How EASY and STRESS-FREE co-operative care training makes veterinary examinations…Parsnip learned this in just a handful of sessions and has never needed any sedation even when she’s needed invasive eye tests/treatments. It can be so helpful to train our horses in preparation for when they need veterinary attention. #newforestequinevets #newforestequine #vet #vets #veterinarian #veterinary #equine #equestrian #horse #horses #foal #co-operativecare
✨𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬✨
This little girl Nova had her first vaccine and passport done this week.
When she was first born, her owner, a small animal vet, noticed she wasn’t sucking/swallowing milk and I went out to help administer colostrum via stomach tube to give her the best chance of having adequate immunity from antibodies, and energy, from the colostrum.
Foals have an instinct from birth to seek a dark area and search upwards for the dam’s teats. It can take a few attempts to successfully suck. When the milk comes, this is the first real ‘learning’ experience for the foal. Through trial and error the foal has found the reward of milk and will repeat this searching behaviour with greater speed, accuracy and ease. During the trial phase, you can see the foal looking in the wrong places for instance up under the tail or under a trough in a stable. This type of learning is called positive reinforcement - the reward - milk - reinforces (makes more likely to happen again) the correct behaviour. We can use this type of learning to train horses throughout their lives.
Positive reinforcement training is routinely used to train zoo animals, guide dogs, even fish can learn this way. There is huge scope for it to become commonplace in training horses, and it can be more motivating and better for the horse-human bond than traditional horse training techniques. I have learned so much from my sister Nicola, equine behaviourist, about how horses learn and how we can incorporate kind training methods into veterinary practice and so much more.
#newforestequinevets #newforestequine #vet #vets #veterinarian #veterinary #equine #equestrian #horse #horses #foal #foaling #filly #2024foal #mare #broodmare #nova #vaccinated #passported #love #positivereinforcement #learningtheory
Here it is.. my new logo that I’ve been working on for a few weeks..I love it 🥰. We created it from a photograph of my mare Josie and I, taken when her life-threatening asthma had recently been resolved. Josie has been a huge inspiration and motivation to me, my personal development and my career. She led me onto the equine pathway.. and from there onto studying for my certificate, as I sought to understand and resolve her complicated asthma. From there I was inspired to progress my knowledge in all areas of equine practice to be able to help people to find solutions to their horses/donkeys medical conditions especially when they are complicated, and difficult to manage. I understand how it feels to have a sick animal.. and also love to share the joy with you when we help them back to health. I love that Josie is now the beautiful, calm, flowing emblem of my practice. Thank you Caitlin Ward for your creativity unveiling the new logo 😊
In 2017 I founded New Forest Equine Vets having always dreamt of creating a practice devoted to delivering veterinary care in the most gentle, kind, compassionate way possible. Always with consideration for the animal’s mental and emotional experience while undergoing veterinary procedures quietly and effectively. This dream has become a reality and my sister Dr Nicola Jolly PhD, BA, MSc (Clinical Animal Behaviour) and I are excited and proud to develop the practice and we will forever hold true to these values.
Lily had a six month dental check yesterday. She had fillings 6 months ago at EDC. The fillings look perfect. But the check was very worthwhile as I found her teeth had become extremely sharp in six months-she had an ulcer in her cheek and will be much more comfortable now that the enamel points have been removed. She also had ulceration and scratches on her palate, I expect she’d been eating something spikey.
ERNIE A couple of weeks ago, I introduced Ernie, who is now one of my loveliest patients.The first consultation began with lots of questions to gather a picture about Ernie’s behaviour problems…which went much like this…from the moment Kate collected him to bring him to a more experienced home:· Loaded well but travelled really badly, kicking throughout travel, sweated up.· Very reactive· Double-barrels at people/horses walking behind him on yard· Kicks· Bites· Bolshy· Difficult to lunge· Avoids bridling – evades bit· Bucks· Rears. Fortunately he was actually very co-operative throughout my examination. The first red flag for pain for me was the mention of his difficulty travelling. Often horses that have musculoskeletal pain find it difficult and uncomfortable travelling. A horse that has loaded and travelled well all of it’s life may suddenly present with loading/travelling problems due to pain. It can be a first subtle indicator, and to protect their welfare, it is really worthwhile checking for pain before embarking on training for travelling.Having taken a history, I assessed his conformation and then assessed him dynamically. There were quite a number of findings that I took note of in walk. Take a look at the video and look carefully at the left hind limb especially: Abnormal twisting of left hind fetlock through pastern, hoof then twists outward during the stance phase and the fetlock leans excessively outwards over the outside of the hoof. I will continue Ernie’s story soon…Verena
Beth’s interesting case of the week. *Warning, slightly graphic content*
Beth’s interesting case of the week!
⚠️ slightly graphic content ⚠️
Alice James Veterinary Physiotherapy’s horse, Ella presented with a sudden onset, large swelling on her hindquarter. Ella’s clinical exam was otherwise normal and she wasn’t giving away any clues as to the possible cause! There was no evidence of trauma (e.g. a kick) and only a subtle skin abrasion. Anti-inflammatories and hot/cold compresses didn’t reduce the swelling, so Beth opted to surgically drain. The video details the procedure: - Sterile skin scrub to prepare the surgical site.- Injection of local anaesthetic to desensitise the area.- Needle placement to collect a sample of the fluid.- Scalpel incision to allow drainage.- Surgical debridement, with a curette, to remove abnormal tissue.- Flushing of the site, which was left open, to allow continued drainage. The tissue has been sent to the laboratory, to be examined under the microscope. This will hopefully identify the cause and whether any further treatment is necessary. Ella was an absolute super star to treat, I will post another update next week!
Verena's case study: Kissing spines
I am delighted to be able to share with you this wonderful outcome for a pony I diagnosed with kissing spines last year. Alvin was purchased having passed a two stage vetting, for a teenage rider to enjoy general riding activities, but after a couple of months he began to show signs of marked pain under saddle.
The first video shows Alvin at the time I first met him; you can see how uncomfortable he was.
I x-rayed his back and found overriding dorsal spinous processes (DSPs) in his mid-thoracic spine, as well as milder changes consistent with bone remodelling in other processes.
We elected to refer Alvin for a bone scan. We know that many horses have asymptomatic kissing spines, and one of Sue Dyson’s studies demonstrated that often horses with symptomatic kissing spines have other problems too such as arthritic changes in the facet joints of the spine. I also wanted to check the sacroiliac (SI) area which cannot be x-rayed.
The bone scan showed bone remodelling of the SI as well as the DSPs, but fortunately the spinal joints were unaffected.
Alvin’s owner Andrea Stevens and her daughter Josie were very dedicated to helping Alvin and set aside all their athletic aspirations. After having his SI medicated, and mesotherapy for his back, they adhered to a very rigorous set of rehabilitation exercises. He didn’t improve significantly so I then put corticosteroids (potent anti-inflammatory and painkiller) around the affected DSPs. Following this there was a significant improvement in his comfort, but he still carried some pain in his back.
Have a look at the second video, where he has improved but looks nervous to move.
In December we made the decision to refer Alvin to a specialist orthopaedic surgeon at Donnington Grove for surgery. The surgical procedure involved cutting the ligament that runs between the spinal processes, which releases them allowing them to move apart.
Surgery alone however, would be unlikely to r
Congratulations to our first new mother of the year! Shimmer gave birth to her first foal ‘Boris Junior’ yesterday morning. She is a super-calm mare who is taking everything in her stride. She needed a little help passing the placenta, and unfortunately had not bagged up well so didn’t have good colostrum for BJ. Little BJ had a tough few hours yesterday but has bounced back from a painful colic. I gave him a plasma transfusion to boost his antibodies since it seemed unlikely he would have received sufficient from colostrum. His bloods today confirmed this and a second transfusion was given today. I hadn’t been expecting to spend a Sunday afternoon in January treating a newborn Welsh foal - but i couldn’t ask for a much more rewarding job than watching a colicking foal turn around in front of my eyes. After an hour lying down and rolling he suddenly jumped up, found the teat and has been sucking ever since 😊
