We have a really interesting case to share with you all!
Our patient Woody developed exercise intolerance (out of breath and unable to trot) and upper respiratory noise during ridden work which failed to improve with rest.
An endoscopy exam (video camera up the nose) on his yard by Carolyn and Eyrin revealed the cause of the issue: poor Woody had an "Entrapped Epiglottis" which is not a common condition!
What does this mean? The epiglottis is a triangular shaped cartilage in the airway/throat area which protects the airway when the horse swallows. When it gets entrapped, the epiglottis gets stuck under the loose tissue beneath it called the subepiglottic mucosa.
In this poor horse, there was significant thickening and ulceration of the mucosa because of the severity and chronicity of the entrapment. Not only does this give the horse a permanent sore throat, but it can subsequently lead to the horse being unable to breath and swallow properly, so Woody's owner made the difficult decision to have him operated on. The main complications of surgery can be severe haemorrhage and airway swelling so Woody stayed with us the night after surgery and was monitored extremely carefully.
We are pleased to report that Woody was operated on at Linkswood Equine clinic recently by the amazing surgeon Safia Barakzai from Equine Surgical Referrals. The procedure is done with the patient standing up and sedated, a camera up one nostril and a long handled Bistoury knife is used up the other nostril:
The video below shows the mucosal fold being cut to permanently free the epiglottis. This should bring long term relief to poor Woody and allow him to breathe normally again. We scoped him again yesterday at home and his throat is healing really well at only 7 days post op! He will have a month's holiday now before starting to hack again.
Thank you as always to our team, our amazing client and patient and Safia the surgeon for coming to operate on him.
Following on from our post this week on strangles carriers, here is an awesome video taken last year.
Do you know that 1 in 10 horses who get strangles can become carriers? A carrier is a horse who appears perfectly well on the outside but can shed strangles bacteria to entire yards with no signs whatsoever. These horses have chondroids lurking in their guttural pouches…
Do you know what chondroids are? Simply put: they are balls of dried out old pus! They look like stones and hide from the world whilst spreading their bacteria about!
Carolyn and Hailey removed Chondroids from the guttural pouches of a horse who was showing no signs of being a carrier but tested positive for strangles surprising us all! This horse had Chondroids in both guttural pouches!
The video endoscope was used to visualise the chondroids and a basket grasper was then used to extract the chondroid out of the pouch and down the nasal passage.
After removal, copious amounts of flushing with saline and an antibiotic was instilled into each pouch.
A week later we resampled from the pouches to determine that the horse was no longer a Strangles carrier. Very cool and much like a computer game. Serious skills involved and a very satisfying job well done.
#stampoutstrangles #linkswoodequinevets
#independentvets #girlpower
🎉🐎🎉 Yay to us!!! A massive thank you to the kind clients who took the time to nominate Carolyn, Hailey, and the practice for the Petplan Veterinary awards. Our certificates are proudly displayed in the office to bring us a smile. Thank you ###🎉🐎🎉
#PetplanVetAwards
#independentvets
#weloveourclients
#weloveourjobs
#linkswoodequinevets
Its our ONE YEAR anniversary today!
What a year its been!
Thank you to our clients for all of your constant support, kind words and to all you amazing horse owners out there, thank you for trusting Linkswood Equine Vets with your horse's veterinary care.
Our clinic is going from strength to strength, we are so lucky to be able to have such amazing facilities to look after your horses in.
Committed to treating your horses like individuals, providing a familiar and friendly face to veterinary medicine and providing you with excellent and compassionate care, we promise to continue to deliver this as we grow.
THANK YOU!
Ask us about Poor Performance…..
Perhaps your horse is getting ready for spring and summer events but is not feeling quite right now they are in heavier work? Fitness training not going to plan?
Now is the time to ask us to evaluate them for poor performance before they actually perform poorly! Don’t wait until there is a dirty stop at a fence or their first dressage test suggests you might want to take up crochet rather than a prelim.
Horses frequently need help staying fit. Whether it be a check of blood work, joint medication or
evaluation for poor breathing- you might be surprised how many are performing sub- optimally and could be helped.
In the video is a middle aged pony having his “hocks medicated”. The area is clipped, scrubbed, a bleb of local anaesthetic is placed under the skin and as you can see, a small needle is then placed, in a sterile fashion, with no reaction from the horse, into the lower hock (tarsometatarsal) joint.
From steroids to biologicals, these injections appease joint pain and allow the horse to be comfortable to work correctly. We frequently see horses with sore hocks present with sore backs too, hence why an overall check of your beautiful horses is a great idea at this time of year!
We love working along side physios, chiropractors and osteopaths and enjoy planning rehab along side these professionals!
#jointpain #jointhealth #lameness #horserehabilitation #horserehab
It’s our 6 month anniversary of being open today!🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴
🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
We never imagined that we would open and be busy from the word go and that we would be lucky enough to gain amazing clients and horses so quickly!
Would you believe us if we said we have absolutely loved every second of the last 6 months.
We would be nothing without such a loyal, kind, caring client base- so to you all- thank you so much for supporting us and cheering us on.
Thank you to our amazing small animal colleagues at Linkswood Veterinary Centre for letting us share their office space and their kettle for 6 months while our office was built!
Caring, friendly, familiar, experienced vets with integrity and holistic care at the forefront of our minds- always. That’s Linkswood Equine Vets and we promise to continue to strive for this with every single horse and owner we meet!
#ownbusinessgoals #ownbusinessowner #Independantvets #independantvets #equineveterinary #equineveterinarymedicine #veterinarymedicine #veterinary #horsesofinstagram
LICE!!!!!!!
A post about itchy, scratchy, chewing lice!
Presenting: “Damalinia Equi”: the biting/chewing louse of the horse!
This little darling was lifted straight off a horse coat and onto a slide for microscopic exam!
Fun facts:
🐴 Female lice produce eggs that are cemented firmly onto hair shafts. After hatching, nymphs undergo three molts, reaching maturity in 3 weeks
🐴 Transmission is by direct contact with the infested animals or fomites such as brushes that contain nymphs, adults, or hair with viable louse eggs attached.
🐴 Clinical signs : pruritus (itching) manifested by biting at the flanks, kicking and stamping, restlessness and irritability, and rubbing against objects resulting in an unkempt appearance, alopecia, scaling, abrasion, and even secondary infection
Lice feed off:
🐜 skin scales
🐜 Skin secretions
🐜 organic debris on skin
It’s the typical time of year we see lice! In high numbers or chronic situations, lice can cause pretty nasty skin lesions, chronic skin thickening and weight loss if horses spend time itching rather than eating.
Treatment can be achieved easily but might require clipping in heavy infestations! Don’t forget to treat horses in contact and grooming equipment and rugs! Or they will be back!
Ps: they are host specific and don’t like humans!
Don’t hesitate to contact us if your horse is itching!
Enjoy the video! 🤢
#itchyhorse #itchyhorseproblems #horsevet #horsesofinstagram #horsevetlife #horseveterinary #independentbusiness #vetnurse #vetnursesofinstagram #vetnurseproblems
Well what a week that was…..oh wait, its only Tuesday 🤪!
Bit of a different post today, its an appreciation post for all our wonderful clients. We have to give thanks to one very special client this week who went above and beyond: (Katie- this is for you!)
Carolyn was nearing the end of a 13 hour shift when her car broke down. Miles from home she called a client who she knew was just 4 miles away from her and asked if they would kindly try and jump start the car. When this didn't work they returned home to bring Carolyn back Lasagna for dinner and a cup of tea! By then it was gone 9pm and Carolyn and Hailey had been in a field since 2pm…..How blooming lovely is that?! Carolyn waited for the AA who fixed her up and she went on her merry way less hungry and feeling very grateful for good clients who mean the world to us.
Secondly we would like to thank our amazing Holly. She appeared today like a knight in shining armour even though it was her day off, clutching a bag of Greg's goodies and a smile. She announced that she had come to answer the phones and sort the admin so we could spend most of the day with 6, yes 6(!!) very poorly patients. That girl is a god send. We love you and appreciate you Holly. Thank you.
We do not think people get told often enough how amazing they are- so we want to shout it out to the rooftops!
Book your Gastroscope in February for the discounted rate of £150!*
*The price is for the Gastroscope with sedation only, not for a visit fee if applicable or the drug of choice for treatment if ulcers are found.
