Parkside Vets - Equine

22/08/2024

Blair Castle International Horse Trials is a spectacular showcase of equestrian excellence and we’re thrilled to hear some of our fabulous clients are competing! As the hooves thunder and the competition heats up, may we wish you every success. 🍀

For those spectating, don’t forget to capture those ‘neigh-perfect’ moments and share your favourite photos with us. 📸🤳

Remember it’s not just about the ribbons - it’s about the neighs, the tail flicks, the friends and making the unforgettable memories. 🐴

21/08/2024

Bella has recently joined our equine team, and we are delighted to introduce her to you all!

STAFF SPOTLIGHT - Isabella Uechtritz

Originally from Australia, I studied at the Dick Vet down in Edinburgh and was more than happy to stay in Scotland once I finished up. I'm excited to be joining the Parkside team and am looking forward to meeting our clients and their animals!

What is your favourite part of the job?
Developing a preventative health plan with clients and seeing happy and healthy horses for routine visits.

What are your special interests?
Ophthalmology, and lameness investigation.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
On the weekends I like to make the most of being close to the hills and beaches, enjoying hikes, camping, and the odd wild swim when I'm feeling brave. I also love cooking and have been known to throw together some elaborate baked goods.

If you didn't work as a vet, what would your dream job be?
A scuba diving instructor somewhere warm like the Maldives or Indonesia. Then setting up a bakery on the beach in my retirement.

20/08/2024

KINGS CROSS ROAD CLOSURE

Kings Cross Road is closed from the Kingsway end and the surgery can only be accessed from the Stack end of Kings Cross Road. If you are travelling to the surgery with your horse or coming to collect medication, please allow a little extra time.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

19/08/2024

Our team consists of 6 dedicated equine vets, who all have a real interest in horses, ponies and donkeys. We provide all of our own out-of-hours care, 365 days a year.

This means that whatever time of day or night you might need us, you will always see a dedicated equine vet from our team.

12/08/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT - Shannon Stewart

How long have you worked at Parkside Vet Group?
Since December 2019 – prior to that, I worked in a traditional mixed practice in Aberdeenshire for 4 years.

What is your favourite part of the job?
I love 99.9% of my job – I feel incredibly lucky to be able to drive around the countryside doing my dream job with my two canine companions, seeing all of our clients and their animals.

Is there anything about the job that you don't enjoy?
Euthanasia is the obviously difficult part of the job, along with the cases that just don’t pan out the way that you would like them to, no matter how hard you try!

What are your special interests?
I particularly enjoy the medicine side of things, having completed my Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice with a focus on equine medicine. I really enjoy the problem solving side of the job, trying to find a solution which works for both our patients and clients.

Do you have any animals of your own?
I have a Dutch Warmblood X called Tari, two Border Collies called Jack and Ollie and two cats called Snoop and Whiskers.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
My horse and dogs take up the majority of my spare time – I enjoy hacking my horse as he is an OAP now, so we take things a bit slower than we used to (although he doesn’t always agree!). The dogs and I particularly like exploring new walks.

If you didn't work as a vet, what would your dream job be?
Either a detective or a racing car driver, I have been known for my rally driving attempts!!

08/08/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT - Alistair Crozier

How long have you worked at Parkside Vet Group? Since 4th October 2002 - coming up for 22years this Autumn

What is your favourite part of the job?
The friendships with our clients and seeing them and their family's relationships with their horses / ponies / donkeys develop over the years

Is there anything about the job that you don't enjoy?
It’s always hard to discuss and perform euthanasia, I can’t remember an occasion when it wasn’t the right the thing to do for the animal but I’m glad to do it for the animals because there is so much emotion at the time, especially now I’m finding with some animals and owners who I have know for over 2 decades and have a deep personal connection to.

What are your special interests?
Helping our clients have the most fun with their fit and healthy horses.

Do you have any animals of your own?
I have a flock of 30 traditional blue faced Leicester sheep, 5 Pygmy goats, 4 alpacas, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 25 honey bee hives.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
During the winter I curl for Pitkerro Curling Club, mostly at Forfar Ice Rink, during the summer I’m busy on my small holding with all my animals.

If you didn't work as a vet, what would your dream job be?
A farmer

02/08/2024

Good luck to all of our clients who are competing at Perth Show today!

The sun is shining and we hope you all have a great day ☀️

We would love to see any photos that you have of you competing today or from previous years 🏵️

27/07/2024

WARNING - The bright yellow flowers of ragwort seem to be everywhere at the moment.

While growing, ragwort is generally unpalatable to horses due to its bitter taste. However, when it wilts, dries or becomes mixed with grass or hay, the ragwort loses its bitter taste but unfortunately retains its toxic properties.

Horses do not necessarily need to consume large amounts of ragwort to suffer from the toxic effects. The toxins in ragwort cause damage to the liver. The liver has a fantastic ability to regenerate and it is able to function normally until it reaches approx. 25% capacity. This means that damage is often advanced before signs are seen - toxins can accumulate for several years after ragwort ingestion.

Clinical signs of liver disease:-
* Poor appetite
* Weight loss
* Diarrhoea
* Yellow discolouration of gums and eyelids
* Increased thirst
* Increased urination
* Neurological signs

There is no treatment for ragwort poisoning. Prevention is therefore key - limit exposure to ragwort with good grassland management. Remove plants from pasture but ensure you dig out from the roots and wear gloves as the toxins can be absorbed through your skin. Ensure that hay/haylage is purchased from a reliable source and does not contain the plan.

Please call 01382 811111 to discuss any queries with one of our large animal vets.

13/07/2024

We would like to wish the very best of luck to our clients competing in the equine or livestock rings today at the Kirriemuir Show . Stock judging will already be well under way🏆🥇🥈🥉🐴🐄🐑🐐. Hoping the sun shines and the showers stay away. 🌤️

https://kirriemuirshow.co.uk/

12/07/2024

Happy Friday - we are absolutely delighted to announce the good news that Shannon has passed her studies to gain the RCVS certificate of advanced veterinary practice. Very well done Shannon👏🎉Lots of hard work goes into studying whilst working full time.

24/06/2024

‼️ ROADWORKS AT KINGS CROSS ROUNDABOUT DUNDEE‼️

There are road closures around Kings Cross roundabout (or circle if you’re a Dundee native!) which is making access to the surgery a little tricky if you are travelling via the Kingsway.

If you are planning to visit the surgery with your horse or to collect medication, the easiest alternative route is to take the Coupar Angus junction and access Kings Cross Road via either Dunsinane Avenue (through the industrial estate) or Harefield Road (past The Stack).

It is likely that the roadworks will affect us for the next 7-10 days. If you are unsure of the best route to take, please contact the office on 01382 811111 and we can help to guide you.

20/06/2024

ZONE VISITS 🐴

We offer zone visit days for all equine routine work which provides a huge saving to clients on the visit fee.

The following work can be booked into these appointments:
* Vaccinations
* Teeth
* Prescription checks
* Blood samples
* Bandage changes
* Passport applications
* Microchipping

The zone visit days often fully book up quickly, so please organise your appointments early to avoid disappointment! Please call the office on 01382 811111 to book your appointment.

‼️Zone visits are only applicable for routine work and therefore urgent/emergency visits are not applicable. The appointment must be pre-booked ahead of the day of the visit ‼️

⭐️ If our zone visit days are not suitable, remember that we offer a free visit if there are 5 or more horses booked in from the same yard - this way you can pick a date and a time that suits you!

20/06/2024

Some days this job doesn’t feel like work!!

19/06/2024

Good luck to all of our clients who are heading down to the Royal Highland Show this weekend!

The weather looks to be holding up for a change so hopefully you all have a great time ☀️🐴

14/06/2024

https://www.facebook.com/AlythDistrictFarmersShow

We would like to wish the very best of luck to our clients competing in the equine or livestock rings tomorrow at the Alyth Show . 🏆🥇🥈🥉🐴🐄🐑🐐. Please share your photos 😊. Hoping tbe sun shines and the showers stay away. 🌤️

A great day out for all the family, Livestock, Dog Show, Arts & Crafts Food marquees, Entertainment,

09/06/2024

We all had a fantastic day at Angus Show yesterday and we were absolutely delighted to win the prize for the best non-agricultural trade stand!

08/06/2024

We are all set up at Angus Show and looking forward to a great day ahead.

Come along and see our team!

01/06/2024

We are only 7 days away from the Angus Show!

Come along next Saturday to visit our stand and meet our team!

We look forward to seeing you there, fingers crossed for a bonnie day like today 🤞☀️

20/05/2024

Well that's another year over for Fife Show and wasn't it a glorious day. The show organisers did an amazing job and I am sure that everyone attending had a fabulous time.

The large animal/equine team certainly did - meeting lots of current clients and hopefully a few new ones too. We had such fun with the children enjoying the activities from milking the cow (still to be named); lambing the sheep; fishing for ducks and painting their own animal sticks.

Here's to 2025 - I wonder what we can do next year ???

19/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/2M7FH8wwM88kuDdW/?mibextid=WC7FNe

18/05/2024

Beautiful morning here at Fife Show - please come and see us atstand 85 for some fun activities and refreshments - see map below ☀️🐑🐮🌞🐴

17/05/2024

Fife Show day is nearly upon us - weather is looking promising and a lovely day is expected again. We would love you all to come and visit us - please come along and support the event organisers and all stand exhibitors and competitors. We will there from 8.30 am. Look forward to seeing you. 🐴🐮🐑🐎

www.fifeshow.com

12/05/2024

Such a beautiful day yesterday and we are hoping that next Saturday will be the same, when some of the large animal/equine team will be attending the Fife Show. Whether you are competing or just fancy a day out, please pop along and visit our stand, you will be made very welcome.

https://www.facebook.com/144464285615457?ref=embed_page

09/05/2024

08/05/2024

SMALL REDWORM 🪱

Unfortunately we have recently seen a couple of cases of encysted redworm in the practice.

Small redworms are a nasty little parasite that can burrow into the lining of a horse’s intestine (encysting), before re-emerging at a later date. The encysting process and re-emergence can cause significant damage to the lining of the horse’s intestine leading to a variety of different problems including weight loss and diarrhoea. In severe cases, this damage can sadly prove fatal.

Young horses (

05/05/2024

Our lameness centre at our Kings Cross Road surgery in Dundee is set up specifically for the investigation of equine lameness cases. We have a hard tarmac trot up, a hard lunging area and a soft lunging area, meaning our vets can observe horses moving under different conditions.

Our stocks are also ideally set up inside for performing nerve blocks, ultrasound scans and x-rays, should these be required.

There is no charge for the use of these facilities, so our clients can save on the cost of a visit fee. We operate on an appointment only basis.

If you have any queries regarding your own horse, please contact 01382 811111.

02/05/2024

We hope that you never find yourselves in the situation where by you need to call for our services out of hours, but if you ever require one of our equine vets, you can be assured that it is the same team working 24/7 and 365 days of the year. This means that you will always see a familiar face, no matter what time of day or night you might need us! We can always be contacted on 01382 811111.

25/04/2024

LAMINITIS

Although we have all been willing the weather to improve, the improvement in the grass growth also means that we will see an increase in the numbers of laminitis cases.

Laminitis is inflammation of the laminae, the supportive tissue that attaches the pedal bone to the dorsal hoof wall. This inflammation results in a weakening of the attachment, meaning that the pedal bone begins to sink and rotate down towards the sole.

Many cases of laminitis can be attributed to underlying conditions such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Cushing's Disease, so any horses with these conditions are especially at risk of developing laminitis when the new grass growth comes through.

If you have any queries regarding the management of your own horse, please call the office on 01382 811111 and ask to speak to one of our equine vets.