EQUINE INFORMATION
PACK
Greenside Farm
St.Boswells
Melrose
TD6 0AJ
Tel: 01835 823257 Fax: 01835 822170
email: vetinfo@greensidevetpractice.co.uk
www.greensidevetpractice.co.uk
The practice is open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 7pm . Our contact number is 01835 823257
and all emergency and routine bookings and/or enquiries should be made through this
number. Outside of these hours we provide a full 24 hour emergency cover using a dedicated
veterinary emergency answering service. The practice has fully mobile digital ultrasound and
radiography, dental expertise, upper airway and oesophageal endoscopy. Evaluations and
treatment can be undertaken both at your yard or at the surgery.
In depth lameness evaluations, Artificial Insemination, referral dental work and most surgical
procedures are performed at the surgery.
The Clinic has 3 matted boxes, and a purpose built surgical unit, with an additional ICU for
foal care. Nursing care is provided alongside all cases and treatment. If your horse has special
requirements whilst being hospitalized this catered for on your request.
If you have any questions at all regarding our Equine Services please phone the practice
on 01835 823257 and speak to either Ben or Gayle.
Greenside Veterinary Practice
Welcome
Greenside Veterinary Practice’s
Equine Vet Team
Ben Sturgeon BSc (hons) BVM&S Cert EP MRCVS qualified from the Royal Dick Vet in 1996 before undertaking an internship in Equine Medicine at Universi-ty College Dublin Vet School. On returning to the Royal Dick he complet-ed a residency and lectureship in Equine Mcomplet-edicine and surgery. He then worked in first opinion and referral practice becoming head equine sur-geon and senior partner in 2005. Ben completed further certification at the Royal Dick and is a registered FEI vet and attended the 2012 Olym-pics and ParalymOlym-pics in a professional capacity. He has worked with all levels of horses from hairy ponies, 4*advanced eventers and international performance and racehorses.
He is an advocate for sensible, cost-benefit oriented investigations and treatment. Ben welcomes all enquiries with an open mind.
Kirsty Nunn our new equine groom joined the practice in August 2013. Kirsty has a long list of riding achievements and will be assisting Ben in all equine areas.
Greenside Veterinary Practice
Equine First Opinion and Referal Services
Vaccinations (Jockey Club and FEI regulated) with Microchipping.
Pre-purchase examinations: 2 stage, 5 stage and insurance vetting's
Dental work : Routine teeth rasping including the use of motorised equipment Molar, incisor and wolf teeth extractions
Correction of diastema
Full documentation
Lameness Examination: Digital X-Ray, tendon scanning, nerve and joint blocks Laminitis evaluation and treatment
Some fracture repairs
Back investigations and treatment
Fertility work: Pre breeding checks and pregnancy scanning Assessment and treatment of sub-fertile mares AI with chilled and frozen semen
Routine surgical treatments : Castrations including treatment of Rigs Sinus trephination
Enucleation
Treatment of sarcoids
Complex Surgical Treatments: Kissing Spines Osteitis
Sinus surgery
Assessment of skin problems: Allergy and sweet itch immunotherapy Ringworm culture
Investigation of weight loss, chronic colic, liver and kidney disease, acute and chronic coughing, poor performance, gastrointestinal disease.
Investigation of Respiratory problems: Endoscopy including Tracheal washes and BAL (lung wash)
In house laboratory for Haematological evaluations, faecal egg counts and fungal cultures.
Greenside Veterinary Practice
Equine Services
In addition to these detailed services Greenside Vets offer specific packages to suit clients indi-vidual requirements:
Yard dental days: No callouts, all rasping and therapies done on site - £60 per horse.
Sports Horse Programmes: This is a scheme aimed at competitors needing premium level of care where optimum performance is a must. Please see the enclosed sheets for more information.
Equine Geriatric horse packages: Designed for older horses or just those no longer in work, takes care of all routine and preventative healthcare.
Artificial Insemination and Brood Mare schemes: The practice offers two schemes for natural and artificial insemination. These provide full veterinary services during the breeding cycles until the mare is confirmed in foal.
Back examinations and Acupuncture: Hugely successful back manipulation often remedying seemingly unrelated issues. Acupuncture taps into the bodies own healing ability .
Yard and individual worming schemes : Based on faecal egg counts we offer sensible year long advice to all owners.
Regular Equine Health Talks/Newsletters: Please register your address and email address so we can keep you informed when these are going on.
Greenside Veterinary Practice Equine Services
SPORTS HORSE PROGRAMME
The programme is aimed at intermediate and high level performers where optimum results are required throughout the competition season. The aim is to identify, prevent and treat early or subclinical disease providing peace of mind and competition longevity.
The scheme provides:
FEI and Jockey Club regulated vaccines (Influenza every 6months with or without Herpes)
Resting and exercising ECG evaluation
3 seasonal ultrasound evaluations of flexor tendons
Resting and post-exercise endoscopy and lung wash
Endoscopy of the oesophagus
3 Seasonal blood evaluations
Twice yearly tooth rasping
Quarterly faecal egg counts
Half price hospitalisation livery if required for any treatment.
The visit fee to your premises is not included, nor any use of sedatives (for dentistry). You can request your visits ( beginning, mid and end season, or after specific competitions) or we can simply contact you at appropriate intervals (decided at your initial consultation). The total package is £600 and is to be paid at the time of enrolling on the scheme.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the surgery.
Greenside Veterinary Practice Equine Services
YARD DENTAL DAYS
Good oral health is not just important in humans, regular dental as-sessment and treatment is vital in horses. Modern diets, equine anato-my and their chewing action, horses are predisposed to the develop-ment of enamel overgrowths and other disorders. These may present as weight loss, quidding, food pouching, colic, biting, head carriage problems, facial swellings, and discharges. Evaluation of every horses mouth whether for routine rasping or for assessment of potential prob-lems need to be thorough. Treatment needs to be more than cursory rasping. Every facet of the horses mouth needs evaluation. Would you go to your dentist and not expect a full treatment? Our yard dental days offer just that. Full evaluation, full treatment. We like to do a minimum of 4 horses due to the amount of equipment we try to carry for both routine rasping and any more involved cases.
A set fee of £60 includes:
Evaluation, sedation, rasping, wolf teeth and cap removal, provision of a dental chart as well as further advice on any necessary treatments.
The visit can be done for fewer than 4 horses but we will need to apply some element of visit fee. If you are interested or would like to talk to someone please call the surgery.
Greenside Veterinary Practice Equine Services
WORMING MADE SIMPLE
Gone are the days of blanket worming and zero worm tolerance. We advocate disease prevention, promotion of health, prevention of resistance, and cost savings to the horse owner. We achieve this by basing worm policy on Faecal Egg Counts. Our dedicated nurse will attend your yard or stables to collect dung, discuss your current management before providing you with both oral and written results. These are followed up by veterinary advice. Importantly, in the majority of cases this advice is “Do not worm”. Follow up assessments and advice are then organised throughout the year.
FEC’s are charged at £7.50 per horse or £6 where 5 or more samples are supplied. The results can be provided individually with any recommendations or as a Yard Scheme provided to both yard owner/ manager and/or individual clients.
Remember Faecal Egg Counts are beneficial to the horse, reduce resistance, provide field and yard information as well as costing you less.
Greenside Veterinary Practice Equine Services
ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION PACKAGE
We are delighted to be able to offer artificial insemination with chilled or frozen semen for your mare. Pregnancy rates with chilled semen are comparable to those obtained by natural service ( approximate-ly 60% per cycle) but are inherentapproximate-ly lower ( 30—50% per cycle, some take 3-5 cycles to conceive) with frozen semen. Most mares are suitable for chilled semen AI but frozen semen is generally only used in young fertile mares. Please feel free to discuss the suitability of your mare with us. The obvious ad-vantage of frozen semen is that stallions from almost anywhere in the world can be used, whereas chilled semen must be delivered within 24hours of collection, restricting its use to mainly UK stallions. AI has many advantages of natural service but requires more veterinary input than natural service. The costs are higher due to the necessity for a greater number of examinations per cycle, more hormonal manipulations and the cost of collection, processing and transportation of semen. Stallion semen, once frozen and defrosted, has a short life span of 6-12hours. Mares must, therefore, be inseminated within 6hours of ovulation. This lifespan compares with 48hours for chilled semen and 3-5days for fresh se-men. The time of ovulation can be pinpointed by either frequent (every 6 hours) ultrasound scanning of the ovaries during oestrus , or administration of a hormonal implant (Ovuplant or Chorulon) to in-duce ovulation at a fixed time. Insemination is then preformed either when ovulation has occurred, as in the case with frequent scanning, or at a fixed time after the hormonal implant is inserted.
Mares to be inseminated with frozen semen must be resident at the clinic, usually for a number of days, to allow scanning to take place several times daily in order to achieve maximum pregnancy rates. It is also recommended that mares for chilled semen AI are brought into the clinic but this can be done at your premises in certain situations (you must have stocks), when the usual visit fee will apply. We recommend that clients undertake a Pre Breeding check of their mare. The check includes a CEM swab, EVA blood test, vaginal examination, ultrasound examination of the uterus and ovaries, uterine smears.
Insemination packages with fresh, chilled or frozen semen start from £180+ VAT.
The Pre Breeding check includes:
CEM Swab
EVA blood tests
Vaginal examination
Ultrasound examination of uterus and ovaries
Uterine smear and cytology.
PRICE £99.00 + VAT
Artificial Insemination package includes:
All drugs for bringing a mare into oestrus and/or including ovulation
Artificial Insemination
14-16day preg scan
25-30 day scan
Post insemination wash out
Management of twins
All livery charges
PRICE STARTS AT £180 + VAT
Packages do not cover fees associated with clinical problems, for example:
Uterine inflammation/ infection
Post insemination uter-ine lavage (where re-quired)
Persistent diostrus
Caslick/vulvoplasty
The packages do not cover any sedatives required or laboratory fees.
Greenside Veterinary Practice Equine Services
BROOD MARE SCHEMES
In addition to AI work we offer a Brood Mare Scheme for these horses at stud where is can be difficult, as an owner, to know how often your horse is being scanned or if any extra treatment is being undertaken. Of course you can pay for individual therapies but a brood mare scheme may suit you better.
The scheme covers all routine gynaecological procedures to achieve and maintain a pregnancy up to 42 days gestation. The scheme includes;
Uterine swabs/smears
Pre-breeding ultrasound monitoring of ovarian activity
Post covering washouts (inclusive of drugs)
Prostaglandin injections for short cycling
Caslicks procedure where required
Pregnancy scanning at days 14-17, 28-30 and 42.
Twin pregnancy management
Chorulon to aid ovulation
The scheme is limited to three consecutive oestrus cycles and mares which are not eligible to the scheme include those over 15years of age and those that have been covered but remain barren for the previous two years. It is also expected that the owner has (a) protected each mare against Tetanus as a minimum, (b) provided the stud with a current clean CEM certificate, and ( c) will provide the stud manager with a previous breeding history.
The scheme costs £250 plus vat and is to be paid before the commencement of veterinary cover. If you have any questions again please don't hesitate in contacting us.
Greenside Veterinary Practices Equine Services
EQUINE GERIATIC PACKAGE
We are increasingly seeing an ageing population of horses who require careful monitoring and regular health checks
As veterinary surgeons we cannot dispense medication unless your horse has been seen within 6 months, unless it is a new complaint or injury where the horse must be seen for us to make an accu-rate diagnosis and legally prescribe medication.
This package is designed for any horse on long-term medication—where geriatric or just out of work!!
It includes for the year:
2 health checks at 6 month intervals
2 dental exams and necessary treatment
3 worm egg counts (spring/summer/autumn)
Tapewormer in spring (equitape)
Full wormer in winter (equest pramox)
Tetanus vaccinations as required
Visit charges are not included—book on your half price visit day to get best value .This package costs £120+vat. Please contact the surgery for further information about this package or your old horse.
