Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons

17/01/2025

In preparation for the 2025 Thoroughbred breeding season, Rossdales' stud and medicine teams hosted an evening for stud staff to talk about management of dystocia in the mare and foal resuscitation.

70 stud clients attended for a mixture of talks and small practical sessions, along with beer and pizza. The evening was a great success - thanks to everyone for helping out and attending and we're sorry that the pizza was a bit late! 😊

10/01/2025

We’re pleased to welcome Christopher Graham to our team of interns at the hospital.

Chris graduated from the University of Surrey Vet School in 2024 with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Science and was already a familiar face at Rossdales, having undertaken an externship with our hospital team during his studies. He also completed a number of externships at other equine hospitals and first opinion practices in the UK, as well as gaining international experience at an equine charity hospital in Morocco, and completing a surgical externship in Kentucky, USA.

Chris has a strong passion for all aspects of equine work, with a particular focus on sports medicine and surgery. He is committed to expanding his expertise in these areas and plans to pursue further qualifications.

Outside of work he enjoys skiing and chess, and he has recently begun to learn the Romanian language.

10/01/2025

Welcome to Alexandria Wittorff, who has joined our Rossdales Lambourn veterinary team as a stud vet after recently relocating to the UK from the USA.

Originally from Montana, USA, Alex qualified from Oklahoma State University Veterinary School in 2021. She then completed an internship in comparative theriogenology followed by a residency, also at Oklahoma State University. She was awarded diplomate status by the American College of Theriogenology in 2024. She is currently working towards a Masters degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in conjunction with Oklahoma State University.

Alex’s particular veterinary interests lie in late gestation mare and foetal assessment, research into the equine uterine microbiome, and veterinary education and outreach in reproduction.

When she’s not working, Alex enjoys running, hiking, cycling, cooking, and spending time with her friends and family.

09/01/2025

The following EMS placements for veterinary students to see practice are currently available at Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre:

Hospital Extern
12/01/25 to 02/03/25 – Any 4 week placement between these dates

Hospital Student
02/02/25 to 02/03/25 – Any 2 week placement between these dates

Diagnostic Centre Student
13/04/25 to 27/04/25 - 2 weeks
01/06/25 to 13/07/25 – Any 2 week placement between these dates

Visit our website for full details about Seeing Practice at Rossdales and how to apply.

www.rossdales.com/ems-placements
BSEVA

07/01/2025

Our 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 (𝐀𝐑𝐓) 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 is only two weeks away, but there's still time to book your place!

We have an excellent programme and a star-studded line-up of highly experienced speakers, with lectures, case presentations and discussion groups covering multiple aspects of mare reproduction and assisted reproductive technologies in preparation for the impending breeding season.

It will provide you with both the most recent and cutting edge research, and also a wealth of clinical experience from a host of world-renowned reproductive specialists.

We're also offering the option of two day packages for those who can't attend all three days of this BEVA - The British Equine Veterinary Association approved course.

Find out more by visiting www.rossdales.com/non-pregnant-mare-art-course or by scanning the QR code on the image below.

Register now by contacting [email protected]

Main course sponsor: Bova Specials UK Ltd

02/01/2025

We are very pleased to announce that Jack Day has become a Clinical Director of Rossdales.

Jack joined our horses in training team in 2016 and has developed an excellent reputation amongst our training yard clients.

Ian Cameron, Rossdales Managing Clinical Director, said: “We are very pleased that Jack has accepted our invitation to join the Clinical Directors group, where he will be a great asset to the group. We are constantly looking to encourage the development of vets within the practice, and Jack is another excellent example of someone who has shown high standards of clinical ability, client service and commitment to the practice team. We look forward to the continued development of the racing team within the practice, with Jack taking a more prominent role in directing this team.”

23/12/2024

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬

We hope that you and your horses have a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year, but should you have a horse or pony that requires urgent veterinary attention, we are available for emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The out-of-hours and emergency service will operate for each of our practice locations (24hrs) when the offices are closed and will connect you to the vet on call by calling the usual office number.

Throughout the festive period there will be a full team on call at the hospital, 24 hours a day, to receive any emergency horse admissions. In the case of an emergency when the hospital office is closed, please call 𝟎𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟖 𝟔𝟔𝟑𝟏𝟓𝟎 (24hrs).

See our website for full details of opening hours throughout the festive period for all areas of our practice.

rossdales.com/christmas-opening-hours

We wish everyone a happy Christmas and very best wishes for the New Year.

20/12/2024

Have you booked your place yet?

We have an excellent programme and a star-studded line-up of speakers for the Rossdales Non-pregnant Mare and ART Course next month, which now includes two additional speakers.

We're also offering the option of two day packages for those who can't attend all three days of this BEVA - The British Equine Veterinary Association approved course.

Find out more by visiting www.rossdales.com/non-pregnant-mare-art-course or by scanning the QR code on the image below.

Register now by contacting [email protected]

Main course sponsor: Bova Specials UK Ltd

18/12/2024

In November, Newmarket ambulatory vet Abby Richardson and vet nurse Amelia Christian from our hospital visited the Animal Care in Egypt - ACE Clinic in Luxor, Egypt.

ACE is a small charity committed to providing free veterinary care for the working horses and donkeys in Luxor, as well as educating their owners and local school children on the importance of caring for their animals. Rossdales has a long association with ACE and each year one of our vets and one of our nurses visit the clinic to provide veterinary care alongside the ACE team.

Here's Abby's video of their time at ACE and you can read Amelia's account of her experience at the ACE Clinic on our website rossdales.com//abby-and-amelia-visit-ace

ACE relies totally on donations and helps all types of animals - not just working equids. You can find out more about the fantastic work carried out by Animal Care in Egypt - ACE by visiting their page or their website https://www.ace-egypt.org.uk/

12/12/2024

It's Christmas Jumper Day and members of our team across the practice have been getting in the festive spirit to raise funds for Save the Children UK. These great photos show what the Newmarket accounts and credit control teams and some of the Herts team have been wearing today! 😄 🎄🎄☃️☃️

11/12/2024

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝?

As the Christmas holidays approach, we would like to give our clients plenty of notice regarding ordering repeat medication for their horses and ponies to ensure you don’t run out over the festive period. Please don't forget to order enough medication to last your horse between Christmas and New Year, as soon as possible.

We cannot guarantee Royal Mail postal delivery dates, so we recommend that where possible you arrange to collect your horse’s medication from the practice (Newmarket clients), to make sure you don’t run out before New Year.

Please contact the practice on 01638 663150 and allow 48 hours for authorisation by a vet and to process your prescription request.

Rossdales Hertfordshire and Rossdales Lambourn clients, please ensure you contact our teams at those offices in plenty of time regarding your horse's medication requirements.

09/12/2024

When 19-year-old cob Ed was referred into the hospital with colic in the early hours of Sunday 17th November, the prognosis didn’t look good.

Ed, who has been with his owner Alyson Read for 15 years, had never previously had colic. When she checked him routinely at around 10pm on the Saturday night, Alison noticed that he appeared 'colicky' and contacted her usual vets in Norfolk, who attended and treated Ed by 11pm. Alyson then checked him at regular intervals throughout the night and after initially appearing to be comfortable, Ed had taken a turn for the worse by 4am. Alyson’s vet returned at 5am and re**al palpation indicated that there was a serious problem. She immediately arranged for him to be referred to Rossdales, where surgeon Richard Payne and his team were waiting to examine Ed upon his arrival. After initial examination, surgical investigation was agreed.

Richard quickly confirmed that a pendunculated lipoma was the cause for Ed’s rapid deterioration. Lipomas are a relatively rare but well recognised cause of surgical colic, typically in older horses and ponies. Such lipomas often grow on a stalk (like a conker on a string), which can spontaneously wrap around a segment of intestine and strangulate it (cut off the blood supply). In this case, approximately three feet of small intestine had been strangulated and was dead. If left untreated, a horse with this problem would gradually deteriorate and eventually die – thankfully in this case, Ed’s owner agreed to continue with life-saving surgery to remove it.

Following surgery, Ed required a significant amount of intensive care by the hospital nursing team and, happily, he was well enough to go home 10 days later.

Richard said: “It’s always a privilege to operate on much-loved horses for committed and caring owners. We have been delighted by how well Ed has recovered. It’s great to see him looking so well again. Cases like this are why we love doing our job.”

Images courtesy of Alison - the first one post surgery at Rossdales, the second when Alison collected him to take him home and the final two are of Ed now he's back at home

06/12/2024

Researchers at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies have made a significant breakthrough in the battle against Equine Grass Sickness by identifying the probable cause as a neurotoxin produced by microorganisms in pasture.

The discovery could lead to novel treatments and improved diagnostics for this devastating disease.

The full paper, published by Equine Veterinary Journal is free to read for 12 weeks.

Read more via the links below 👇

https://edin.ac/4ggMpPm

“After years of feeling deflated by the lack of progress, it's wonderful to see this significant breakthrough."

Researchers have identified the probable cause of equine grass sickness as a neurotoxin. The breakthrough has the potential to lead to novel treatments and improved diagnostics for this devastating disease.

Read on - https://bit.ly/4f5McNQ

04/12/2024

On Thursday, 28 and Friday, 29 November, we held two fully-subscribed BEVA-approved CPD courses at Rossdales Equine Hospital – the first focused on Internal Medicine and the second on Equine Anaesthesia, with more than half of the delegates, from the UK, Europe and the Middle East, attending both courses.

On Thursday, our Internal Medicine: Tricky Cases course was attended by 47 delegates who heard from 9 distinguished speakers about the latest updates on a number of current topics in internal medicine. The format of the course was focused entirely on case-based discussions to highlight interesting conditions and the challenges of their management.

On Friday, 45 delegates attended the Equine Anaesthesia Day – Bringing Principles into Practice, with 6 highly experienced speakers presenting various topics, ranging from preoperative preparations to intraoperative management and post-anaesthetic considerations.

The first (group) image shows some of our Internal Medicine course speakers from left to right:
Charlotte Easton Jones, Catriona Mackenzie, Vicky Savage, Emily Floyd, Fernando Malalana, Annabelle Graham, Katie Williams and Claudia Gittel.

Thanks to our generous course sponsors:
Internal Medicine Course: Bova Specials UK Ltd, Dengie Horse Feeds and FS Animal Health.
Anaesthesia Course: Certus Biomedical

02/12/2024

"We probably shouldn't talk about heart attack, it's cardiac arrest. What footballers and horses get is cardiac arrest." Rossdales internal medicine specialist and cardiology expert Prof Celia Marr talks to Marcus Armytage in The Telegraph about exercise-associated sudden death in racehorses.

A fort­night ago jump racing came under fire when two horses, Abuf­falo­sol­dier and Bangers And Cash, col­lapsed and died in a 3m3½f han­di­cap chase at Chel­ten­ham. One about two minutes after the fin­ish, the other about two-thirds of the way...

29/11/2024

On Wednesday, Andy Bathe joined the intrepid team of core riders on their epic journey covering 1,100km across the UK, which started at Blair Castle in Scotland on 20th November and finishes at The Savoy Hotel in London on Saturday.

The team are raising important funds for two charities, Spinal Research and the British Eventing Support Trust.

Andy cycled 96.3 miles (155km) in 7 hours on the leg to Blenheim, with only one proper stop for half an hour.

Andy said: “Kudos to the team for battling through snow and gale force winds last week, courtesy of Storm Bert. I also got a taste of extreme weather, with torrential rain to start, but the cheering and support on the road really helped!”

Andy is pictured with Ian Stark in the first image, and with the other team members in the second. Find out more here https://www.cycle4caroline.com/riders

Huge thanks to everyone who has already donated - you can show your support for the team by donating here https://givewheel.com/fundraising/4699/cycle4caroline/

Spinal Research
British Eventing Support Trust
Cycle4Caroline

28/11/2024

𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 (𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬) - 𝐄𝐱𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Rossdales Equine Hospital has an exciting opportunity, open to qualified and experienced registered Veterinary Nurses, to join our friendly, professional and dedicated nursing team. This is an ideal opportunity for individuals who are keen to apply and develop their nursing skills to the highest of standards, whilst working in a challenging and rewarding environment.

The position will involve all aspects of nursing care of inpatients across a wide range of disciplines including intensive care and routine in-patient care.

Successful applicants will have excellent all-round nursing skills, with a passion and drive for delivering outstanding patient care. You will be a team player who enjoys working in a supportive environment whilst also being able to use your initiative. You can expect many opportunities to learn and develop your skills.

This is a full-time position, with a shift pattern of three set nights (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) and alternating Saturdays followed by three nights off, working between the hours of 7pm and 7am. Some capacity for flexible working would be an advantage.

RCVS and BEVA membership will be paid for and you will be entitled to three days funded CPD per annum. Excellent benefits package.

For full details about this position and how to apply, visit rossdales.com/jobs/veterinary-nurse-nights

Deadline for applications: Wednesday, 11th December 2024

BEVA - The British Equine Veterinary Association
BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association)