REC Equine Specialists Canberra

07/04/2026

🐴 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗣𝗣𝗘) 🐴 Buying a horse is not only an exciting milestone, but also a significant financial commitment. A Pre-Purchase Exam (PPE) is a vital step to ensure transparency, soundness, and suitability for the horse’s intended purpose offering you peace of mind. To schedule a pre-purchase examination in line with the equine veterinary industry (EVA) guidelines with our Canberra veterinary team call 0483 291 860

🔍 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗣𝗘?
A PPE is a comprehensive veterinary assessment that gives a snapshot of a horse’s current health and soundness. It’s not a pass/fail test, more so it’s about informed decision-making based on horses condition at the time of examination.

👨‍⚕️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱?
🔹 Detailed history taking
🔹 Full physical exam – an extensive clinical examination, with focus on the musculoskeletal system
🔹 Gait assessment – examined at walk, trot, turning, backing including flexion tests+/- under saddle
🔹 Optional diagnostic imaging (radiographs, ultrasound, endoscopy)
🔹 Optional Blood tests (drug screening)

🤝 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗣𝗣𝗘:
🔸 Understand the horse’s health and any red flags
🔸 Align expectations with the horse’s capabilities
🔸 Possibly avoid costly surprises post-purchase
🔸 All information gathered during the PPE is confidential and remains the property of the prospective purchaser.

📋 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗣𝗣𝗘𝘀:
🔸 Builds trust and transparency
🔸 Shows good faith in disclosing health history
🔸 Helps match the horse with the right buyer
🔸 May speed up the sale process

19/03/2026

💥 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 (also called laser ablation) is a veterinary technique used to treat various types of skin tumours in horses, such as sarcoids, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanomas. It is often chosen for areas where traditional surgery is difficult or where precision is important.

Laser surgery is typically undertaken in the sedated standing horse, aided by the use of local anaesthesia. A specialised surgical laser is used to cut and vaporize tumour tissue. The laser energy seals blood vessels and nerve endings as it works, reducing bleeding and pain. The laser precisely removes the tumour while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀
🔹Precise: Targets only the tumor, sparing healthy tissue.
🔹Reduced Bleeding: Laser seals blood vessels during treatment.
🔹Lower Infection Risk: Heat sterilises the area as it works.
🔹Less Pain & Swelling: Nerve endings are sealed, improving comfort.
🔹Quick Recovery: Often faster than conventional surgery.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
🔹Requires specialised equipment and training

Call REC Equine Specialists Canberra 0483 291 860 to discuss whether laser treatment is the best treatment option for your horses tumour.

05/03/2026

💡𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 (𝗣𝗗𝗧) is a minimally invasive, adjunctive treatment for tumors in horses. A two-step process that leverages a photosensitising agent plus laser light to selectively destroy residual tumour cells beyond surgical margins.

1️⃣ A photosensitising drug is applied to affected areas (in horse applications it is typically applied to tumour resection beds or the cornea); the drug then accumulates inside cells.

2️⃣ Targeted light exposure – usually from a laser, at a very specific wavelength. This activates the drug thereby producing a highly reactive form of oxygen that:
🔹Destroys cancer cells directly
🔹Damages tumour blood vessels (cutting off supply)
🔹May stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀
🔹Precise treatment modality for tumours affecting delicate/critical tissues often around the eye where excisional therapies alone are of limited utility.
🔹Treatment of resistant tumours

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
🔹Intended to be single therapy but can be repeated
🔹Requires specialised equipment and training

Call REC Equine Specialists Canberra 0483 291 860 to discuss whether PDT is the best treatment option for your horse.

Check back with us soon for the final installment covering laser treatment.

19/02/2026

⚡ 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆 (𝗘𝗖𝗧) is an emerging veterinary cancer treatment offered at REC Equine Specialists Canberra. We recently discussed three common forms of equine skin tumours (sarcoids, melanomas and squamous cell carcinoma), ECT is particularly valuable for these skin and subcutaneous tumours that are difficult to remove surgically or are in sensitive locations.

ECT combines a chemotherapy drug (often a platinum based drug) with short, high‑intensity electrical pulses to make tumour cell membranes temporarily more permeable. This boosts the drug’s uptake into cancer cells, allowing it to work far more effectively at lower doses.

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀
🔹Higher local drug effectiveness with lower systemic toxicity
🔹Minimally invasive/Shorter recovery time post intervention
🔹Useful for tumours resistant to other treatments

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
🔹Multiple sessions typically needed for best results
🔹Works best on small to medium‑sized tumours
🔹Requires specialised equipment and training
🔹Horses typically require a short anaesthetic to allow procedure to be performed

Call REC Equine Specialists Canberra 0483 291 860 to discuss whether electrochemotherapy is the best treatment option for your horse.

Follow us for more insight into additional treatment options.

05/02/2026

🟣 SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (SCC)
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗮 (𝗦𝗖𝗖)? A common and potentially aggressive cancer in horses, primarily affecting eyelids, ge***al areas, or mucocutaneous junctions. Particularly prevalent in non or lightly pigmented areas. Carcinoma is caused by exposure to carcinogens (cancer inducing agents) such as sunburn. Horses here in Australia are at greater risk due to our stronger sun. This risk factor is similar to that form human skin cancers.

🧬 Diagnosis: Clinical examination by an experienced veterinarian, a biopsy or fine needle aspiration (using a fine needle to collect cells) may also be taken for histopathological analysis.

⚕️SCC treatment can include:
🔸 Surgical removal
🔸 Electrochemotherapy
🔸 Photodynamic therapy
🔸 Cryosurgery
🔸 Radiation
🔸 Topical & intralesional treatments

Check back soon where will discuss the various skin tumor treatment options offered by REC Equine Specialists Canberra.

🐴 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛. 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒.

22/01/2026

🟣MELANOMA
What is equine melanoma? Equine melanoma is a skin cancer commonly diagnosed in grey horses, although it can occur in horses of any color. It initially manifests as isolated small, black, dome-shaped bumps, often found under the tail, around the a**s, in ge***al regions, on the lips, and eyelids. Melanomas are generally slow-growing tumors and while they are initially considered benign, disease is progressive with age and they can become malignant and metastasize to other parts of the body, particularly in solid-colored horses. At this stage tumour masses are typically confluent and occupy large areas of a horse’s body.
Unlike in people, melanoma in horses is not caused by exposure to UV light. Melanoma in grey horses is linked to a genetic change where a section of their DNA is copied too many times. This happens in two specific genes called STX17 and NR4A3 which regulate the production/maturation of melanin formation.

🧬 Diagnosis: Clinical examination by an experienced veterinarian. A biopsy or fine needle aspiration (using a fine needle to collect cells) may also be taken for histopathological analysis. Ultrasound, endoscopy and re**al palpation are used to look for internal masses.

⚕️Melanoma treatment can include:
🔸 Surgical removal and reconstruction
🔸 Laser ablation
🔸 Photodynamic therapy
🔸 Local chemotherapy
🔸 Electrochemotherapy
🔸 Radiation therapy.
Our advice is the same as with sarcoids. Treat them when they are small – surgical removal is easy and locally curative so there is little point in waiting!

Don’t miss our next update—we’ll cover a third type of skin tumour seen in horses.

🐴 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛. 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒.

08/01/2026

🟣 SARCOIDS - 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙨, 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗱𝘀? Sarcoids are the most common skin tumors in horses believed to represent ~approx. 36% of all equine skin tumours. Sarcoids are locally invasive tumours and share similarities with fibrosarcomas. They affect all breeds and can occur at any age. They are strongly associated with the presence of bovine papillomavirus (BPV) transmitted from cows or affected horses via flies, but a genetic predisposition may also play a role in the horses’ susceptibility. Often for them to develop/appear a prior break in the skin is required allowing the virus access to deeper layers, replicate and express tumour mass inducing proteins. Just like human papilloma viruses causing wart formation, horses can also be afflicted by equine specific papillomavirus. This condition however is often self-limiting as affected animals are young and build up immunity.

Sarcoids can present as small lumps or larger masses on the head, face, chest and groin but really can develop anywhere on the body. They may interfere with tack, cause irritation or disturb normal function particularly when they are around the eye. The main types of sarcoids are: verrucose, occult, nodular, fibroblastic or mixed.

🧬 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀: For an accurate diagnosis of sarcoids your horse should undergo a detailed clinical examination by an experienced veterinarian with experience in recognising and treating all sarcoid types. Often the clinical appearance is sufficient to make an accurate diagnosis but a biopsy or fine needle aspiration (using a fine needle to collect cells) may be needed for histopathological analysis.

⚕️ 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
🔸 Surgical removal
🔸 Placement of local chemotherapy beads
🔸 Electrochemotherapy
🔸 Radiation therapy
🔸 Photodynamic therapy
🔸 Cryosurgery
🔸 Immunostimulant/modulatory injections
🔸 Topical creams
Most importantly once stimulated such as with an ineffective treatment, from rubbing/irritation or via a biopsy, sarcoids can change their behaviour and become more rapidly growing. Therefore, it is important to stay committed and see things through once treatments are initiated. It is also known that treatment is likely more successful when tumours are small and there is only one. Bottom line and best approach – do not ignore them!

Follow along and check back for our next post where we’ll spotlight another common equine skin tumour!

🐴 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛. 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑒.

18/12/2025

18/12/2025

Canberra clients will spot some familiar faces from our clinic at Capricorn Park 😊

10/12/2025

𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

REC Equine Specialists Canberra offers the latest gait analysis systems, these are used alongside a thorough veterinarian examination and can;

🔹Detect subtle gait abnormalities
🔹Identify changes in movement patterns over time to aid rehabilitation
🔹Recognise uneven weight distribution or stride inconsistencies
🔹Locate Early signs of lameness before they become clinically obvious
🔹Optimise your horse’s wellbeing & performance

The 𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 uses AI to analyse over 100 anatomical points on a horse to detect subtle gait irregularities, enabling early identification and effective management of lameness. Its markerless app provides veterinarians and equine professionals with scientifically validated objective data for informed health and performance decisions.

The 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 uses inertial sensors to measure a horse’s movement with sub-millimeter accuracy, providing real-time, objective data to locate and assess lameness backed by decades of veterinary research.

Other diagnostics offered to identify possible reasons for lameness or poor performance include:
🔸 Digital x-ray
🔸 Ultrasound
🔸 Upper Airway & Gastric video-endoscopic equipment,
🔸 Dynamic (Overground) Video Endoscopy - Assess airway function during exercise
🔸 Blood Work - Detect inflammation, infection, or metabolic imbalances
🔸 Computed Tomography (CT) – offered at our Horsley Park hospital
🔸 Nuclear scintigraphy (bone scan) – offered at our Horsley Park hospital

05/12/2025