EquiScope

04/08/2024

Hello again to my wonderful clients, thank you so so much for all your patience over the last 9 months. I’m pleased to say my diary is back open for scoping, I already have bookings so please get in touch if you have any queries or want to get booked in! I can’t wait to get back out doing what I love.
Jess 💙

24/10/2023

💕 EquiScope has a new team member 💕

I am on maternity leave now, however I will still be responding to messages- please allow me a bit extra time to get back to you!
I have plans in place for current and new clients so if you need anything please so let me know.

Can’t wait to be back out scoping again properly!

Jess

11/08/2023

I am doing a free ulcer talk and scope demonstration next Friday at Croft Top Equestrian. All welcome!

We have something special for you next Friday !!
**Evening Talk & Scoping Demo **
Latest on Equine Gastric Ulcers – join us to find out more and see a scoping - LIVE!
Thankyou to Dengie Horse Feeds we have guest
speakers:
Jessica Weigh BVetMed MRCVS, from EquiScope will provide an overview on ulcers – signs, diagnosis, treatment, management & perform a live scoping.
Dengie Horse Feeds - Claire Akers MSc, Performance Horse Nutritionists from Dengie will offer the latest advice on feeding and dietary management to promote digestive health.
Dengie Horse Feeds - Steph Wright

Location: Croft Top Equestrian Centre,
Stonefold Village, Accrington, Lancs, BB5 2DP

Friday 18th August

Time: 6pm – 8pm,

Cafe open ✅
Bar open ✅

Please let us know your interest by a comment below so we have rough guide of numbers.😊 everyone welcome

13/06/2023

🏅 FEI COMPETITORS - SUCRALFATE 🏅

Having not been able to give a concrete answer to the question of "is sucralfate FEI legal?" for so long - I have contacted the FEI directly and have been told by their senior veterinary advisor that SUCRALFATE IS LEGAL under FEI rules, so you are fine to compete whilst using it.

Please feel free to share in the ulcer groups etc as I have seen this question crop up a lot. Any questions give me a shout!

07/06/2023

🐴 HARRY - WEIGHT LOSS CASE 🐴
A bit of a different post - this owner got in touch in November last year as Harry had lost a lot of weight and was in very poor body condition, despite eating well. We scoped him and unbelievably for an ex racing thoroughbred - he didn't have any ulcers! We treated him for encysted red worm but weren't getting anywhere and he seemed very down in the dumps. He went to Leahurst for further investigations which sadly were inconclusive, and so I wrote an extensive feeding and management plan which started late February. Since then we have been monitoring his weight thanks to the brilliant Helen at North Wales Mobile Horse Weigh and I'm so pleased to share his before, during and after photos! His weight earlier this year was 444kg, he is now 528kg and so much happier in himself.

01/06/2023

A lovely satisfying before and after 😍
This horse is a gorgeous Welsh section D often used for showing. These images are of the lesser curvature of his stomach and taken just 1 month apart. As you can see, the ulcers were severe and actively bleeding on the first scope. His owner reports he is much more relaxed under saddle and I look forward to following his success over the summer!

26/04/2023

⭐️ Success story - Mario ⭐️

Mario was first diagnosed with ulcers back in May 2022. These were mainly glandular and around the pylorus (exit of the stomach), and an unusual "wrinkled" appearance to the squamous region. He was very lean and had behavioural issues when ridden, particularly when competing in endurance rides.
He had a course of treatment and after an in depth consultation, we made some changes to his diet and management for long term prevention of ulcers. He gets regular physio sessions too.

He was scoped again a few months ago, so more than 7 months on, and we were really pleased to see that his stomach still looks great! He is now competing and doing really well, his condition is improving and he looks like a more healthy horse in general.

A big well done to Mario's owner for diligently following the treatment plan and keeping him on the right track! Mario is just one example that with the right tools and support, we have a really good chance of keeping ulcers away.

21/04/2023

Well it's been far too long since I last posted - the last couple of months I have been fully booked every week, which I am so, so grateful for - thank you to every single one of you who has booked in with me.
Who is going to Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre International horse trials this weekend? I will be there on the Sunday as the sponsor of the BE90 class. I have some fab prizes to give and I'm looking forward to chatting with lots of lovely horsey people!

01/03/2023

I was super honoured to talk on a new podcast sharing my knowledge and experience on ulcers. Have a listen if you get chance!

05/01/2023

🥕Let's talk about enrichment 🥕

Put simply - this is any activity or item that encourages your horse to display their natural behaviours. This is super important for a good quality of life and can help manage behaviours caused by stress (ie windsucking) and this in turn can help reduce the possibility of ulcers.

Below are a few fairly easy ideas for you to easily incorporate into your horse's routine - give them a go and let me know if your horse has a favourite!

🍯 Smear boards - these relieve boredom and encourage relaxation. Experiment with different flavours like honey, unsweetened apple sauce, natural peanut butter (no added sweeteners) or garlic.
🍎 Apple bob - place some large chunks of apple in a bucket of water. Also good to encourage water intake if your horse doesn't drink much!
🧸 Toy box - use dog toys in a large bucket and scatter tasty treats amongst them. This enables natural food-seeking behaviour.
🛢 Bin lid - make some holes in a bin lid and hang in the stable, with foods such as celery, carrots and tufts of hay in it. This encourages natural foraging patterns.
🌾 Hay ball - these cost around £40 (Charlie's, Amazon etc) but are very hardwearing. They provide more challenging feeding than just eating hay from a hay bar for example. In the video, the horse has access to exactly the same hay in a manger as well as in her hay ball - and she is choosing to eat from the ball first!
🏀 Hanging toys - stuff soft rubber dog toys with hay and/or treats and hang around the stable. Choose the more durable dog toys!

Of course it goes without saying that these activities should be done supervised and with your horses individual needs and safety in mind.

https://enrichingequines.com has some brilliant ideas and explanations.

Thank you to Jen and Magic, and Megan, Zara and Champ for the videos.

Post your enrichment ideas/videos in the comments!

03/01/2023

I am delighted and proud to say that I am now an official advocate for the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).

The majority of gastric ulcer cases come along with some behavioural issues, be that due to the ulcers (such as signs of girthiness even when the ulcers have cleared) or the behavioural issues contributing to the ulcers. For this reason I have become very interested in behavioural medicine and have worked closely with equine behaviourists with a few cases now.

The ABTC is an organisation which aims to improve animal welfare by:
- Setting, overseeing and monitoring standards of professional competence in regards to behaviour therapy and training of animals
- Providing information and a point of contact for other agencies connected to animal welfare
- Increasing awareness

The ABTC website contains a Practitioner Directory, listing recommended behavioural practitioners who have been rigorously assessed as competent by the Practitioner or Assessor Organisation. This means you know when you use someone on this list, they are appropriately and professionally trained to the highest standard.

If you have any questions regarding behavioural issues, please get in touch.

https://abtc.org.uk

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas!

A very quick post to say Happy Christmas to all my clients and followers. Thank you all so much for another brilliant year, and for giving me the chance to say "I love my job" and really mean it - I'm very grateful to you all!

Finally, I know this time is hard for many people, everyone has less money to spend. Please remember as long as your horses needs are met - you are doing a great job. They don't need the new season's colour matchy set to be happy - so don't feel guilty if they don't have a big full stocking of goodies this Christmas!

I hope you all have a really lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Jess x

22/11/2022

I will be travelling to Bedfordshire this Thursday (24th) and I currently have one appointment available along the route. Please contact me on 07708831736 or send me a message to enquire.

17/11/2022

What does the scope procedure actually involve?
If you have never seen one done before, having your horse scoped can seem like a really daunting prospect. The fact is, it's a relatively quick and simple procedure, with the advantage of having instant answers.
This video is of course sped up, but in real time it lasts just under 11 minutes. This is a step by step of how the scope is done, shown by lovely horse Champ.
1) Champ was sedated before the video starts, as you can see he is nice and relaxed but not totally out of it
2) A tube is passed down the nostril and into the oesophagus (this is the worst bit for the horse - it doesn't hurt but the very first bit tickles!)
3) The scope is passed down the tube and into the stomach
4) Air is pumped into the stomach so we can see all areas (I use this opportunity to look at Champ's first scope images to refresh our minds)
5) The camera is passed and guided around the whole stomach, and images or videos are taken as we go (we can see direct side by side comparisons with the first scope images)
6) Water can be pumped down the scope to wash off any bits of food or mucus covering the stomach lining
7) After we have seen all of Champ's stomach, the air is sucked back out to avoid him feeling uncomfortable or bloated
8) The scope is removed
9) The tube is removed (occasionally nosebleeds can happen here)
10) Champ was starting to come round from his sedation as we were finishing, and so he was able to eat about 10 minutes later!
Champ was a superstar to be scoped, but most horses do tolerate it amazingly well and once the tube is passed, they are settled throughout the whole procedure.
Thank you to Champ and his owner for allowing me to film and post this!

09/11/2022

Case Study - Seamus

I will try and keep this post as short as possible, but I felt it was important to share an example of a more complicated ulcer story. Please note I can't talk about specific medications on Facebook, but am happy to discuss the treatment options over the phone or text.
Most ulcer cases are straightforward, requiring 2 or maybe 3 scopes. Seamus is the first horse who I've done 5 scopes on!
He had a history of roughly 12 months of various health issues like sinusitis and hives, which had been treated and were resolved. His owner wanted him scoped because of new and extreme spooky behaviour, both ridden and on the ground.

His first scope was in May, where we found significant squamous and glandular ulcers, so we started treatment and altered his management and diet slightly.

July was his second scope, there was good improvement in the glandular ulcers but little improvement in the squamous ones. I did an examination of his back and limbs (including trotting him up) to rule out lameness or back pain as a cause. We switched treatment at this point.

August - 3rd scope - again, the squamous ulcers were no better. We decided to take him off all the acid suppressing medication, in case that was having a negative impact (he had also been on this for a number of months so I felt it was time to have a break to let his gut flora recover). He was on numerous supplements designed to promote a healthy tummy and support the gut bacteria.

October - 4th scope - squamous ulcers were the worst they had been across all scopes. One in particular was very deep and concerning me. This was an emotional low point for Seamus' owner and myself, as nothing seemed to be working! He was also showing aggressive behaviour towards his owner which was not like him. At this point we stripped his diet right back to basics, and tried yet another type of treatment and supplement. He was also put on Nutracalm, although he didn't show outward signs of stress we were concerned he was more of an "inwardly" stressy horse. We also integrated him into the rest of the herd so he wasn't on his own. He hadn't been ridden or exercised since May.

November - 5th scope - amazingly, his stomach now is almost completely clear of ulcers. There is a mild lesion on the pylorus but nothing at all on his squamous region. His behaviour is much improved, both in the stable and ridden (after 6 months of not being ridden, he was taken on a hack and although looked at things - didn't spook!).

There is so much more I could say about this case, but this post is very long already - if you managed to read it all then well done and thank you!!

I want to make it clear that these cases are unusual (this is the second one I have dealt with), and I have never given up on a case. I just wanted to share the more difficult side of ulcer treatments, as this is real life and these complex cases do come along. Having said that, Seamus is now clear and happy, so despite the huge emotional rollercoaster, it was worth it!
Thank you to Seamus' owner for allowing me to share his story.

Anyone else had very complicated cases? How did you find the process?

01/11/2022

💥Remember, remember... 💥

Bonfire night is only a few nights away, and I always get asked the same question - horses in or horses out?

A very difficult question to answer, of course injuries and stress can happen either in the stable or in the field.

🔥As a very general rule - keep to as normal a routine as possible. If they are normally in at night, bring them in, if they are normally out, leave them out (provided no displays near to the field and it is safe to do so)
🔥Wherever they are kept at night - inspect in advance to make sure it is safe, ie no nails sticking out of stables, barbed wire in fields, gates are secure etc
🔥Consider starting a calmer now, Nutracalm is my favourite but there are many on the market. Many can be used at double dose during stressful times but read the product instructions. This is available to dogs too (my dog started this today as fireworks were going off in our village- see photo!)
🔥In terms of music, having some on may help distract from the noise of distant fireworks. For dogs at home, I have found loud music with a lot of drums is the best - not particularly relaxing but helps disguise the bangs!

The Blue Cross has some good information here:
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/horse/horses-and-fireworks

28/10/2022

BOT FLY LARVAE

Look away if you're squeamish!
I have recently seen a large number of cases with bot fly larvae in the stomach. These are one of the life stages of the bot fly - which lays small yellow eggs often seen on the horse's legs. These are licked off by the horse and end up attaching to the stomach wall, where they can stay for up to a year!
There's no way to test for bot larvae, apart from seeing them on a gastroscope. Luckily they don't often cause too much trouble, however they themselves can cause ulceration by attaching and burrowing into the stomach wall lining. Large numbers can also affect digestion of food, which can cause a loss in condition.
These are easily treated, with a single dose of a wormer containing ivermectin or moxidectin, given just after the first frost.
They are fascinating on a scope, they wiggle around and no amount of water pressure can detach them!

Westgate Labs has more info here:
https://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/media/1238/bots-jan17-nobleed.pdf

The third image shows 2 lesions which we believe were left behind after the bots had been treated.

26/10/2022

ULCER AWARENESS - WINTER CHANGES

As we come into Winter (don't hate me for saying that!), it is likely your horse's management and environment is changing. This may include longer times stabled, less grass to eat and different exercise regimes. Any changes to environment or management can cause stress which can lead to ulcers. Stress doesn't always physically appear in the form of box walking, sweating, weaving etc, many horses have higher levels of stress without us noticing. I have put together a list of tips that may help reduce the stress around this time of year -
⭐ Change things gradually. Many of us know this anyway but it's super important to make any changes slowly, over a period of a few weeks
⭐ Minimise handlers. Try and keep the people handling your horse to a minimum, no more than 2 or 3 if possible.
⭐ Alter their diet to support the changes. Products like dried grass (eg readigrass) can help adjust the gut if the turnout is decreased. Probiotics and/or a good quality balancer should be fed.
⭐ Start using a gut supplement before any changes are made. These don't have to cost the earth, and many contain probiotics too.
⭐ Finally, consider using a calmer for a few weeks whilst your horse accustoms to the new management system. Nutracalm is perfect for this- it's easy to feed and works fast.

Any changes in behaviour can indicate ulcers, so monitor carefully and don't brush off things like grumpy faces- they can be a sign your horse is in discomfort.
Please get in touch if you would like any further advice!

13/10/2022

Hello to all my new followers! I have been very quiet on here recently, after a busy summer I took some time off to finally get married... those who have known me for a while know that I have waited a long time for that (thanks Covid!) and we had the best day. I am now raring to go, and with October being Ulcer Awareness month, keep your eyes out for plenty of posts and announcements coming up!

11/05/2022

Another great result! This ex racer had been treated by another vets initially, sadly the treatment hadn’t worked so we switched things up with the medications, changed the feed and management and this is the result 6 weeks later 🤩 I’m so pleased for this lovely horse and owner. We will now taper the dose of the meds down and with the new routine I’m hopeful the ulcers will stay away! The images on the left side are after his first round of treatment with other vets - right side are 6 weeks after new treatment.

05/05/2022

I couldn’t not share this before and after from a recent scope! Amazing after only 4 weeks on treatment. It also leads nicely into a post about squamous or non glandular ulcers. This is the paler region of the stomach and is not generally very well protected against the attack of the stomach acid. For a horse grazing quietly in the field, this shouldn’t be a problem, however when we ride them or travel them for example, this acid gets splashed around and can injure the lining of the stomach- becoming an ulcer. Hard feeds containing sugar and starch also increase the amount/concentration of acid in the stomach. As ulcers don’t tend to heal on their own, the main treatment is to decrease the acid produced in the stomach, which tends to work well in most cases. You can help prevent these kinds of ulcers by feeding a small fibre based feed or haynet before riding and feeding hard feeds low in sugar and starch. Some have added ingredients designed to thicken the stomach contents which helps stop it splashing as much. These ulcers can occur in any horse or pony but are commonly seen in horses that race, show jump and event. Let me know if you have any questions!

20/04/2022

Glorious weather for scoping in Pwllheli today! ☀️

11/04/2022

🐎 GLANDULAR ULCERS 🐎
There are 2 main types of ulcers we talk about in the horse's stomach- these are based on which area of the stomach they are in, the darker "glandular" area or the paler "squamous"/"non glandular" area.
Glandular ulcers are particularly tricky, it is not yet fully understood why they occur and therefore treating them can often take a long time with multiple treatment options often used. Having said that, it is by no means impossible and once treated you should notice a big difference in your horse.
This mare had a few issues with regards to her back and some lameness, with this now on the way to being sorted we have had a great result with her glandular lesions. These before and afters were taken just over 6 weeks apart - not long at all for the severity of the ulcers she had. We still have some ulcers in the non glandular area of her stomach so treatment isn't over just yet, but I was so pleased to see the difference at her 2nd scope - especially as her owner has worked very hard to make sure all treatment was given perfectly!

14/03/2022

🐴 What to feed your ulcer horse? 🐴

As part of my consultation, after the scope I tend to look in depth at what that horse is being fed, as this impacts ulcers in a massive way. There are so many feeds claiming to be good for horses with ulcers but what are the basics?
The most important thing to remember for all ulcer horses is LOW SUGAR, LOW STARCH. Look on the back of your feed bags to see the % sugar and starch. Often feed companies don’t put the % sugar on, in which case it is normally on their websites. This is so so important because sugar and starch increase acid production which aggravate or even cause ulcers.
The above does not mean you have to feed low calorie feeds- if your horse is lean and needs to gain weight, get the calories from fats and oils. Linseed and corn oil are my personal favourites. Good quality protein in moderate levels can help maintain energy and muscle tone too.
Another way we can help improve ulcers by feeding is to encourage chewing. The more a horse chews, the more saliva is produced which contains bicarbonate, which helps to neutralise the acid in the stomach. Something like chopped alfalfa (unmolassed) is perfect.
Finally, we want to minimise or even eliminate time that the stomach is empty. This is largely achieved by ad lib hay or grass, but certain elements of hard feed can help by increasing the viscosity of the stomach contents- like beta glucans or pectin (found in sugarbeet- again stick to unmolassed).
These are just the very basic rules- of course every horse is different, at different work loads with different nutritional needs. I love chatting about nutrition so give me a shout if you want to talk in more detail about your horse!

Video showing how food/forage creates a “fibre mat” over the stomach acid to help stop it splashing the rest of the stomach.

27/01/2022

I had the pleasure of working alongside Helen from North Wales Mobile Horse Weigh this week, this horse (another gorgeous ex racer) is now almost clear of ulcers but is struggling to gain weight. Of course these things don't happen overnight but to be sure we have wormed him and done a blood test to check for any underlying issues. He is on a great feeding regime and I can't wait to see what his weight is at the next weigh in with Helen 👍 using a weighbridge to weigh your horse is so much more accurate than a weigh tape, and can help massively when it comes to looking at their food intake, exercise plan and giving medications like wormers safely. North Wales Mobile Horse Weigh brings the "scales" to you and as you can see, this lad was not fazed at all!

05/01/2022

⭐️Happy New Year to all my lovely followers and clients, and thank you for all your support so far ⭐️

I have been asked these questions a few times, so I thought I would do a bit of a quick fire facts post.

🐴 I am a fully qualified, registered vet and am fully insured
🐴 Scopes take around 20 mins but with set up and (normally lots of) chatting, I am usually at your yard for just over 1 hour
🐴 You do have to starve your horse before the scope, for a minimum of 6 hours. If you are worried about this, let me know and we can chat about how to make it easier on both you and your horse
🐴 I provide all treatment and offer a variety of options depending on what ulcers your horse has, what management they are on etc
🐴 Most insurance policies will cover scoping and treatment, as long as you haven't claimed for ulcers with that specific horse before. I can deal with the insurers, all you need to do is have your policy number to hand

I hope that helps, any other questions please let me know!

17/12/2021

Gastroscope images explained 📸
When sending clients their horse's images, I often get the response "thanks, but I have no idea what they mean!". Hopefully this post will shed some light on what should look normal in a horses stomach, and the varying degree of ulcers we see on scopes.
There are 2 clear regions to the horses stomach, the pale pink/cream part called the squamous region, and the much darker area called the glandular region. There should be a very clear border between the two areas, known as the margo plicatus. This border is susceptible to ulcers. The lining of the stomach should be smooth and glossy looking, the paler part should have a nice pattern of veins visible too. The exit of the stomach is called the pylorus, and the "hole" seen leads to the small intestine. This is in the glandular region of the stomach and so has a darker pink appearance, but should still be uniform in colour, smooth and shiny. Again this is particularly susceptible to ulcers, it is always sat under acid (it is visible on a scope because we put air in the stomach). The stomach is shaped like a large tightly coiled kidney bean. The larger curve of the "kidney bean" is called the greater curvature and the smaller, tighter curve is called the lesser curvature. We often see ulcers on the lesser curvature as acid splashes up to this region when the horse is worked or travelling, etc.
More info on each of the photos. Any questions about these images or your own horse's images, please let me know ☺️

14/12/2021

Ulcers in ponies 🐴
Often ponies are overlooked when it comes to gastric ulcers, in fact less than 5% of the scopes I do are in ponies! Maybe this is because ulcers affect ponies less however I believe they are probably more likely to be labelled as a "typical naughty" or "cheeky" pony. We all know someone who has one of these, right?!
This lovely pony didn't have the best start in life but luckily is now with a very diligent owner who noticed he was a little touchy around his flanks and had a large amount of gut noise. When we scoped him we found severe ulcers affecting most regions of his stomach, most definitely causing him some pain. He is now on a great treatment plan and I am looking forward to seeing his second scope!
*My next post will be one explaining scope images, as I appreciate these might not mean much to most people! Basically all red, scabby looking areas are ulcers, and there is one on these images that looks like a moon crater! The lining of the stomach should be smooth, glossy and uniform in colour. More info to come on this.

27/11/2021

👀 Sneak peak!
Just a little something to say thank you to those clients organising big scope days. I'm so happy with them and can't wait to give 2 of these out very soon!

Also, if you're looking for a someone local to do any kind of embroidery, Micary Embroidery Services were fantastic and I will definitely be using them again!

25/11/2021

Now this is a before and after 🤩
This is a lovely ex racer, he came off the track recently and when his owner got him, he became girthy and bucking riders off. Thankfully his owner noted this wasn't him being "naughty" and knew there was something wrong.
These images are just 6 weeks apart (first on the left). He has been on a strict treatment regime and wow it has paid off. He is not completely clear yet so we will be continuing with the treatment for a little while longer. Statistically, 90% of racehorses have ulcers so it was no surprise to find some nasty lesions in there on his first scope.
What a lovely horse and owner they have been to work with!