Oakhill Equine Vets

20/09/2024

ACUPUNCTURE COMING SOON
Just to let you all know that Equine Director Rosie has joined the Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists, and is currently undergoing intensive training both in the theory and practical conduct of acupuncture in equines. So, from the end of October 2024, we will be offering an acupuncture service to your horses to complement our extensive orthopaedic treatments available at Oakhill.

20/09/2024

Congratulations to our talented colleagues over at Leahurst. Fabulous to see Amara recovering so well!

17/09/2024

OAKHILL'S GUY HINNIGAN PRESENTS AT NATIONAL CONGRESS
Last weekend saw the annual BEVA (British Equine Veterinary Association) Congress take place in Liverpool. Many of our vets attended over the three days to listen to formal presentations and discussions on the most up to date research and medicine.

What's more, Saturday saw Guy Hinnigan presenting his recent scientific research on a variation in the anatomy of the manica flexoria in a number of cob type horses he has operated on over the past couple of years. Producing scientific literature is a vital part of maintaining diplomat status (the highest standard of veterinary qualification, which both Guy & Rosie have achieved!).

Events like this allow our dedicated team to continue to provide cutting edge care for your horses.

15/09/2024

⭐ COMPETITION TIME: CAPTION THIS! ⭐
Look at this clever boy, who has figured out how to get to the tastiest grass! 😂

👉 Caption this video in the comments for your chance to win some Oakhill goodies. We'll announce the winner next week.

**REMEMBER: beware of fake accounts. We will NEVER ask you for any personal details, ask you to click a link or pay anything. **

13/09/2024

WORM CONTROL PLAN REMINDER 📅
A reminder for those of you with horses on our Worm Control Plan to check your horse’s instructions to see when their autumn faecal worm egg count and tapeworm saliva test is due! Once we receive both results for your horse, we will be in touch to advise on whether or not we need to issue a suitable wormer for your horse.

✔ Remember our worm control plans provide a bespoke plan for your horse using a combination of diagnostic tests and the responsible use of wormers when required. This ensures wormers are used appropriately which is hugely important given the resistance issues which have developed over the years due to the inappropriate and overuse of worming products. Any horse on our plans who test positive, will receive a suitable wormer FREE OF CHARGE!

👉 For further information on our plans, please contact our reception team or check out our website https://www.oakhill-vets.com/equine/health-plans/worm-control-plans/

11/09/2024

NATIONAL RACEHORSE WEEK 🏇
As this week is we thought we ought to give a big shout out to all of our favourite thoroughbred patients! Head over to the National Racehorse Week website to find out about the various yard open days and other events on to learn more about the care these horses receive both in training and afterwards.

Pictured is vet Sarah's ex-racehorse Wilby at Aintree, dreaming of his previous glory days*.

📷 Please share photos of your ex-racehorses in the comments!


*Being unplaced at Yarmouth 🤣

09/09/2024

THREE FABULOUS EQUINE VETERINARY SURGEONS HAVE JOINED US IN THE LAST MONTH
A huge welcome to Abigail, Matilda and Celina (L-R) from us all at Oakhill Towers, plus our wonderful clients.

Celina is our clinic intern, responsible for obtaining images of our orthopaedic cases and dutifully caring for our surgical patients, both through the day and through the night!!

Matilda and Abigail are already off out on the road meeting you all with your lovely horses, they are our new ambulatory vets. We have expanded our road team to ensure that we have the resources available to get to you and your horses quickly in your time of need.

They have all settled into the team extremely well and we are all delighted to have them on board.

05/09/2024

NODULAR SARCOID REMOVAL
Laser surgery removal of a large Inguinal nodular sarcoid. Can you see that our surgeon has had to tie off little vessels that were supplying the mass? The tricky location and extensive blood supply to this little blighter made removal under standing sedation impossible. A quick general anaesthetic was required to get good margins and control haemorrhage.

The horse is doing very well and hardly any cleaning of the wound has been necessary. Laser surgery wounds heal really well... as long as all of the abnormal skin cells have been removed. The success rate is 88% with this approach.

02/09/2024

ADVANCES IN TREATMENT OF CORNEAL ULCERS 👁
This is a nasty corneal ulcer (stained green with dye) in the left eye. So that we can provide continuous medication to the eye without prising the eyelids open and causing discomfort to the horse, we have inserted a lavage system through the eyelid. This is connected to an automatic syringe driver which administers 3mls of medication to the eye gradually over a 24-hour period.

This is a much more reliable method of treatment and means that repair occurs faster with far less stress to the horse.

30/08/2024

RAGWORT
With plenty of ragwort in bloom, a little reminder to check your horse's fields and get pulling! 💪

Defra have published full guidelines on preventing the spread of ragwort which can be found athttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5cd93824e5274a38bf503d1d/code-of-practice-on-how-to-prevent-the-spread-of-ragwort.pdf

24/08/2024

AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY 📅
What are you and your horse up to over the bank holiday? 📷 We'd love to see your pictures - please share them in the comments! 👇🏻

⌚ OPENING TIMES
The office is open on Bank Holiday Monday (26th Aug) from 9am-12pm. Outside of these hours two vets are on call for emergencies. If you need a vet call the usual number, 📞 01772 861300.

21/08/2024

OAKHILL QUIZ: ANSWER!
The answer in this case is a little unexpected – Horse B was the one who bucked their rider off, whilst Horse A was being very well behaved! This is despite Horse A having far more impinging dorsal spinous processes and remodeling of his spine compared to Horse B.

This just goes to show that severity of imaging findings does not necessarily always correlate with severity of symptoms that the horse is expressing – some horses are very good at ‘putting up with’ discomfort (even if maybe they should speak up a little more!).

Both horses in this case have had the relevant areas of their back medicated with anti-inflammatory steroids, to make them more comfortable. Horse B also had some further investigations which showed that they had some lameness issues and also gastric ulcers, likely all contributing to their explosiveness under saddle.

20/08/2024

TIME FOR A QUICK OAKHILL QUIZ! ❔
Of the two spine X-rays pictured, which do you think belongs to the horse which bucked their owner off? And which belongs to the horse which was imaged because they were noted to be sore by the physio, despite behaving perfectly well ridden?

👇🏻 Comment below with your answers and we’ll post the answer tomorrow! 😊

17/08/2024

CASE STUDY UPDATE: SIMON
Do you remember Simon who sustained life-changing wounds to his hindlimbs back in September last year? This photo of the wound was taken in October 2023. It’s been an incredibly hard battle for his dedicated owner Jenny. Together we have fought multiple broken casts, several necrotic tendons, biofilms, excessive granulation tissue… you name the wound problem, Simon has had it! He also wasn’t the most content of equine patients but credit where credit is due, he helped us out at times by co-operating reluctantly!

Beyond the veterinary treatment, Jenny has been using laser therapy and conducting a very strict controlled exercise regime with Simon and we are absolutely delighted to see that she has eventually climbed back on board to enjoy a potter around the school on him.

If ever there deserved to be glass in hand on horseback, this is the case…

🥂 Congratulations Jenny & Simon and we all raise our glasses to you.

16/08/2024

14/08/2024

HOW SATISFYING IS THIS?
This is typical of an inflamed joint - there is excessive fluid on the joint and that fluid contains lots of inflammatory proteins that have a negative effect on the joint environment. The fluid becomes very watery, as you can see and loses it’s lubricative effects within the diseased joints.

Simply removing the excessive fluid by needle is a form of treatment in these cases. In this horse you can see vet Rosie injecting some of the horse’s own plasm (Alpha-2 EQ macroglobulin plasma to be precise), to deliver more natural anti-inflammatory medication, as opposed to corticosteroids, which can have deleterious effects in high motion joints such as this one.

If you would like to discuss the different joint medications available for use in your horse, please do not hesitate to contact us. Oakhill has everything from traditional steroid therapies to plasma, hydrogel and even stem cells for joints!

12/08/2024

KISSING SPINES SURGERY IN THE HORSE
The dorsal spines in this horse were over-riding so badly that they were no longer in a line and the edges were completely mis-aligned (as denoted by the arrow here). We hope this horse feels much more comfortable following removal of this overlapping region of spine. We are very optimistic for his future.

09/08/2024

⚠ EQUINE FLU OUTBREAK⚠
We have become aware of several equine influenza (flu) outbreaks across the country, with the latest being reported in West Yorkshire. A common theme is unvaccinated horse, or horse’s whose vaccinations have lapsed, being affected.

It is not uncommon to see small equine influenza outbreaks, and currently there is no reason to worry.

It is good to note that vaccinated horses haven’t been significantly affected which shows the protection that vaccination provides. It is therefore a good time to check your horse's vaccinations are up-to-date!

There are several simple methods to limit the spread of flu in these scenarios. They are:-

- Vaccination of all horses on the yard for equine flu.
- Isolation of new arrivals in a separate airspace for a minimum of 10 days (ideally 21 days). This applies to unvaccinated new arrivals from sales/abroad in particular!

📞 If you want further advice regarding protecting your yard, or if you have a horse with clinical signs, get in touch to speak to one of our experienced equine vets.

All data and images are from Equiflunet and EDIS (https://equinesurveillance.org/equiflunet/)

08/08/2024

☘ Good luck Susy & Domino and Linda & Ditto ☘

Huge luck to Domino and Ditto, and owners Susy and Linda, who are representing England at the Home International Endurance Championships this weekend in Ireland 🇮🇪

Domino and Susy are taking on 120km over two days, whilst Ditto and Linda will be competing over 160km over the two days. We're tired just thinking about it!

Best of luck from us all at Oakhill 🐎🍀🐎

07/08/2024

YES THIS IS A HORSE'S P***S...
And will no doubt attract the attention of many! However, this is important. If you look closely you can see some circular red and white patches of skin. These are plaques of abnormal tissue related to squamous cell carcinomas. If you have a gelding that is producing excessive sm**ma, there may be an underlying cause and it may require treatment as some of these conditions can be incredibly uncomfortable for these boys.

Rosie, one of our equine vets tried to examine the p***s without sedation, and nearly got a hoof to the head! She tried with the regular combination of sedation and again the outcome was similar!!! In order to allow the pe**le shaft to drop completely for a thorough examination it is often necessary to combine acepromazine (a tranquilizer) with the sedative drugs, this is safe and effective for use in geldings (not stallions – another story).

If you suspect a problem with your horse’s sheath, please do not leave it to your w***y washer! A thorough examination without appropriate drugs is frankly often impossible.

04/08/2024

CASE STUDY: MRI DIAGNOSIS
This horse went severely lame on the right forelimb after careering around the field. There was absolutely nothing visible on X-rays so we performed an MRI examination of his lower limb which revealed this hairline fracture extending completely transversely across the top of the canon bone.

With rest and careful rehabilitation this horse has now successfully returned to ridden work and we are so pleased that we were able to diagnose the problem promptly and precisely. We then knew exactly how we should treat him and knew that the prognosis for the future was good. The owner was so relieved and grateful for this news. Knowledge is power in dealing with all lameness conditions in the horse.

01/08/2024

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT) FOR HORSES 🐎🏃‍♀️🏇
You've probably heard of HIIT classes for humans, but did you know that interval training can also be extremely useful for horses for both building fitness and weight loss?

All ridden exercise is definitely useful in your horse but endlessly meandering around in a walk, and for some horses even trot, sometimes does not cause a significant increase in heart rate to have much advantage for weight loss! Horses build fitness most effectively at a speedy trot, canter or gallop, when they are pushed ALMOST into anaerobic respiration - aka the type of exercise that gets you and us out of puff!

So, how to start HIIT training with your horse?
1️⃣ Assess your horse's current fitness, general health and musculoskeletal comfort levels - HIIT is hard work and is therefore not suitable for those with cardiac or respiratory issues, or lameness. If you are concerned, then give us a call to check them over.
2️⃣ Find a safe and suitable area - gallops, the beach, fields and well surfaced bridleways are ideal, but if these are not available it can be done in the arena. We recommend walking the area first to check for potential hazards, such as holes.
Hills are good as these allow the same cardiovascular and muscular effort to be reached at a lower speed, which can reduce the risk of certain speed related injuries.
3️⃣ Make a plan - if your horse is relatively unfit then the intervals will need to be shorter and fewer in number, and recovery periods longer initially, and then built up over time. Intervals can be set to either distance (e.g. three laps of the arena in canter) or time (e.g. two minutes of canter). Initially your horse may only be able to manage just 3 or 4 intervals, but the duration and number of intervals can be steadily increased over time.
4️⃣ Get cantering! We recommend getting up off the horses back to make life easier for them (and to exercise your own thighs - we promise it gets easier!). Some horses benefit from another horse alongside to encourage them along, so if needed you can buddy up with a friend.
5️⃣ Recovery - this is really important! This should be performed in walk, and should be long enough so that the horse's breathing rate and effort has reduced to normal levels. Not allowing adequate recovery periods will push your horse into anaerobic respiration too soon, and will not be beneficial for their fitness building. As your horse gets fitter the recovery periods will naturally shorten.
6️⃣ HIIT can't be performed every day! We would recommend a maximum of two sessions per week, with at least one recovery day (e.g. a steady hack) in between these. This is to reduce the risk of injury.
7️⃣ Most importantly, our final point is have fun with your horse! 🐎

29/07/2024

NEW FARM BUILDING IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
Congratulations to our farm team on graduating from the portacabins into their beautiful new building! It’s been a long time coming but we are thrilled with the new space. The great news for our equine clients is that there is now also space to turn your horseboxes around! 🥳

26/07/2024

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT WHILST OUT AT GRASS
If your horse has continuous access to grass then trying to achieve weight loss can be a real challenge! 😕

Time restricted grazing can give some benefit, although horses with restricted grazing time have been found to adapt and eat 80% of their daily requirement in 3 hours 😲; hence the importance of grazing muzzles!

🐴 Love them or loathe them, muzzles are a fantastic means of reducing intake and enabling horses who otherwise may be unable to spend time at grass due to concerns of laminitis to have access to grazing.
🐴 Track systems can also be used as a weight management tool. Tracks can be any shape with traditional perimeter fencing or more elaborate designs used to encourage the horse to walk from one area to another whilst eating.

If you are concerned about your horse's weight and need advice, search 'Oakhill Equine Vets - Fat2Fit Club' on Facebook to join our online vet-led group designed to offer advice as well as connect people whose horses are on a weight loss journey. The group also runs monthly exercise challenges with some prizes to win along the way! Free to join and everyone is welcome!

24/07/2024

ALLERGIC SKIN DISEASE
Allergic skin disease is often seen at a higher prevalence over the summer months thanks to higher pollen counts and the increased numbers of flies and insects that the warmer weather brings.

Sometimes it's relatively easy to identify the trigger, such as the horse seen in the first photo, which has had an allergic reaction to fly bites. In other cases, it is not so easy and we need to perform skin tests to determine likely allergens which may be contributing to the allergic reaction, especially in reoccurring cases.

If you haven't already, it's time to think about fly protection for your horse for the coming months. What’s your plan? Here is Bella, owned by Natalie, sporting her wonderful new fly rug.