symptoms we might think of with gastric ulcers and what else maybe it could be.

Kicking at the leg- lame?
Don’t like the saddle being done up- saddle fit or sore back
Don’t want to go forward when I put my leg on- lame , sore feet
Bucking in the transitions - sore sacroiliac joints or hocks
Grumpy mare - hormonal
Unhappy working - sore feet
Won’t take the contact - teeth issues

For every sign that we all see that has to be gastric ulcers there are so many other problems that can cause the same issues.

With that said doing a gastroscope is a very quick way to get the answer if needed.

We are starting to recommend an exam before a gastroscope and the simple reason is that a gastroscope may be indicated but maybe shouldn’t be the starting point. Or if it is and is negative maybe be need to consider that a follow up appointment is scheduled.

Performance horse and general practice servicing Caulfield, Cranbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.

06/05/2024

Prepurchase Xrays on Young Horses

Often we get asked do we do xrays on young horses? Well it is often a complicated answer in the fact that they can change. So we can xray a foal or weanling and they can show as having an OCD lesion, they when we follow these through this lesion can be gone by 2 yrs of age.

What we can say is that if it is there by 2 it is probably not going away and will be there. Equally it will also not change significantly.

So the take home is if buying young horses, we still recommend checking for xrays of the limbs, but these can change with time as the horse approaches 2 yrs of age.

02/05/2024

Autumn Cold Mornings

So the cold mornings have arrived and this is an important change and will change what is happening with our Insulin Resistant Horses and the Laminitic prone horses and ponies.

Usually we say in summer allow paddock access early in the morning, but now with the change we would recommend reversing that information. The reason is the cold, ‘frosty’ like mornings can snap the sugars in the grasses and lead to an increase in the sugars.

Just something to think about with your management and maybe change your routines. Also a good reminder to get ACTH levels and Insulin levels checked regularly to make sure management is perfect for our patients.

24/04/2024

The Emergency Kit

Dr Melissa has joined us today to talk about all things emergency. What should you have in your emergency kit.

Some basics can go a long way and don’t need to be expensive.

Listen to Dr Melissa talk about your basic essentials and why they should be there.

23/04/2024

The Moody Mare.

This is a topic we get asked about a bit and thought an interesting one to tackle. With this we see that there are many symptoms from a moody mare that may overlap with other conditions such as gastric ulcers, sore backs, sore feet etc. Anything that makes a horse mildly unhappy can cross over with hormones in mares.

We had some feedback from a client that has benefited from addressing some issues with her mare. We had checked for other things but decided to do a trial on hormones. The update was great to hear as the mare is now easy to handle and also keen to work.

So just to add to the mix when dealing with a grumpy or moody mare, maybe consider hormones as an issue.

22/04/2024

A broken record.

I know, I know sound like a broken record again and again about foot balance. It really is so important. Here is an example of a high low horse, one foot upright the other one low.

These can be some of the most challenging feet to manage as you have to shoe as individuals and not a pair. Each foot will need a different support mechanism and be handled as an individual foot.

Managing this can help further up the leg and we have to address the balance. Maintaining the balance and how the foot interacts with the ground. It is also important to understand that the impact the foot has with the ground is so important and how forces are distributed up the leg. A poorly balanced foot can lead to an extra strain on a suspensory etc.

Just an interesting one. Also on my podcast listening, an observation was posed that horses that have a saddle fit issue- saddle moving may have a hind foot balance issue. The reason is that the front leg has an inbuilt balance equaliser in the muscles attaching the scapula to the body. Whereas the hind leg doesn’t have that. So if an imbalance in the hind feet this will be amplified to the back and may cause a saddle to move.

Just some food for thought.

Mike

21/04/2024

Well sometimes you come across something that is interesting. While cutting the grass this weekend I have been listening to this podcast and have found it so interesting. This is a team GB farrier and he has some interesting thoughts on showing performance horses. Well worth a listen.

‎Show Mullins Farrier Podcast, Ep Ben Benson AWCF - 25 Mar 2024

18/04/2024

Choke

So what do you do if your horse has had a bought of choke?

Sometimes they may have cleared themselves and not needed our help. But this is when you need to be super vigilant at this point. We recommend reducing the feeding for a period of 24-36 hrs. So we would recommend leaving them with no food for a 4-6hr period then introduce some food amounts slowly over time. This will allow if there is any inflammation within the oesophagus for that to have subsided.

With regards to the type and amount of feeds. We recommend small amounts of feed added and a small amount of hard feed. Then if no rechoke episodes we can return to normal feed.

17/04/2024

Random photo

A rather random image but something that is important. If you notice a reduced output of faeces during the day or night with your horse it is important to take notice.

What to do?
Stop feeding even if they are keen to eat. We don’t want to add more to the guts if we are worried about the output. That could only possibly increase a size of an impaction in there. Then start monitoring. If any sign of colic please don’t wait and if no poo within a 12-16 hr period please ring us. But the main thing is if they are bright and alert and no signs of colic and only issue is reduced poo then just hold off on the feed for a while until we see a normal output.

16/04/2024

Laminitic Prone Horses or Insulin Resistant Horses and Joint Disease.

Often when dealing with the laminitic prone horse or Insulin Resistant horse they can present a problem when it comes to joint management. We have to be sensible and educated when it comes to treatment.

Traditional intra-articular injection with cortisone would be contra-indicated with these horses. Thankfully we have many options available to treat these horses and we can use other options. All is not lost.

14/04/2024

The importance of the foot

We haven’t mentioned this for a while and I just wanted to reiterate that the importance of foot balance. Measuring the foot balance takes more than the eye.

We do have to consider x-rays to assess these. It is so important to provide that information to your farrier so that they can make an adjustment of the trim to ensure we aim for long term soundness. With many young horses I would say this is one of the most important things you can do for them, so much better than any joint management drugs.

07/04/2024

Show tip

I am at Werribee this weekend at the VIC Interschools state championship. We are seeing a couple of colics develop. There are some simple things you can do to prevent a visit from me.

Keep an eye on the number of droppings and the consistency of them. If starting to drop in number, getting smaller or harder? Then stop feeding the horse. As something is happening in there and we want to prevent too much in the intestines that may be leading to a blockage.

Ensuring they are drinking enough is also important. Getting access to green pick also is very important as this will help the guts keep nice and wet. Don’t over electrolyte a horse as this can have a reverse effect.

25/02/2024

Why do we even bother with a prepurchase exam?

I have been reading a lot of things about prepurchase exams and supposed good horses getting passed over because of some changes.

Well this is a rather long discussion regarding this and is something that really does need to be seen from both sides of the equation to really think about it.

Risk is all a personal preference and we have to remember this.

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas to all our patients and clients.

We thank you all for your support during the last year. We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas.

Please remember if you do need us for an emergency please ring 0359775250 option 1 for the on call vet.

Happy Christmas.

07/12/2023

Your horse got back pain?

We often see back pain as a presenting problem. Not forgetting our clinical exam. But we often have to image the area.

X-rays are very important but ultrasound can also tell us what is going on in different spots. The combination of the two can often allow us to know what the whole picture is before we do any form of treatment.

27/11/2023

The ridden lameness exam

Yesterday we had a really interesting lameness. There was no lameness seen in hand on a hard surface. No lameness seen on the lunge either. But as soon as we had the rider on board there was an obvious lameness seen.

The addition of the rider and gear showed us where the lameness was and from there we were able to work out the problem. This highlights why we book enough time to work out the lameness. It took us nearly 50 mins to just get to see the lameness never mind actually identify the cause.

26/11/2023

Your horse is talking to you.

I had an interesting discussion with a client today regarding their horse. The horse is sound, training well and competing well. BUT the horse is starting to show some inflammation and changes in their legs.

The horse is talking and maybe with Christmas coming is a good time to modify training. We can back off the work and allow the body to recover and prevent a major injury.

Take home is listen to the horse and if there are swellings or changes in the legs now is a good time to check them out and modify training.

22/11/2023

Please repeat I will prevent laminitis.

As a clinic we are passionate about prevention is better than cure. At present we have too many horses dealing with laminitis. We really do want to prevent this disease. Horses can be out of action for months with this and enormous expense to fix the problem.

So prevention is better than cure. Insulin resistance seems to be our number one driver this year which is preventable and we need to identify at risk horses. Testing is simple.

If in doubt please please reach out so that we can work with you to identify a management plan.

21/11/2023

No foot no horse.

The ground is hardening up and any foot issues are being amplified. To be prevent this it is important to make sure we have your horse shod correctly. Assessing the internal structures and positioning within the hoof capsule is so important to ensure we can shoe your horse to prevent lameness issues.

Long term abnormal foot conformation can lead to other issues developing. Equally assessing sole depth can allow us to add pads in summer months to offer some protection.

13/11/2023

Foal legs

Foaling season is well underway now. This is the time when you really do need to be proactive on assessing your foals legs.

We have a very limited window of time to make changes to the foals legs. So when we look at the legs we need to see if there is a turn from the fetlock or knee. With the knee we have 3 months to get things set up, while fetlocks we have 6 weeks to make the changes.

Objectively assess your foal when walking in a straight line towards and away from you to make an assessment. Then work with your vet or farrier to make the changes subtly and quickly.

31/10/2023

Feeding horses part 2

Simplify the process. I truely believe we have made the process so complicated to feed horses. As many of you know I am not a big fan of supplements.

When we feed I was taught a very simple method. Roughage whether grass or good hay and then combine that with a simple feed on top. Oats are a favourite of our farm as most horses do very well on them when matched to work output well.

29/10/2023

Feeding horses

This is something we get asked about all the time what to feed my horse. Our first question is how much are you feeding ? And the answer is a scoop of this and a scoop of that. But remember feed is based on kg consumed not on volume and different scoops can weigh different amounts.

So as a fun game I have posted in our stories 4 images of different feeds and I want you to guess the weight of each scoop of different product just to highlight the differences we see for a bit of fun.

26/10/2023

Follow up- image B had the issue.

On the previous X-rays we showed there were two options. Option a is completely normal. However option B shows a pedal bone fracture. A pedal bone fracture is not a super common injury but something we see from time to time.

This has a good prognosis as the fracture does not involve the coffin joint and is along the edge of the bone. The fractures often happen when a horse kicks or hits something. With time this horse will heal perfectly fine and be bank in work in no time at all.

23/10/2023

Why we take more than one view.

Ok here are two X-rays of the same foot and show why we take more than one view.

One image shows a problem the other doesn’t. Comment below either A or B and we will be back later in the week with what the issue was.

17/10/2023

Lameness exam part 3

The diagnostics. This is an important area but is not an area we should jump to. By jumping there we can waste time and money when a clinical exam would have pushed us in a different direction.

At times we will use X-rays for joint issues but we also may need to use ultrasound to assess a joint or tendons and ligaments around an area. These are all important aspects of lameness diagnosis.

Take home point is the lameness exam is the most important thing to do out of all of this. The clinical exam can tell you so much more than a lot of diagnostics.

13/10/2023

Today in vet nurse and vet assistant appreciation day.

As part of our team we are blessed to have some great vet nurses help us on a daily basis. We are so grateful to have them help us as vets, our patients and also our clients during a consult.

Meg, Rhonda and Jess who are our normal vet nurses are integral to the running of the clinic. We thank them for all their hard work.

Rather ironic we are looking for a new team member to help us. We are looking for a veterinary nurse to join or team. If you are interested please reach out to us and have a chat.

11/10/2023

We are Hiring

We are looking for another veterinary nurse to join our team. We are a small close team that work together for our patients and clients. We are an equine only clinic based on the Mornington Peninsula Victoria.

We require a veterinary nurse with a Cert IV in veterinary nursing to join the team. An ability to handle horse and previous experience working with horses is also a requirement.

The role will be a 3-4 days per week role starting around 8.30am and finishing around 5pm. Flexibility is needed with finish time as horses being horses can present with emergencies at any time.

If you would like to consider an application please email a resume and CV to Dr Mike Tweedie [email protected] or if you wish to discuss the job in more detail you can call Dr Mike on 0434 318 471. All applications handled confidentially.

10/10/2023

The lameness exam part 2

In the second part we discuss nerve blocks. A nerve block is a way of isolating a lameness. After a nerve block three things can happen:

1. Horse is sound.
2. No change in the lameness.
3. The horse goes lame in another leg.

Having a multiple limb lameness is so common. Indeed it is rarer to have one leg only lameness. Nerve blocks take time to work and can be a time consuming exercise in localising the lameness. Using them is very beneficial and can often take a lot of guess work out of the lameness exam.

We will be back with part 3 on diagnostics later this week.