Anvil Equine Veterinary Clinic

13/03/2024

🦟🐴 Insol vaccine for Sweet Itch 🐴🦟

The Insol vaccine was originally developed to treat Ringworm but has, coincidentally, been found to have a positive effect in helping to reduce symptoms for many horses with Sweet Itch. It is now being used (off license) specifically for Sweet Itch cases. Recent studies have shown it to be more effective in horses with a recent onset of symptoms over longer standing cases and is most successful if started early in the season before the midges and itching start! Preventative measures are still very important, in addition to treatment with the vaccine.

The course requires two vaccines given 14 days apart and should be repeated after 9 months for optimal ongoing protection, or re-started the following year before any midges appear.

If you have any question or feel this vaccine would benefit your horse, please phone the office on 01403 731213 and we would be happy to help!

11/03/2024

📌 Receptionist/ Nursing Assistant position available

29/01/2024

💉🦠 Updated Vaccination Schedule 🦠💉

You may have heard that FEI, British Dressage and Pony Club vaccination schedules have changed - hopefully the below will clarify these new rules.

From 1st January 2024, all first and restart vaccination courses for influenza must be given on a new schedule to comply with the change in regulations. These are as follows:

• Second vaccination must be administered 21-60 days after the first vaccination

• Third Vaccination must be administered 120-180 days after the second vaccination

• Annual boosters (within 365 days) are administered following the third vaccination (or within 6 months + 21 days of any FEI competitions)

Any horses that are up to date from 2023 do not need to restart the vaccination programme.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the team on 01403 731213 with any queries!

02/11/2023

UPDATE - power is now back on and phone lines are working as normal 😊

** We currently have a powercut so unfortunately our phone lines are not working - for any emergency enquiries, please call 07850326354 (temporary number). We hope to be back up and running by this afternoon. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause! **

22/12/2022

🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄

We would like to wish all of our clients a Very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

From Alastair & the team at Anvil Vets 🐴🐄🐑🐖

01/11/2022

🍯 Local hedgerow honey 🍯

Hedgerow honey produced in Copsale - runny and set honey available.
Good for your porridge, allergies and even wounds!
£7 per 12oz jar
Visit Anvil Equine Veterinary Clinic, Tuckmans Farm, Bar Lane, Copsale RH13 9AY 9am-5pm, Monday - Friday, speak to Alastair or phone 01403 731213 with any enquiries.

02/09/2022

📌 PLEASE NOTE 📌

Our Out of Hours answering service provider is changing from next week but please rest assured that the service remains the same.

Please phone the office number on 01403 731213 for 24/7 veterinary assistance.

15/07/2022

☀️ Keeping Cool when you could be Heated ☀️

08/03/2022

🎁 March Madness 🎁

The horse in the attached x-ray images has a 10° pedal bone (P3) rotation [first image] and visible ossification of the left collateral cartilage of the left foot (also known as Sidebone) [blue arrow in second image].

Foot x-rays can be very useful in detecting imbalances, as well as more serious problems including chronic laminitis, fractures, osteoarthritis and many more. March is also a very useful time to check for pedal bone rotation before the spring grass comes in!

For this reason, for the month of March, we have a special offer on foot balance x-rays at our clinic. This will include two views; Latero-Medial (from the side) and Dorso-Palmar (from the front) of each foot.

The cost of this will be:
* £45 for both front feet
* £80 for all four feet
* A reduced price of £45 for sedation (if needed)
[All prices are inclusive of VAT]

Make sure you keep an eye on our page for future offers which you won’t want to miss!

19/01/2022

** EHV vaccine **

We have a small number of short dated EHV vaccines which we are offering at a reduced price of £30 per vaccination to stop them from going to waste - if you are thinking about starting to vaccinate your horse against EHV, or your horse is due their booster, please phone the office on 01403 731213 to make use of this offer!

21/12/2021

🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄🎄❄

We hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year! We, at Anvil, very much look forward to seeing you all in 2022 to continue providing your animals with the best veterinary care 🐴

23/11/2021

❄️ POSTAGE OF MEDICATION OVER THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD ❄️

We are writing to inform you that we will unfortunately be unable to post medication over the Christmas period. As you can imagine, this time of year the postage is quite unpredictable and therefore between 12th - 31st December we will be offering a collection only service for medication. It would be advisable, if possible, to check your stock carefully over the next couple of weeks!

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Anvil Vet Team

10/08/2021

❗️ UPDATE RE COVID SITUATION ❗️

To all our clients,

Whilst we would love to welcome clients back into the practice, we have made the decision to keep our existing protocols in place for the time being. The main reason for this is to protect the service we offer to our clients - we have recently received calls to attend clients of other practices due to staff shortages caused by their vets/ nurses having to self isolate. Hopefully we are close to the end of this pandemic and will be able to review this soon!

In the meantime, please continue to request drug orders by phone before collecting them from the gate at the end of our drive and remain in the carpark if you bring your horse to the clinic.

Many thanks for your continued patience!

The Anvil Team

24/05/2021

📌 Date for the diary 📌

One of our amazing local animal charities has organised a Tack Sale - show them some support in their upcoming fundraising event!! 🐴🐑 🐖 🦆

A date for your diary ..... Saturday, 7th August 21

We are having our first Tack Sale!

If you would like to book a table as a seller please contact Gemma on: 07971 261 629 - £10 per table

Entry is £1 per person

We will be open from 1:30pm to 4:00pm

Check out poster for full details!

Please spread the word and share this post - thanks so much!

www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk

11/05/2021

To all our clients,

Message from Georgia:

After 18 happy months, tomorrow is regrettably my last day at Anvil Equine Veterinary Clinic, as I am taking on a new training position in an Equine Hospital in Newbury. I have loved my time working at Anvil and have thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and all your lovely horses, donkeys, farm animals and camels 😂 Our clients are truly wonderful 🥰 I am sure I will see many of you on the horsey circuit!

A huge thank you to Alastair who has been a truly inspiring mentor and my colleagues behind the scenes (Kim, Lydia and Liz) who have been nothing but caring and kind. I feel privileged to work with such a team.

The practice is looking forward to welcoming Anna who will be starting next Monday. Look out for more introductions on our page!

I hope our paths will cross again in the not so distant future,
Georgia x

30/04/2021

APRIL PATIENT OF THE MONTH 💉

A rare case this month!! The lovely Danny has been prone to small lumps and bumps over the years when suddenly one on his rump and one on his face dramatically enlarged, started oozing and lead to further self-trauma. An ultrasound scan showed a solid encapsulated mass and soft core. Unsure of the diagnosis, we decided to perform a biopsy which confirmed the cause to be Mast Cell Tumours.

Mast Cell Tumours (which release histamine) account for a small 4% of equine tumours, and unlike dogs, they very rarely metastases and spread internally. Surgical resection is curative and other treatments include intraslesional steroid injections, cryotherapy and radiotherapy. The mass on Danny's rump was surgically removed (photo 2) and left to close mainly by second intention healing due to the lack of mobile skin. The mass on the side of the face was running quite close to the facial nerve so we decided to take a more conservative approach by debulking and infiltratation with steroids (photo 1). A further 5-6 smaller masses were also treated this way and a course of anti-histamines was prescribed.

10 days later, we are extremely happy with the results. Danny is no longer irritated by the existing tumours and they have reduced in size by at least 50%. We look to repeat steroid injections in 6 weeks time!

18/04/2021

Sunday Suprise 🥳

This gorgeous bundle of joy was delivered under a beautiful blue sky this morning, much to the owners surprise who didn't know their rescue pony was expecting!

Both mum and new born c**t are fit and healthy and must have read the textbook as everything went very smoothly. A little bonding in a stable and guidance for the first drink was all that was needed. So all that is left is to think of a name!? 🐎

02/04/2021

MARCH PATIENT OF THE MONTH 🐎🐎

An unfortunate incident for this youngster resulted in him escaping from the field and becoming entangled in a metal five-bar gate! You can see the extensive damage caused to both hindlegs and a deep laceration to the sheath. This was a whole team effort with everyone staying late to help out; the youngster proved to be a perfect patient, coming into the clinic for a full x-ray examination and a mammoth stitch-up job!

Luckily, there were no fractures or joint pe*******ons to the hindlimbs, so the deep wounds were sutured, creams for the superficial wound and medical bandages were applied. The sheath flap was re-attached and stay sutures were used to close the large dead space. A small hole was left at the cranial margin to allow for drainage from the inevitable swelling!

The youngster remained amazingly bright after such an ordeal and is continuing to do well - 2 weeks on and we look forward to removing the sutures next week!

23/03/2021

Laminitis Awareness! 🌱

Due to the sudden flush of spring grass, we have seen a dramatic increase in laminitic emergencies in the past few weeks. Whist native ponies are most at risk, all breeds can suffer with the condition. At this time of year, it is best to be vigilant with weight management, grazing restrictions and routine farriery wherever possible.

Laminitis is a complex process and can be caused by many aetiologies such as:
•High intake of non-structured carbohydrates (starch and sugar)
• Infection resulting in toxaemia (blood poisoning)
• Mechanical overload (due to a fracture etc) where the uninjured leg will bear more weight and be at risk
• Endocrine conditions (PPID/Cushings and Equine Metabolic Syndrome) which result in an insulin dysregulation

*If the underlying cause is not controlled then the resultant laminitis will be impossible to manage!!*

All of these ultimately result in the severely painful separation of the laminae (arrow) and rotation/founder (sinking) of the pedal bone (asterix) within the hoof capsule. As you can see from the photo, further rotation in this case risks solar pe*******on.
Things to look out for include; sudden unwillingness to walk/turn, lying down, sweating, heat and raised pulses typically affecting the front feet and the stereotypical "sawhorse stance" shifting the weight off the front feet.
If you notice any of these signs, it is best to stable your pony/horse in a deep bed to increase comfort and call the vet for further advice/investigation!

15/03/2021

SPRINGTIME 🌻

One of our clients has captured the joys of Spring with some live births from their lovely herd of Boer goats!

Spot the triplets and quads born within the last 48hours 🥰

https://vimeo.com/523508410

This is "OAKDOWN BOER GOATS 2" by Rod Minter-Brown on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

26/02/2021

FEBRUARY PATIENT OF THE MONTH 👁

This is Alfie 😍 Unfortunately for him, he is prone to developing equine sarcoids and recently the multiple tumours around his eye were growing fast. Both Alastair and Alfie's owners were concerned how this eventually would impact on his vision. Due to the location, treatment of sarcoids in this area is challenging. Chemotherapy creams are too risky to the eye and the cost of radiotherapy (gold standard) often is cost prohibited. It was decided that a course of BCG injections (3 doses) into the area would be Alfie's best chance - and we are over the moon with the results, swipe to see for yourselves!

🐴 Whilst there is not complete resolution, the size of the nodular sarcoids have dramatically reduced and the flat/occult sarcoid below the eye has almost completely gone.

🐴 The 2nd photo shows the inflammatory reaction to the injection, however this means it is working!

🐴 Did you know that equine sarcoids is due to the Bovine Papilloma Virus (BPV) spread by flies?

19/02/2021

Happy Friday! 🎉🐫

Some of our more unusual but absolutely incredible patients!

10/02/2021

❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨❄🌨❄

Hope everyone is keeping warm this week whilst having some time to enjoy the snow!

Remember to spend some extra time checking regularly that those animals kept outside have access to adequate shelter (especially with this wind chill) and that their water troughs are not freezing over 🧊

Photo is from one of our clients enjoying a snow day with their rescue sheep, Beau 🐑

08/02/2021

05/02/2021

UPDATE - The issue has now been fixed and our phone lines are back to normal - please ignore the below message!

** TO ALL CLIENTS **

Due to a phone line issue, we have had to divert all calls to a mobile while the lines are being tested. Our phone line is available for emergency and urgent calls, however, we do request all non-emergency calls be delayed until this afternoon.

For all emergency enquiries, please contact us on the usual number of 01403 731213 or email [email protected] - we will constantly be checking the inbox.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

31/01/2021

JANUARY PATIENT OF THE MONTH 🪡

Murray decided to try out a new "Lockdown Look" this weekend, but quickly decided that a nose piercing wasn't for him and needed some assistance with removal! Thanks to the quick response of the yard team, he was calmly released from the wall and the bottom half of the clip was removed with bolt cutters (photo 2). The weight of the clip itself was starting to irritate him so another fantastic idea by the yard was to tie the clip to the head collar so no further damage or tearing could be done!

This meant by the time Georgia arrived, the clip could be easily removed with Murray under sedation and with local anaesthetic. The small hole left behind was thoroughly flushed and sutured closed. A short course of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and tetnus antitoxin cover should mean a quick recovery 👍

Thankfully, Murray managed to avoid lasting damage but it lends as a reminder to everyone that these clips can easily cause nasty injuries and should be avoided in stables!

29/01/2021

It's finally here! 🎉🎉

http://www.anvil-vets.co.uk/

Our new and modernised website is now live! Please follow the link and check out all our facilities/services and get to know our fantastic team even better!

Thanks to our lovely clients whose references and horses feature on the website - please like and share the love 🐎

20/01/2021

UPDATE - our phone lines are now back to normal, please ignore the below message!

** TO ALL CLIENTS **

Due to a phone line issue, we have had to divert all calls to our out of hours number. Our phone line is available for emergency and urgent calls, however, we do request all non-emergency calls be delayed until tomorrow.

For all emergency enquiries, please contact us on the usual number of 01403 731213 or email [email protected] - we will constantly be checking the inbox.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

We hope you all have a safe and happy week despite this horrible weather!

11/01/2021

🐴 Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) 🐴

Did you know the horses stomach is made up of two different types of mucosa?

• Squamous Mucosa makes up the oesophagus and top portion of stomach (pale pink). This area has no protection to gastric acid.
• Glandular Mucosa (dark pink) makes up the bottom portion and the pylorus (entrance to the intestines). This mucosa contains secreting glands that produce hydrochloric acid and natural mucosal protectants (bicarbonate)
• The Margo Plicatus (the sharp demarcation) separates the two portions

EGUS can affect between 60-80% of horses and differ in severity. The syndrome can be separated into disease of the squamous portion or glandular portion of the stomach, with the later being more harder to treat. Different causative factors are believed to be responsible for the two syndromes:

• Squamous ulceration = prolonged food deprivation, high concentrate feeds, stress/travel and reduced gastric clearance.
• Glandular ulceration = disrupted blood flow, changes in mucosal-protective factors and prolonged prostaglandin inhibition (eg prolonged NSAID administration). Recently it has been proposed that horses being exercised more than 5 days a week can have an increased risk of developing glandular ulceration so rest days are important!

Clinical signs can vary and include; picky eating/inappetance, weight loss, mild abdominal pain/colic, girthyness, behavioral changes, sometimes diarrhoea.
Diagnosis is made via gastroscopy in the standing sedated horse and the treatment plans include:

• Management changes
• 4-8 weeks Omeprazole (gastrogard) - injectable or oral
• Sucrulfate
• Corn oil
• Misoprostal is reserved for refractory cases

*Walter (the perfect patient) is pictured throughout to demonstrate images obtained during the gastroscope. You can clearly see the area of ulceration (photo 2 and 3) that have then resolved post treatment (photo 4).*

05/01/2021

Following yesterday’s government announcement, we would like to reassure our clients that we will still be attending all appointments (while following strict social distancing measures). We will review things as and when we receive advice from our governing bodies but, for the time being, we are able to carry out all services as usual.

For any advice or to book an appointment, please phone the office on 01403 731213 between 8am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. We will always be available for emergency veterinary assistance 24hrs/ 7 days a week on the same number.

We wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

The Anvil Vet Team