Strangles Blood Samples
As a practice, we do not recommend a strangles blood sample prior to the horse moving yards.
Why?
There’s many reasons:
A negative result does not mean that the horse is free from strangles. It takes 14 days for antibodies to develop in response to diseases. The blood test looks for antibodies. This means that if the horse was exposed to strangles up to 14 days before the bloods were taken, they could be just about to develop strangles.
We have had several cases where a horse tested negative on the blood sample, then came down with strangles at the new yard within a week. A mass outbreak was avoided because the new horses were isolated due to being new arrivals.
A negative result does not mean that the horse is not a carrier. The only way to assess this is to perform a guttural pouch wash. Likewise, a positive result does not necessarily mean that the horse is a carrier either.
Also, a positive result does not necessarily mean that the horse has strangles. Antibodies are produced in response to the horse meeting the bacteria at some stage - we are not sure how long immunity lasts, and it seems that in some horses the immunity lasts for a prolonged period.
So you can see - if a negative doesn’t mean negative from strangles, and a positive result doesn’t mean positive for strangles - why do the blood sample at all? The blood sample is excellent within a strangles outbreak to assess which horses have been exposed - but should not be used for pre movement testing.
All horses should be isolated at their new yard, and ideally a guttural pouch scope should be done prior to movement. Vaccinating with the new strangles vaccination is also an excellent way of protecting your horse - but more of that in another post.
The video shows a guttural pouch being entered -it’s quite cool isn’t it 😎.
Give us a call for advice ☎️ 01738259427
Strangles talk
There are still limited spaces for our client evening on 30th November at Inveralmond Business Centre at 7pm. This is open to everyone - so grab people from your yard and come along for an up to date discussion about strangles (and tea, coffee and cakes of course!).
Ever wondered what your horse's guttural pouch looks like? This is a video of one of the vets doing a guttural pouch flush. This is where the bacteria that causes strangles can sit and the only accurate way to tell if your horse is a carrier, is to perform this investigation.
Come and learn more - email us on [email protected] to book in!
Ridden Horse Examinations
The majority of our ridden horses undergo a rigorous 5 stage vetting at the time of purchase, identifying any abnormalities in their conformation, soundness and fitness for athletic function.
Very often the horse is not re-assessed by a vet for several years, often only when an obvious lameness or poor performance issue arises.
Recently equine vets have become more pro-active, routinely checking ridden horses pre-season, mid season and at the end of their competition season to pick up any minor lamenesses or niggles early, keep them performing to the best of their ability and plan suitable fitness regimes, nutrition, shoeing, physio and breaks when necessary.
By working together with horse owners and riders in this way we hope to keep horses performing at their top level, having long, successful careers.
The other huge benefit of having your horse regularly assessed is that the vet gets a good feel for the posture, gait and demeanour of the horse when he is performing at his best. This makes it a lot easier to detect a subtle change, or decide on the significance of a subtly abnormal gait in the future. It is often the case that a horse is perceived to be performing at its best, but actually after a few minor niggles have been detected and solved the horse finds an extra gear!
A ridden horse examination will include an assessment of condition and musculature, auscultation of the heart, palpation of the limbs and back, trot up, lunge and flexion tests. With sports horses older than 15 years it may also be beneficial to assess the eyes for old age changes such as cateracts, and possibly run a screening blood test for PPID (Cushing’s).
We will require a level, firm surface to trot the horse up, and a suitable area for lunging, ideally on a firm surface. If you would like your horse to be checked but don’t have the required facilities at home, there is a potential for us to examine the horse at a different yard with good facili
Not sure where we are? Come for a little walk into the office with us! 🐴❤️💻☎️📧
We told you to watch this space…. So here is what we have been up to - some of you may have seen it already last night!
Following the ‘Do you want to be a Vet?’ event we held recently, it has created a little stir in the media highlighting the shortage of vets within the industry.
We were approached last week by STV news who wanted to have a chat with us about our take on it so Camilla got her best TV face on and met with a reporter and had a chat! 🎥🐴
Here is the clip of the interview with Camilla at Netherton Equestrian with Carly’s lovely horse, Red, which was shown on the STV news last night. We hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did! 📺
We do ask now that when Camilla is due on your yard that you have a red carpet rolled out for her now that she has gained celebrity status! 😂💃🏻
Congratulations 🎉 👏🏻
Well done to Jodie Darrie and the lovely Woodendfarm Freddy 0 winning the BHS Open Working Hunter Championships that we proudly sponsored at Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials today.
What a handsome boy🐴🤩.
Good luck to all competitors for the rest of the week - Anna and Camilla hope to see you and your horses in a social setting only this week!
Bhs Scotland
🤩Diagnostics at our finger tips 🤩
We were called out of hours to a sick foal - the owner had noticed that he was breathing heavily, and he had a high temperature.
The foal had a serum amyloid A (SAA) blood sample, results of which we get within 10 minutes while at the yard. A high SAA is due to inflammation, and in this case, we suspected a bacterial lung infection.
Our ultrasound scan revealed "comet-tails" - the white shadows seen on the ultrasound scan. We targetted the antibiotics to the most likely bacteria involved - and 2 weeks later the SAA was normal, and the foal made a full recovery without ever leaving his yard.
Our equine vets carry all the equipment required to make rapid and informed decisions about your horse's veterinary care. Please visit our website: https://www.perthequinevets.com/wireless-portable-endoscope-x-ray-and-ultrasound-with-stall-side-processing/ or give us a call 📞 on 01738259427 to discuss your horse's veterinary care with us.
Success Story!
Look at this handsome chap 🤩🥰😍.
This boy was very unwell a few weeks ago. The delivery was smooth, and the little guy stood and suckled very quickly. The problems started when the very motherly mare licked his umbilical stump too enthusiastically and caused a bleed.
This bleed resulted in the little colt foal going into shock due to the blood lost. He was very unwell indeed.
However, after a blood transfusion, donated by his own mum, and a plasma transfusion it was like a switch was turned on - he was instantly improved.
However, now this little guy would be very prone to an infection, so antibiotics were started.
We are delighted to share with you this video - he’s well and truly back to being fighting fit!!
Remember to get in touch with anything related to your foal and foaling. Early intervention means chance of success is much more likely.
For helpful tips and advice, visit our website:
https://www.perthequinevets.com/stud-medicine/:
Equine Influenza
Competition season is in full swing and as a result it is important to discuss equine influenza again.
With the success of the Covid-19 vaccination programme being rolled out, understanding has improved on the benefits of vaccination in general, but also equine influenza.
The flu virus spreads in water droplets so can spread in the air - so just because your horse doesn’t go anywhere, doesn’t mean it is safe from flu. To protect your own horse, and also protect others in the form of herd immunity, it is important to get horse vaccinated.
Flu can cause respiratory symptoms such as:
⁃ Coughing lasting 6 weeks in some cases
⁃ Fever
⁃ Nasal discharge
⁃ Inappetence
If you have any questions regarding vaccination in horses in general then please do get in touch - if you are worried about previous vaccine reactions then we can take steps to reduce this - just let us know and we will help!
Thank you to MSD Animal Health for this video.
One year ago today since the first pick up was collected from Write On Signs after the branding was done 😍🤩🥳.
(Sadly there are a few dents and scratches since this day 🤣)
#timeflieswhenyourehavingfun
#memories
#oneyeartoday
Clipping your horse?
Many horses are not keen on the noise and vibration of the clippers.
You can try building up to the big clippers with the head of an electric toothbrush running over their body then once they are comfortable with that move on to small trimmers and eventually, the big ones.
Once you’re ready to start removing hair make sure their coat is clean and dry or your clippers will get clogged up quickly and overheat.
There are various methods of sedation for clipping with sedation, some products given by mouth and for the most scared you may need intravenous sedation by a vet.
Feel free to give us a call for advice: 📞 01738259427.
October’s Top Tips
We will share a tip every day to help you keep your horse as happy and healthy as possible.
Train your horse to accept worming syringes
Some horses are difficult to worm; the wormer tastes horrible and they spit it all out down your coat!
Sound familiar?
It doesn’t need to be so stressful for you both. Ask us to show you how to retrain your horse when we are out anyway for other reasons.
We use clicker training principles - first get your horse used to the seeing the syringe. When he is relaxed, click and then reward with a scratch or a sweetie. Do not progress to the next step until he is happy with the syringe.
Next, touch the horse’s muzzle with the syringe. Do not remove the pressure until he is relaxed. Click; then reward with a sweetie. Repeat as long as it takes.
Next touch the syringe to the lips. Repeat as above.
Next part the lips with your fingers. Repeat as above.
Next pop the syringe between the lips. Repeat as above.
When your horse is relaxed and tolerating the syringe between the lips, the plunger can be depressed and the wormer given. Lift the head slightly to avoid the spitting out and reward with a sweetie.
Please note, this may take 30 seconds, or it could take several sessions over many days or several weeks depending on how they react.
Taking the time to train your horse to accept worming and other stressful things will help you both in the long term.
https://youtu.be/S_e1L43x9oU
🥸Tuesday’s Top Tips - Education Series 🥸
Ultrasound Scanning at Perth Equine Vets
Ultrasound scanning is how we diagnose tendon and ligament injuries in the horse.
It relies on sound waves bouncing off different structures of the limb which allows an image to be built up. We look for fluid, holes and tears of the tendons and ligaments.
In order to achieve a quality image, we must prepare the horse’s limbs thoroughly by clipping and cleaning. We will often prepare both limbs in order to compare to the affected leg.
Ultrasound scanning is not a painful procedure, but some horses require sedation to help them relax and stand still!
Our tendon scanner is wireless and very small, so we are able to scan and get results of images instantly.
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🤓Tuesday’s Top Tips - Education Series - Tools used for a Horse Dental Examination
First the horse will be sedated, and the gag used to keep the horse’s mouth open. The sedation allows the horse’s jaw to relax so the mouth can be opened further.
The mouth is flushed out using a high pressure diastema pump. We then use the magnified mirror to check the occlusal surfaces and the gums for any problems. The pick is inserted into pockets or caries to assess their depth.
We then use a combination of motorised rasps and hand rasps to reduce sharp edges. Different types of rasps allow us to access particular areas of the mouth more effectively.
If diastema are found, these can be picked and flushed out using the pick, forceps and the high pressure pump. Sometimes the diastema are packed or widened to help the gum recover.
After the dental examination is concluded we flush the mouth out again and reassess with the mirror to check we haven’t missed anything.
Most horses will require dental examinations every 6-12 months.
https://youtu.be/06l2V-Ikzgc
🤓Tuesday’s Top Tips - Education Series - Dental Examinations 🤓
Here we are performing a dental examination under sedation. First of all the head is placed on the head stand and the chewing patterns is assessed. There will be lots of forage and feed in the mouth that will be hiding pathology. We flush this out and assess the occlusal surfaces of the teeth and also check the gums for any issues, using a combination of picks and mirrors.
We then reduce sharp points using motorised equipment and hand rasps. We have to be very careful to not take too much off, as that can cause severe pain and also damage the tooth. The back upper molars are really tricky to get to, so we will use an angled hand rasp to reduce sharp points here.
We then flush the mouth out again to ensure no further issues have been missed.
From the time taken, it is easy to see why it is best to sedate horses for their dental examinations. It helps them relax their jaws so we can open the jaw further, and also allows us to take the time to flush out all the food, and see any underlying problems that might not otherwise have been spotted.
Dental examinations should be done every 6 to 12 months depending on the horse.
Subscribe to see our videos first: https://youtu.be/suJbqOvAQrw
🤓 Tuesday’s Top Tips - Education Series 🤓
The physiotherapy assessment process is made up of many different components which build up a detailed clinical picture of your horse and help determine any areas of concern which can be addressed by physiotherapy.
A complete history of the animal will be taken including your specific concerns and goals for physiotherapy. Your horse will be observed standing, moving and walking to allow a thorough movement assessment to be done. Trotting, lunging at walk, trot and canter and ridden assessment may also be indicated depending on each individual case. A ‘head to toe’ palpatory assessment is performed which involves carefully feeling the soft tissues and joints to locate any problem areas. Specifically, the physiotherapist is looking for abnormalities such as pain, tenderness, muscle spasm or fasciculations or swelling.
The physiotherapist will discuss the findings of the assessment with you and agree a physiotherapy plan as appropriate.
