Equicall

15/05/2026

Equicall wishes all horse owners a great weekend 🙌

24/04/2026

We couldn’t let Veterinary Receptionist week pass without reflecting on how grateful we are to Equicomms for providing the most outstanding service to us, our vets, our clinics and horse owners. You show such compassion and are so so much more than just an answering service;
From checking our vets have got home in the middle of the night to reassuring worried owners and getting our vets to the exact right spot - you can fix any problem we throw at you and we would be (quite literally) lost without you.

Huge thanks to Natalie and your wonderful, professional and absolutely awesome team 🧡

18/04/2026

Our team welcome this important step in antibiotic stewardship and are grateful for the work that has gone into creating these new guidelines.

As vets working in emergency conditions we regularly face challenging situations regarding appropriate use of antibiotics and will find the robust support in decision making out on the road very helpful.

📰 Stop press! Our CVS Equine and Axiom Vet Labs teams have developed a comprehensive set of new antimicrobial use guidelines to support responsible, evidence based antimicrobial use across our 22 equine practices in the UK. 🐎💊

They represent a major step in CVS Equine’s ongoing commitment to antimicrobial stewardship, clinical excellence and the wider One Health agenda 🌍 .

The decision to develop formal prescribing guidance followed an antimicrobial stewardship workshop, where clinicians across our equine division agreed that practical, evidence informed resources would support our vets in making effective and responsible prescribing decisions.

The project has since encompassed contributions from specialists, advanced practitioners and experienced clinicians from across CVS Equine to ensure the guidelines reflect current best practice, based on a blend of published literature 📚, expert opinion, and varied practical clinical experience.

The guidelines are scientifically robust and grounded in real world equine practice. They contain succinct, practically relevant information to help vets make confident, evidence informed prescribing decisions covering 16 core clinical areas.

Content includes; key principles in decision making, myth busting, optimising culture results, clinical scenarios; a comprehensive antimicrobial drugs table; and, underlying principles explaining the rationale behind each recommendation.

👏 Huge thanks to everyone involved for their collaboration, expertise and leadership in this vital area of equine practice.

17/04/2026

Due to a recent surge in demand for Equicall services all over the UK (and despite having recently recruited a further five vets in the last month) we are still looking to employ experienced equine vets in a few geographical areas to help match demand.

We are a vibrant expanding team of equine vets who have a passion for emergency work working on a one week on, one week off basis.

We have a wide range of specialists with varied clinical interests within the team supporting each other throughout the working week.

We work flexibly and cohesively to deliver the best service possible to our partner practices within our network across the UK.

We enjoy formal and informal Teams meetings every other week to discuss interesting cases and to catch up on other non clinical interests (we have a lot of runners on the team currently!) and are super excited for extremely popular annual Team Distance Challenge which is hosted by Equicall in May.

If it sounds like something that might suit you feel free to send an enquiry via our website or send an email to [email protected]
We’d love to match you up with a clinical role with us:

https://equicall.co.uk/contact-us/

14/04/2026

06/04/2026

When you’ve an itch that you’ve just got to scratch!

Believe it or not many of the equine emergencies that our dedicated out of hours vets deal with are actually parasite related…

Some conditions triggered by parasites can actually masquerade as other more serious conditions often providing quite the conundrum for our vets!

This can include:

🪰 Maggots in the sheath causing intense irritation and leading to tail swishing, kicking and other unsettled behaviour which can often look like colic to an owner

🦗Sheep Keds can end up on horses (especially those grazing in the same fields as deer). These little critters can be hard to spot but can cause horses to thrash around as they would if they had a twist in their gut

🪱 Pinworm can cause intense itching and often lead to horses repeatedly rubbing their bottoms on stable doors or fencing

🦟 Leg mites / Feather mites can cause constant kicking and irritation in the horse which can often be confused with the pawing signs horses often display with colic

👀 Our vets often get called out to deal with sore eyes and even corneal abrasions caused by excessive rubbing due to lice or Sweet Itch cause by midges

Thankfully our vets are exceptional detectives when it comes to determining the root of the behaviour and figuring out the most appropriate treatment. It is often a huge relief to everyone when a quick sheath clean is all that is needed!

That being said we don’t underestimate the distress that many parasites cause and an out of hours visit is always justified if a horse is distressed with itchiness or any other kind of irritation - getting your horse comfortable, no matter what the cause, is what means the most to us!

Our vets have been whizzing around all over the UK attending all sorts of emergencies this Easter weekend and are delighted to be seeing some cracking foals too! We hope everyone enjoys the rest of the Easter break 🐣

03/04/2026

An absolute pleasure to support the hard working equine vet teams around the UK this Easter weekend!
We’re grateful to be able to pick up the ‘on call’ baton with our dedicated team of enthusiastic vets (and then to also pass it back to well rested teams after the Easter break).

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter from all at Equicall 🧡

Happy Easter from all at Bell Equine ! 🐣🌸🌷 A peaceful view of Mereworth, where our horse hospital is based. We hope you enjoy a relaxing Bank Holiday weekend.
We’ll be back on Tuesday, with our HUGE thanks to the hospital team and emergency road vets Equicall caring for urgent cases in the meantime.
Should you need assistance over the long weekend, our emergency team is just a call away.🚨🩺

27/03/2026

With the official start to British Summer Time this weekend the clocks changing may impact some horse’s routines;

- Feeding schedule disruption: sensitive horses may suffer with even minor changes to routine

- Turnout timing changes: increased turnout or new fields may lead to gut imbalances which can contribute to colic

- Medication timings may be disrupted: try to minimise this where possible and ask your vet to help adjust dosing regimes if your timings on the yard are going to be different

- Routine disruption and stress: horses which react to changes in routine should be monitored closely. Prevalence of gastric ulceration will increase in horses who cope badly with routine or diet changes

Even small adjustments in routine can impact some horses in a big way. If your horse doesn’t seem quite right give your vet a call at the earliest opportunity - Equicall vets are on call every day of the year and are on the end of the phone or ready to attend your horse if needed 🐎

15/03/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mothers out there!!
Check out this stunning foal which one of our Equicall vets attended last Spring to ensure both mother and foal were doing well 💫

05/03/2026

Our friends at Sussex Equine Hospital are desperately seeking a foster mare. Please get in touch with them directly if anyone is able to help.

FOSTER MARE NEEDED URGENTLY
Please call - 01903 883050 (Sussex Equine Hospital) please share

04/03/2026

Preparing for Foaling?

Are you expecting a new arrival soon? Here are some top tips to help you get ready for a smooth and safe foaling experience:

🐴 Prepare the foaling area
Create a clean, spacious environment with a deep straw bed and access to plenty of fresh water.

👀 Check regularly
Frequent check-ins are essential as your mare gets closer to foaling.

🔍 Watch for behaviour changes
Restlessness, discomfort, or unusual behaviour can signal that foaling could be approaching.

🍼 Look for waxing teats
If you notice any running milk, contact your vet for advice.

🧰 Prepare a foaling kit
Include essentials such as:
• Tail bandage
• Scissors
• Gloves
• Clean water buckets
• Iodine/navel spray
• Clothes you don’t mind getting messy!

🎥 Set up a camera - Lots of people find this useful..
A foaling camera can give you peace of mind and help you monitor your mare without constant disturbance.

⚠️ If something doesn’t seem right contact your vet immediately. Foaling complications are an emergency. If you’re concerned at any stage, contact your vet timing is critical for the wellbeing of both mare and foal.

As always if you need us we are available 24/7 and our vets are happy to offer advice and guidance should you need it

📞 01443 225010
📩 [email protected]