The Rivers Equine Vets

07/12/2025

Opening hours over Christmas:
-24th Dec Office Closed (ON CALL VET ONLY)
-25th-27th Closed (NO ON CALL VET)
We do apologise, but please understand we can’t work everyday of the year. Please be prepared to have a plan B. All South East QLD hospitals are open and available for emergencies.
-28th Dec - 4th Jan Office Closed (ON CALL VET AVAILABLE)
-5th Jan Office OPEN 2026!

02/12/2025

The Rivers Equine Vets would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr Ben Purtle, who will be assisting us while Katherine is on maternity leave.

We are very grateful to have an experienced equine vet, and a familiar face to some of you, to work alongside Katrina for the next few months.

Dr Ben is a QLD University graduate who grew up in Cairns, Toowoomba then the Gold Coast and was introduced to horses at 12 years of age when he first learnt to ride.

Ben has worked in Australia, England and Ireland as a Veterinarian and studied horsemanship in Colorado. He enjoys both equine and small animal medicine with a special interest in equine reproduction and dentistry.

His time is currently divided between a part time Veterinary role at the Animal Welfare League Rehoming Vet Clinic on the Gold Coast, Rivers Equine Vets and managing an Airbnb on his property.

Ben is a member of Vets Beyond Borders and has volunteered on 4 community desexing expeditions in the last 2 years including Vanuatu, Cape York and Thursday Island.

Welcome Dr Ben!

29/10/2025

Fascinating. Lucky we have our protective gowns now 🫶🏻

This is the hand of an X-ray technician from the Royal London Hospital, photographed around 1900. It shows the damage caused by repeated exposure to radiation. Back then, technicians would check and calibrate their machines each morning by taking an X-ray of their own hands.

You might wonder—why not use something like a piece of meat or even a chicken leg instead? The truth is, in 1900, the risks of radiation exposure weren’t yet understood. People believed it was harmless. In fact, X-ray machines were so new and fascinating that some people even built them at home for fun. Unfortunately, many of those early hobbyists later suffered severe health consequences, including cancer and amputations.

X-rays had only been discovered a few years earlier, in 1895, by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German engineer and physicist. He named them “X-rays” because he didn’t know exactly what they were—so he used “X” to represent the unknown. In some European countries, they’re still referred to as “Röntgen rays” in his honor.

Röntgen never patented his invention, believing it should be freely available for the good of humanity. In recognition of his groundbreaking discovery, he was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. See less

17/10/2025

And don’t forget to vaccinate !

ℹ️Information for horse owners ℹ️

From our Young Member President Dr Jordie Flood

⚠️ Recent Strangles Outbreak – Central Coast, New South Wales ⚠️

Strangles is a highly contagious respiratory disease in horses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equisubspecies equi. Recent outbreaks have been reported in Central Coast, New South Wales.

It spreads easily through direct contact with infected horses or indirect contactwith contaminated gear, feed, water, or handlers’ clothing.
Horses usually show signs within 3 – 8 days of infection.
Strangles can affect horses of any age and is most common where horses are kept in close contact — such as studs, shows, and agistment centres.

❗️Clinical signs to watch for:❗️
• Fever (39.0 – 40.5 °C)
• Nasal discharge or runny nose
• Cough
• Painful, swollen lymph nodes (especially under the jaw)
• Difficulty swallowing or breathing
• Depression or dullness

🚨 If your horse shows any of these signs, isolate it away from other horses immediately and contact your veterinarian.

Preventing spread:
• Keep sick horses separated
• Practice good hygiene, including frequently washing hands
• Avoid sharing gear, feed bins, or water troughs
• Wash hands, boots, and clothing after handling sick horses
• Quarantine new arrivals for at least 2 weeks

Here is some more good information for further reading from disease surveillance in the UK. It covers the clinical signs and management strategies. It does mention a newer vaccine that is not yet available here and is different to the one we have in Australia.

https://equinesurveillance.org/landing/resources/EIDS_spotting_the_signs_of_strangles_040924.pdf

17/10/2025

🐴 Spring Dental & Vaccination Reminder — Book Before December! 🌸

As many of you may already know, Katherine will be going on maternity leave from December 1st 👶💐

To make sure your horses are up to date and cared for before the busy season, we encourage everyone to book in for routine dentals and vaccinations before the end of November.

While Katherine is away, Katrina will be holding the fort 🩺 — with part-time help from a familiar face and former team member of Greg’s, who is highly experienced and well-known to many of our long-time clients. Please be patient with us during these months as we will be understaffed but striving to continue day and Afterhours services 💪

💫 Special Spring Offer:
Any dental or vaccination appointment booked with a faecal egg count (FEC) will receive a FREE wormer if they require treatment 🐛

We strongly encourage regular FEC testing every season with special attention in spring.

📞 Spots are limited — book early to avoid missing out!

09/10/2025

Strongle baby worms dancing in their eggs! 🪱🕺 🤢 Spring is here baby! 🌼 We do equine F***l egg counts in house. Drop off a few pellets of fresh poo to our office to check what dancing worm eggs they may be harbouring and come up with a treatment plan! $35 for 1 and $30 per sample over 3+ horses (bulk price) 🐴

06/10/2025

🐴 Gastroscope Day 🐴

Our Gastroscope Day is coming up on Tuesday the 14th of October, location has been confirmed as the Cabarita Pony Club.

$150 for one horse +$120 for each additional extra horse.

We will be offering discounted faecal egg counts for all attendees.

Anyone wanting information or to make a last minute booking please call the clinic on (02) 6672 3898.

29/09/2025

⚠️Crofton W**d Warning⚠️

Crofton W**d is flowering in our region at the moment and can be fatal to horses. If you see it in your paddock get it removed ASAP by pulling it out by the roots, slashing or spraying. If spraying ensure your horses don’t have access to the area for atleast 4 weeks as it can often make the plants more palatable while they die off.

Clinical signs of exposure in horses include increased respiratory rate, coughing that is worsened by exercise, decreased exercise tolerance, depression, loss of condition, sudden collapse and death.

There is no known treatment so the best option is to prevent exposure.

24/09/2025

Did you know we now stock our favourite and trusted preventative health care brands?
💡 Healthy Hooves Start in the Gut & with corrective Minerals in the diet.

Cracked, brittle hooves? Thin soles? aren’t just a hoof problem — they’re often a nutrition & gut health problem 🐴✨

🔹 Iron (Fe): Commonly in excess in Aus soils and excess in the diet blocks copper & zinc → brittle hooves + metabolic stress.
🔹 Zinc (Zn): Key for keratin + hoof wall growth. Low Zn = cracks, thin soles.
🔹 Copper (Cu): Supports collagen cross-linking + pigment. Low Cu = shelly walls, poor hoof horn strength.
🔹 Selenium (Se): Antioxidant with Vit E. Protects laminae from oxidative stress. Too little = weak repair; too much = toxic (cracks, hair loss).

🌱 Gut Health Matters:
A healthy gut = better absorption of these vital minerals.
➡️ Poor gut function = nutrient loss = poor hoof quality.

✨ Probiotics support balanced gut microbes → improved digestion, stronger immunity, and better mineral uptake → stronger hooves from the inside out.

✅ Hoof supplements with the right Zn:Cu balance (3–4:1), adequate Se, and support gut health with quality probiotics.
❌ Avoid unnecessary iron.

Healthy gut + balanced minerals = healthy, resilient hooves 🐎 Ask our vets for their recommendations.

21/09/2025

We do our job because we love it 🫶🏻

📚💰 What Does It Cost to Become a Vet?
Veterinarians don’t just wake up one day and decide to treat animals — becoming a vet in Australia takes 5 to 7 years of university study, long nights, practical placements… and a very big financial commitment.
🎓 A typical Australian veterinarian start their careers with about $55,000 to $75,000 of HECS/HELP debt but some may exceed $100,000!
That’s just for tuition — it doesn’t include textbooks, equipment, exam fees, or the cost of living while studying full-time for six years.
💡 Unlike many other degrees, veterinary science falls into one of the highest contribution tiers in the student loan system. And that’s for domestic students in subsidised places — for international or full-fee students, the cost can be far higher.
And here’s the kicker: this debt starts accumulating before they even see their first paying patient.
________________________________________
🐴 So Why Are We Sharing This?
We often hear comments like:
“It was just a quick visit… Why is it so expensive?”

The truth is: by the time your vet walks into the room, they’ve already invested years of their life and tens of thousands of dollars just to be legally allowed to help your animal.
Veterinary care is complex. It’s also regulated, specialised, and backed by a profession that requires a huge upfront investment — both financially and emotionally.
So next time you’re at the clinic, know that behind that stethoscope is someone who didn’t just study to become a vet…
👉 They paid a very real price for the privilege.

02/09/2025

It’s that time of year again when we start to see laminitis flaring up in ponies and horses on Spring grasses 🌾

The image above shows the rotation that can happen of the pedal bone within the hoof capsule when a horse or pony is exposed to a high sugar diet (ie. lush spring grasses). In this case the pony was diagnosed with Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Laminitis.

Please monitor your equine friends closely, keep them on a regular trim cycle with your farrier, and give us a call if they look like they are becoming foot sore as we come into Spring 🌸

26/08/2025

⭐️Gastroscope Day⭐️

We are taking expressions of interest for another Gastroscope Day in conjunction with Randlab.

Date: 14th of October 2025
Location: TBC (likely Murwillumbah or Cabarita)
Cost: $150

If you are interested please contact the clinic to put your name down and we will confirm details closer to the date.