Every season brings its problems and even though we look forward to the long light days, summer is no exception. While the battle to control flies is a visible daily trial at this time of year it’s important to remember about other parasites too such as intestinal worms, pinworm, bots, ticks and summer sores that […]
Category Archives: Vet’s View
Horse health professionals rally to determine best practice as “Equitape” horse wormer to be discontinued from October 2018. From October 2018 the wormer brand, Equitape®, commonly used to treat tapeworm infection will be discontinued from sale in the UK. This wormer is the only licenced product for horses containing praziquantel as a single active ingredient. […]
Horses, unlike human patients, do not always realise when they have to take it easy so it is unfortunately inevitable that when they are injured they will have to be confined on Box Rest. This can be a stressful time for both owner and horse alike especially if your horse was competition fit and “full […]
Hardly a week passes without there being an article in the News about the obesity crisis in the human population. Today’s young people may be the first generation not to have longer lifespans than their parents. There is a huge increase in Type 2 diabetes and obesity is linked to heart disease, numerous types of […]
Horses have evolved to be free roaming grazing animals. Given the option to live this way they will spend about three quarters of their time with their heads down and will be continually on the move albeit slowly, as they search for the tastiest grass. As a result of this evolutionary fact, the respiratory system […]
How closely does your veterinary surgeon work with your farrier? In my opinion this relationship should be very close indeed. Part of my responsibility as a vet in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (many years ago!) was to ensure that the qualifications of the Army farriers were in line with those offered by the Colleges […]
Since I have been working at KBIS as their Veterinary Advisor it has struck me how many claims we see for gastric ulcers. It has made me wonder what is going to happen to all these horses once their claim for vet’s fees has finished? It has long been recognised that horses, kept in stables […]
Dr Annie Bevin MA Vet MB MRCVS discusses the increasingly common problem of kissing spines and its relationship to saddle fitting and the horse’s way of going. Recently I have been pondering the large amount of claims that we are seeing for kissing spines, or more correctly overriding dorsal spinous processes. Nearly everyone will know […]
I must confess to not having much enthusiasm for dermatology in the early days of my career but over the years I have spent considerable time dealing with skin conditions and I think the horse’s skin is regularly overlooked and perhaps the most forgotten organ of the body. The skin provides a first line physical barrier […]
The horse’s skin is perhaps the most forgotten organ of the body. The skin provides a first line barrier against infections and plays a role in heat regulation and electrolyte balance through sweating. The general health of our horses is reflected in their skin. A healthy horse will have a glossy coat which shines without […]