McGonnell & Gillatt Equine Veterinary Practice

23/12/2025

Wishing You all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The office will close for the holidays at 2pm on Christmas Eve and open again on Monday 29th December at 08.30am.

If your horses requires any medications please call the office today to place your order.

We will continue to provide a 24/7 emergency service throughout the holiday period. Just call 01488 657575 and one of our vets will be in touch.

Have a lovely Christmas
From All at M&G Equine Vets

07/11/2025

STRANGLES UPDATE:
As more yards are attempting to keep themselves safe from the dreaded strangles by blood testing new arrivals, it is important to remember the limitations and inconveniences of blood tests - carriers may slip through the net, horses are not isolated after testing or may have recently caught it, so bloods don’t pick them up, and an “inconclusive” or “positive” blood test will necessitate an endoscopic guttural pouch wash, which is both unpleasant and expensive.
What can we do?
VACCINATE WITH STRANGVAC!!
After just a single vaccination a horse’s immunity to strangles is greatly increased, and after the 2nd vaccination (a month later) the efficacy has now been proven to be over 90%. The latest data also shows that annual vaccinations will then provide continued high levels of immunity, but boosting the immunity in the face of an outbreak or for “frequent travellers”would still be recommended.
By vaccinating your yard, you can then insist on new arrivals simply being vaccinated against strangles too, negating the need for pre-arrival testing, and providing a far better solution to the constant risk of bringing strangles to your yard. By vaccinating all yard residents, the risk of bringing strangles back from a show is also vastly reduced, thereby doubling down on your protection.
We are delighted to be able to offer a Strangvac amnesty for the month until 10th December! Book in your first vaccination to be injected before 10th December, and your 2nd vaccination (4 weeks later) will be FREE!

18/10/2025

Owners have been reminded of the need to be vigilant and take action after a “significant” increase in strangles cases. Read more below

02/10/2025

We couldn’t do the veterinary part of our job without our heroes in the office 😍
On Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Day, let’s say the biggest of thank yous to the lovely ladies who help us all so much: Fiona, Ali W, Cressida, Ali M and Carol - we are so lucky to have such an awesome team 🤩

🩵Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Day🩵

How important is that phone call to your vets?

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
Margaret Cousins

➡️We think it's hard to put into words the gratitude we feel towards our Veterinary Reception Team. Their work is exemplary and utterly important to the smooth running of a practice.

➡️These individuals are invaluable and integral members of our team.

They are often:

✅ Your first point of contact
✅ Your reassurance
✅ A sympathetic ear
✅ Excellent at triage of patients
✅ A pacifier in emotive confrontations
✅ An expert multitasker
‼️ And so much more

We are eternally grateful to Veterinary Receptionists across the country who help the practice run successfully - the role is challenging and the requirements and versatility of the job vast.

Please show your appreciation today for your reception team, they deserve it!

11/09/2025

ACORN DANGER‼️
Please be vigilant about oak trees on/near your grazing at this time of year. Sadly, we know of two horse who we believe to have died of acorn poisoning in the past few days. Everything has fruited well this year, and the oak trees are no exception- they are fully laden with acorns, and there is also a school of thought that they may be extra tasty to horses this year, due to the drought.

The horses affected had pretty non-specific signs to begin with - dull, reduced appetite, nothing in particular to explain the high heart rate that the vets found. Diarrhoea, and particularly the bloody diarrhoea which is more typical were later appearing (once already in hospital) which may indicate that these horses didn’t eat very many acorns, and yet sadly still could not be saved.

Steps to take:
If possible, move horses from fields with oak trees
Fence off areas where acorns are falling
Sweep/vacuum up fallen acorns
Supply plenty of forage so horses don’t go scavenging

BE AWARE that clinical signs are subtle - if your horse is at all off colour, and may have had access to acorns (however few) please call us as a matter of urgency. If we suspect acorn poisoning, the sooner the horse is hospitalised and on fluid therapy, the greater the chance the horse will survive.

09/09/2025

You’ve got to love client innovation- how about this idea? Cheap Amazon children’s potties for raised poles?!!
Gold star to Julie 🤩