Donview Vets Farm & Equine

10/06/2025

May Farm & Equine Blog

With May having flown past it is time for our Monthly Blog. May has been a busy month at the practice with a lot of routine work alongside emergencies- including the likes of castrating, dehorning and bull breeding soundness exams.

Bull breeding soundness exams can be a crucial and underutilised aspect to herd fertility. The first part of the exam includes the physical aspect. This looks at things including the conformation, gait, eyes and lungs. If possible, the teeth may be checked. Next the circumference of the sc***um is checked against breed standards, and the prepuce, p***s and internal s*x organs are checked for normal structure. This part ensures that there are no obvious visible or palpable defects. The second part of the exam involves checking the quality of the semen. This is done by collecting a sample and looking at the appearance and motility of the s***m within the sample. Ideally, you would be looking for a high density of highly motile (moving) s***m, that vastly normal in appearance. This is all done under a microscope, with parts performed on site, and some performed back at the practice. The final part, which isn’t always possible, would be to see the bull in action. Taking into account all of the information above, a comment will be made on the ability of the bull to (in theory) successfully breed. The reason for doing such exams is that it allows us to give an indication of any potential problems, prior to bulling, hopefully minimising the chances of a poor calving next year. Many bulls may appear fine by just looking at them but may be sub-fertile and therefore inadequate or not ideal for breeding, and this can help to spot that. A successful calving period starts with successful bulling.

With the calving and lambing period winding down, so too should our caesareans. We have had a busy year with caesareans and May continued that trend. So far this year up until the 30th of April we have attended 83 visits where we either assisted with lambing, calving or proceeded to caesareans.

Outside of routine farm and equine calls, we also had our first large animal client evening of 2025. The topic was around herd and flock health plans, the importance of them and how to ensure that you get the most from them. This was run between one of our vets Jess, and Douglas Palmer of Norbrook. We would like to thank Norbrook, Tim and Douglas for their support with this event. Sarah and Louise also headed to Beeftech with a small display and managed to see a fair few of you, mainly discussing Preparing for Sustainable Farming grants. This grant may be easier than you think to apply for – give Sarah a shout and see what we can do for you!

Thanks, Kyle.

28/05/2025

Louise and Sarah are all set up and ready to welcome you to our stand at Beeftech, you will find us in the breed society tent where we’ll be chatting all things calf scour, preparing for sustainable farming and much more. 🐮

We also have a wee competition on the go so drop by for a chance to win!! 🏆

22/05/2025

We're going to Beeftech!

On Wednesday 28th May Sarah and one of our vets, Louise, will be heading to Home Farm, Kininmonth to attend Beeftech 2025.

Come and chat to them both on all things farm at our stand which can be found in the Breed Society Tent. They may also have some goodies for you to take home!!

Royal Northern Agricultural Society

🐄🚜🐑

16/05/2025

We are all very proud of Jess for doing this challenge!

16/05/2025

When to call the vet: Subtle signs of pain in horses

Horses are good at masking pain, making it hard to spot when something’s wrong.

If you notice any of these signs, call your vet straight away. Early intervention can make all the difference.

13/05/2025

Spring into action with parasite control!

Spring has sprung and so have the parasites! Warmer weather means increased parasite activity, so it’s the perfect time to check if your horse’s deworming plan is up to date.

A faecal worm egg count test is the best way to determine if any treatment is necessary—reducing unnecessary deworming and lowering the pressures that drive resistance.

Routinely giving dewormers without checking worm burden is bad practice as well as being wasteful. May is a key month to assess and adjust your deworming strategy. Let’s keep your horse healthy with appropriate parasite control.

Contact us today for more information about targeted worming.

08/05/2025

Spaces are filling up fast for our next Client Evening. Please contact Sarah if you would like to attend :)

C L I E N T M E E T I N G

We will be holding another Client Meeting on Wednesday 14th May. Join us to discuss Herd Health Planning and responsible antibiotic usage in your cattle and sheep.

If you have any animal health related questions you would like answered or you would like to join us, please let Sarah know on 07949220776.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

🐑🐄🐑🐄

08/05/2025

Happy World Donkey Day!

Donkeys are intelligent, affectionate and full of personality! From their long ears to their loyal nature, they deserve the very best care and attention.

At Donview Vets, we understand the unique healthcare needs of donkeys. From routine check-ups to specialised treatments, our dedicated team is here to help keep them happy and healthy.

On this special day, let's raise awareness about proper donkey care. We’re here to support donkey health every step of the way.

Have a donkey in your life? Share a photo in the comments—we’d love to see them!

06/05/2025

April's Blog!

April has been very much a horsey month for us at Donview, and so I have picked out a few interesting cases to share with everyone.

1. First, we saw a mare who had unfortunately got a kick to the face by a field companion. To complicate matters, she is also 9 months pregnant. After some anti-inflammatories and rest it appeared to improve but would swell again whenever she had her head down grazing. We took some Xrays and can see a fracture to her frontal bone that is unstable, and the movement is causing repeated inflammation in the area. You can see the fracture in picture 1. We will have to manage her on pain meds and anti-inflammatories until the foal is born, but after that she will possibly require a head CT and surgery to stabilise the bone!

2. Sticking with the head trauma theme, we had another filly who had an accident of some sort in her field. She is kept with other yearlings, so accidents are a common occurrence for these boisterous babies. She managed to lacerate her skin spectacularly, but after some cleaning and local anaesthetic it was stapled back up nicely and healed really well (see picture 2). She was on antibiotics and pain medication for a week, then the staples were removed after 14 days. She will hopefully have very minimal scarring and is still a pretty little thing!

3. Lastly, we had a lovely Traditional Irish Horse mare who had recently travelled over from Ireland. She has appeared to be settling well into her new home, but after a few weeks started to go off her hard feed and lose condition. She was a bit colicky at times and biting at her sides. The owner noticed her being very “girthy” when she tried to ride and eventually found she could not even lunge the mare without her being upset. After fasting for 15 hours, we sedated the mare and used a gastroscope to look down into her stomach. There we could see a lot of angry looking ulcers in the glandular part of her stomach. You can see both parts in picture 3, the redder part is the glandular region. Travelling, or a period of high stress can often cause ulcers to form, as is this case with this mare. Did you know that horses have 2 distinct regions within their stomach? The top half is called the squamous part, and the bottom half is the glandular part, they have different functions based on the cell types found there. As a result, there are 2 types of ulcer syndromes – Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease). For this mare, she was diagnosed with EGGD, which is more difficult to treat. After 2 weeks of daily treatment with a proton pump inhibitor medication she was rescoped and showed significant improvement, the ulcers looked to be nearly healed. We kept her on the medication for 4 weeks and the owner has reported she is completely back to normal now. She will require some feeding changes to help keep the ulcers at bay.

Deanna

02/05/2025

URGENT TELEPHONE ISSUE!​

Due to a national issue with our telephone provider, we have been experiencing intermittent issues with our phonelines, preventing some calls from connecting.

The issue should now be resolved, but if your call is not being recognised or you cannot get through, please contact us on 07947532339, or 07947532378 if the first number is busy.

Thank you for your patience while we work to fully resolve the issue.

02/05/2025

Fly control strategies for your horse.

As the weather warms up, flies and midges are on the rise, bringing irritation to your horse. Don’t wait for the discomfort to set in—take action now to keep your horse comfortable!

Here are some effective ways to protect your horse:

Fly repellents: Use vet-approved fly sprays or roll-ons to create a barrier against irritating flies and midges. Make sure to reapply regularly, especially after rain.

Fly masks: Protect your horse's eyes, ears and face with fly masks. These provide comfort and reduce the risk of eye infections caused by flies.

Proper manure management: Keep stables and paddocks clean by regularly removing manure. A well-maintained muck heap is essential—turn it regularly to reduce fly breeding grounds and prevent infestations.

By implementing these strategies, you can help ensure your horse remains comfortable and protected from the nuisance of flies and midges throughout the warmer months.

30/04/2025

As today is the last day of Great British Beef Week we thought it would only be right to have a big finish with a lovely Roast which was made by our Reception Manager, Allison!

Ingredients

- Beef
- Carrots
- Neeps
- Onion
- Peas
- Cauliflower
- Yorkshire Puddings
- Tatties
- Pigs in blankets
- Broccoli
- Beef stock cube

Instructions

1. In a Roasting Dish place the beef, chopped up carrots, chopped onions and beef stock. Enough to cover the bottom of the dish.
2. Place into oven for as long as desired.
3. Drain the gravy into a separate container
4. Drain the carrots into a separate container
5. Cook all other vegetables, pigs in blankets and roast your tatties.
6. Optional to make your own yorkies or buy premade ones.
7. Dish up onto your plate and pour the gravy over the top.