Equine Vet Services PTY LTD

08/08/2024

We tried to get to Ingham today for a jam packed day of dentals but unfortunately we couldn’t get through. We got stuck in a spot with no service so we came up with a way to kill time; veterinary charades! Our brains are tired now 😂🤯

06/08/2024

Jumping final OMG 😱

31/07/2024

🎉🥳🎊🎈🐴Happy Birthday 🐴🎈🎊🎉🥳

To all the wonderful horses of the world

Here’s me enjoying some kisses with my young filly miss daisy 🌼

31/07/2024

Look at all that calculus!!!

Calculus most commonly builds up on the canines, as these teeth are not actively involved with the grinding of food. It is however important to remove all this calculus during your horse's dental examination to examine the underlying tooth as it can be hiding a number of different issues like resorptive lesions involved with EOTRH (equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis), fractured canines and open pulps. It also causes gingivitis of the gum below, which can become quite uncomfortable.

31/07/2024

I put regular hoof care at the top of the list personally!

Now is the time to start asking yourself; are your horses hooves ready for the wet season?

You can’t prepare them overnight; someone once told me that summer bodies are made in winter…well horses feet are the same!! Prepare them now.

🧲☢️👩‍⚕️👍➡️🐴Ask us about our equine podiatry consult and xray package now….??!!!

While hoof care is so important, you have to make sure that you are taking into account all the other aspects that goes into making a healthy hoof.

How many boxes have you got ticked?

All the things that are listed here are EQUALLY important!

30/07/2024

🌽 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣-𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚

🪣 It is not uncommon to find cereal grains and grain by-products throughout the feed storage rooms of many horse owners across the globe in this day and age. Cereal grains and their by-products are often readily available and cost effective which makes them a favoured individual additive as well as a popular base ingredient for the countless premixed and ready-made feeds that circulate the market today. Corn or maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice, millrun, bran, and pollard are some of the most frequently used cereal grains and grain by-products found in the diets of many domesticated horses, however it is arguable that horses did not evolve on a diet that consisted heavily of these feeds, with exception to wild oats which may have been present throughout some grazing regions.

🐴 Cereal grains and their by-products can be linked to many health problems seen in the modern-day horse; often being blamed for causing or exacerbating issues such as dental problems, gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, laminitis, and metabolic diseases. In conjunction, nature and science suggests that horses are physiologically designed to be ingesting and digesting long-stemmed, fibre-dense roughage sources such as pasture and hay almost continuously, and do not benefit from large hard feed meals that consist of ingredients that are highly concentrated in sugar and starch.

🦷 𝘿𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙖 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

It takes a horse double to three times the amount of time to consume one kilogram of hay than it does for them to consume one kilogram of concentrate feed or grain. This means that what type of food a horse is eating will impact the way their teeth wear over time; a horse who is fed a diet that consists mostly of hay and pasture will likely wear down sharp points in the mouth more effectively than a horse who is fed a diet that consists mostly of concentrates and grains, which don’t require as much mastication.

Cereal grains and grain by-products consumed in large quantities may exacerbate or predispose a horse to dental disease, just as sugary foods and drinks can do to humans. Poor dental maintenance and inappropriate feeding may result in a buildup of tartar over time which can lead to irritated and inflamed gums, or a condition known as Gingivitis which is one of the leading causes of Periodontal Disease in equines.

In addition to maintaining dentition more effectively, feeding less concentrate feed and more long-stemmed roughages is likely to result in an increased production of saliva. The enzyme amylase assists to break down starches in food consumed and then converts them into sugars. Very small to non-existent amounts of salivary amylase is found in the equine mouth, which suggests that horses are not adapted to eating large quantities of starch. How much amylase a horse produces depends entirely on the individual, which is why some horses appear to tolerate high starch diets quite well while others are so sensitive that they cannot have any grains or grain by-products in their diet at all.

🏇🏻 𝙀𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙐𝙡𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙚

A horse’s stomach can be divided into two sections: the glandular and non-glandular regions. The glandular region makes up the lower portion of a horse’s stomach and is less commonly subject to ulceration as it is protected by a thick mucous layer, however this region is not exempt from developing ulceration which can be caused by stress, infections, or medications which affect the horse’s usual digestive process. The non-glandular region describes the upper section of a horse’s stomach which is the most common area for gastric ulceration to occur. Unlike the glandular region, the non-glandular region of a horse’s stomach is not protected by a thick mucous layer and is therefore more susceptible to ulceration, particularly when the horse does not have a fibrous mat (made of roughage) sitting in their stomach to prevent stomach acid from splashing up into the unprotected region. While horses produce gastric acid regardless of whether food is entering and exiting their stomachs, they will only produce saliva, which is essential for buffering gastric acid, while they are masticating food.

🦠 𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙜𝙪𝙩 𝘼𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙨

Hindgut acidosis describes a condition where the healthy microbial population within a horse’s hindgut is disrupted, causing an increase in acidity. Symptoms of a horse who may have hindgut acidosis can include an inability to gain and maintain weight, recurrent colic episodes, diarrhoea, laminitis, and recurring stereotypical behaviours such as wood chewing and weaving.

The large intestine of the horse, which is responsible for the final stages of the digestive process, is a fermentation vat designed to provide readily available energy from volatile fatty acids, as well as other nutrients whenever they may be required by the animal. Propionic acid is a volatile fatty acid that is produced in the hindgut as a result of starch fermentation. Propionic acid may be beneficial in amounts that are not excessive for horses who require a source of quick release energy during anaerobic and aerobic exercise as it is absorbed and converted directly to glucose in the horse’s liver.

Healthy microbial populations within the hindgut can be compromised by several factors; including large volumes of undigested sugars and starches, new feed types being introduced to the diet too quickly, inadequate water consumption resulting in impaction colic, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, more commonly known as NSAIDs, and parasite burdens. As the hindgut of the horse is designed to be fermenting fibrous matter, undigested sugars and starches that escape the small intestine can cause pathogenic gut microflora to multiply, while the population of healthy microbes begins to diminish as they are not adapted to fermenting these unfamiliar sugars and starches. This promotes a build up of lactic acid within the hindgut, increasing the acidity of the environment and reducing the pH. Where faecal pH falls below 6.4, the horse is likely to experience increased motility as a result; regularly presenting as diarrhoea or poorly formed droppings.

🌱 𝙁𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩, 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩

Cereal grains and their by-products can be useful additions to the modern-day horse’s intake should they be prepared correctly (heat-treated) and fed responsibly as part of a species-appropriate diet. Cereal grains provide a good source of quick release energy and carbohydrates that can be beneficial for horses who are in hard and fast work, such as racing and endurance horses, or breeding horses such as broodmares and stallions who have higher energy requirements. With this in mind, there is an abundance of research that indicates that health concerns such as gastric ulcers, hindgut acidosis, laminitis, and reduced immunity may be linked to the overuse of feeds that are high in non-structural carbohydrates. It can be argued that in this day and age, cereal grains and grain by-products are fed in excessive quantities to domesticated horses who rarely have the exercise or workload requirements to warrant such a concentrated source of energy and calories. As a result of feeding too many non-structural carbohydrates in the form of cereal grains, in addition to the internal health problems that may be caused, domestic horses are likely to exhibit hyperactive and hypersensitive behaviours, which are often referred to as the horse being ‘hot,’ ‘spooky’ and ‘flighty.’ In many instances, the cause of these behaviours is often an energy input that simply exceeds the horse’s energy output.

Despite the benefit of grains being cost-effective and a fattening feed for most horses, the effects of many health conditions seen in the modern-day horse could likely be lessened or completely eliminated should horses be provided with a diet that focuses on more natural food sources, such as grasses, legumes, and fibre-dense whole ingredients, and less grain-based commercial feeds and whole ingredients that provide substantial amounts of unnecessary non-structural carbohydrates.

🐎 Please feel welcome to share this article if you enjoyed it. ☺️

30/07/2024

4th June VS 29th July
💙Ken 🐴

Cannot even express the absolute joy I felt seeing this fella today! The best feeling to help animals 💜

30/07/2024

Miss Jada taking out placings in both the shoe and hack ring at Charters towers show !

Congratulations and well done Jada!!

Absolutely love following these riders and being part of their journey 💜🐴

30/07/2024

29/07/2024

🐴💙💪 jumping!!!

28/07/2024

Cross. Country tonight 😂☺️👍🐴💜💙

28/07/2024

What a weekend it has been!

Friday night started with not 1 but TWO colic patients on drips…I went and finally got a new mattress on Friday so that was torture not being able to sleep in it 😂

Saturday I headed off to the advanced podiatry course with the barefoot blacksmith (patients were stable),and again today…

It’s amazing to see clients wanting to learn and understand more, and I even had one client wearing our shirt!

Huge thanks to Andrew and Nicky for coming up here again, I’ve definitely learnt a few more things (and spent more money on more tools 🙄😂☺️)

Awesome to also see one of our local trimmers Lisa there as well ☺️

Now
Home to discharge the patients and sleep in my new mattress and start again tomorrow 😂🐴👍

27/07/2024

Who’s watching the equestrian??!!

💜🩵🐴👍☺️🌏🇦🇺🥇

25/07/2024

We are currently FULLY booked for our Thursday run; Bluewater black river etc until

23/8/24

If your needing routine appointment in the next 6 weeks book now, as it’s a 4 WEEK WAIT

Isn’t Charlie just the cutest patient ever 💙🐴☺️

23/07/2024

Floating incidents are never fun! But Yvette handled this so well, from the moment she contacted us with all of the details, videos and critical information we were able to assess Mango, and then we personally transported mango towed by the vet car, to make sure he got home without trouble, and look forward to continuing to help get him ready for his next, and hopefully forever home 🏠

23/07/2024

💪🦷 Tuesdays Challenge (x 2) AND discharge day!💜

Miss Raven was referred to us for dental assessment and extraction of 2 of her baby teeth which were fractured, dead and had pulp exposures!

After performing an oral exam with the oroscope (photos below) we took some dental X-rays to determine if these teeth could be monitored or if we needed to proceed with surgery. Unfortunately there was some abnormalities on X-rays and so we proceeded to surgery.

Removing baby teeth in horses before they are ready to be shed is not an easy task; it’s like removing egg shells that are glued in with super glue, and to make it even harder the teeth were dead and brittle so they crumbled at the tiniest of pressure during the procedure. We were able to get the teeth out, just in 20-100 pieces 😆

We performed 2 surgeries a few weeks apart as they were very long procedures, and in the last check up we removed a large piece of sequestered bone from the tooth socket and now have a lovely granulating socket underneath.

And today she got to go home!! Such a lovely young filly to care for and we are so pleased we were able to help another horse needing advanced equine dental procedures!!

22/07/2024

Here it is!

Sorry about the music stopping…I’m a vet clearly not a videographer 😂

🐴 Ben - part 1.

Initial injury December 3rd 2024.
Intensive care ; 2 weeks
Treatments performed; shock treatment, pain relief, surgery, tube feeding, blood tests, X-rays, massage, Equisage, nerve estimation, acupuncture, and eventually…surgery in part 2!

A 3 minute video but worth the watch..

Watch, follow, and discover more trending content.

19/07/2024

Does anyone remember this fella ?
His name is Ben 💙

18/07/2024

Am proud to have done both the beginner and intermediate workshops with EVDS and Oliver Liyou and the advanced 2 day course with world wide experts such as Paddy Dixon, Nicole DuToit, Chris Pearce, Denis Verwilghen, Gary Wilson….thanks to you Oli, your passion and decades of commitment to this industry is within so many of us and has driven our passion too 💙🙏

17/07/2024

PLEASE READ…!!!!

✨➡️A small business update 📣✨

🤲 my hands have been the centre of my health struggles for the 4th month in a row…a broken hand and now bilateral carpel tunnel syndrome. I’ve had a good response to steroid injections but my body is telling me it’s struggling and it’s time to listen!! I may be heading for surgery on both hands within 6 months so it’s time to make some changes.

❓ what does it mean?? We are going to be more strictly enforcing our appointment schedule limits…we have adjusted the schedule to offer some earlier appts, and later appts on each run area, and we are looking to start some weekend dental days as well too offer increased flexibility. It’s time to look after us before we can no longer look after any of you, and your horses! Please pre book (even months ahead is fine) to get most flexibility in appointments..our priority is keeping horses healthy; anything routine eg dentals can be booked as far ahead as you like!!

💰 there has been a price increase in our fees; both services and products…the rising costs of running a business in addition to the rise in costs of the things we buy means that if prices don’t rise then we are slowly dying as a business, and again won’t be around to serve you for much longer!

📲 we will no longer answer non urgent messages, texts, emails etc out of hours; we work long days and strive for the highest possible care for our patients both in routine situations, and emergencies, and well; we will burnout if we don’t find some balance in work vs family (and rest…) time.

🤑💲 invoices… please pay them within 24 hours of your email, and please pay the TOTAL including GST.. we spend so much time reconciling payments and invoices only to have to resend them back for the money still owing, or send an overdue email. Sometimes more than once.

***please read…effective August 1st any invoices that are unpaid within 24 hours of a reminder (2nd email) will incur a $10 late fee to cover wages for staff time spent chasing you. After that, all payment will be required at the time of service; no exceptions.

📣💲💲💲Practice policy is that unpaid invoices without communication from the client are sent for debt collection after 30 days, we cannot afford to provide services and not be paid. We are a small business; 1 vet, 1 assistant, 1 stablehand; an ambulatory service and a hospital facility, there’s no margin for free services! Wages and bills need be paid, so do we!

Similarly for late cancellations; we schedule very strategically to avoid lost time driving back and forth, and to be most efficient to service more clients in a timely manner. Confirmation emails are sent out at time of booking and Reminders are sent out 48hrs before appt. Please read your confirmation email for cancellation terms.

🙏 please, be kind. We’ve had to make the decision to no longer service some clients recently, as we have felt disrespected and unappreciated. There is no excuse for rude, sarcastic, or inflammatory comments. If you do not respect us unfortunately we will not be able service you.

We hope to be back sharing good stories, Tuesday challenge and foot Friday posts In no time. For now we are focusing on each day, and staying in it for the long haul 🐴

Thank you to all of our lovely amazing kind and caring clients who continue to support us and appreciate our care 💜💙🐴🙏

09/07/2024

📣You asked, we listened 👂👍

👍➡️💬Give this a like and share or comment your other ideas or requests for topics or skills you’d like to learn.

➡️Tag your committee members!

We will also be structuring this to support the local club 💜🐴

08/07/2024

Dear current clients, friends and Facebook followers.

I am is off for the rest of the week thanks to bilateral carpel tunnel syndrome requiring a medical procedure tomorrow.

We will take this opportunity to catch up on some administrative tasks including respond to inquiries and emails. It’s been a rough few months after a broken hand just 3 months ago, so please bare with us whilst we continue to navigate more turbulence with injury!

Rest assured I’ll be back in no time, however we will be implementing a few changes to our services and schedule, and we will send out some business updates as soon as I am feeling well enough to do so!

Can’t wait to be out of hand splints, day 4 and already bruising my hands. I’ll take a broken hand any day over this pain!!

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this time ☺️🐴💜

06/07/2024

Finally made it to one of the ABHA days that we sponsor!!

The girls are a bit short on helpers so I’ll be announcing and helping out, fingers crossed the 3 emergencies yesterday were it for the weekend and the phone doesn’t ring!

If you’re in need of emergency help and we don’t answer today please send a text!!

05/07/2024

Who knows this gentleman??

So lovely to take time out of my crazy schedule to see a dear friend and mentor of mine.

Now…he wasn’t super keen on the idea of a photo for social media. But I convinced him there would be many people who would have fond memories of him, and probably want to say hello!

So…drop down your hellos and memories if you wish in the comments and I will be sure to pass them on ☺️

04/07/2024

🧲Foot Friday post 2🐴

The foot cleaned up and trimmed…

Melissa Nichols you were correct. White line separation… rather deep!!! Into the sensitive lamellae.. no wonder this horse was lame.

Where to now???

Like this post to see update 3 in the comments! (X-rays to come…)

03/07/2024

Woohoo!
Congrats to Jada Marsden for her 3rd overall 13-26y old prelim dressage at state champs.

And Misha Omalley yesterday for her 3rd and 7th in dressage And 6th today in the novice dressage 13-26y!!

Not bad for statewide competition- well done girls 😍👍💜💙🐴

02/07/2024

This week we’re going to talk about dentistry in our young horses! 🐴🦷

Good dentistry for our young horses is essential to avoid learnt behaviours developing when they are under saddle. Ideally, dental care should begin from your foals first health exam, we want to assess the anatomy of their mouths and look for any abnormalities such as an over/under bite or wry nose. It’s important to pick up any abnormalities early on so that appropriate care and intervention can be put in place.

Young horses and breakers will begin to shed their baby teeth around 2 -2 & ½ years of age, it’s important to have a thorough dental exam at this time to check for any changes in confirmation of the mouth, excessive points that could be creating ulcers and for the presence of wolf teeth. It’s recommended for yearlings to have their first float around this age and for wolf teeth to be removed. Any caps (baby teeth) that are stuck can also cause major ulceration and pain especially when these young horses are attempting to learn what the bit is!

Between the ages of 2-4 years is when our young horses will be shedding their baby teeth and have their permanent teeth erupt, it’s recommended they have 6 monthly oral exams during this time to assess for any abnormalities that can lead to dental imbalances or periodontal disease in the future.

If you any questions or would like book in your horses dental exam or float please give our friendly team a call on 8318 1801.