Whitchurch Equine Veterinary Practice

06/02/2024

CHANGES IN VACCINATION RULES FOR 2024:

Since the beginning of 2024 your Competition body (FEI, BSJA, BE, BD or Pony Club) may have changed their Vaccination protocols following advice from the British Equestrian Federation (BEF).


From 1st January 2024 the interval between primary vaccinations and the first booster vaccination has changed.

Any horse or pony STARTING or RE-STARTING their vaccination course will now need to follow the following protocol.

Previously correctly vaccinated horses and ponies do not need to restart their vaccination courses!

From 1st January 2024 new Vaccination guidelines:

1st vaccination followed by 2nd vaccination 21 to 60 days later...

Then first booster 150 to 180 days...

Then a subsequent booster EITHER within 6 months (+ 21 days) or 12 months depending on the Competition body.

**Last vaccination should be given at least 7 clear days before entering Competition venue.

24/01/2024

WORMING UPDATE: NEW YEAR, NEW START?

My advice to clients regarding worming is to keep the system as simple as possible…in short SMART worming: SIMPLY, MONITOR worm eggs, ASSESS the RISKS and only TREAT if necessary.

The majority of clients keep their horses and ponies in small ‘closed’ herds, on limited grazing and hopefully, weather permitting, poo pick once or twice weekly...

SO, for these clients I would advice worming once yearly, around December to January, with a wormer capable of eliminating those Over Wintering Parasites… AND then worm count at 14wk intervals, i.e EASTER, mid SUMMER and late AUTUMN.

I would expect, if you are regularly poo picking.... continually removing any worm egg contamination from the paddock.... your horse's poo sample should come back low, anything under 250 eggs per gram, so no need for further worming...

If you are happy with these sequential worm counts confirming ‘freedom’ from roundworm infestation, then the risk of encysted redworm is no longer significant and you could use a combined wormer (Ivermectin plus Praziquantel), as you still need cover against Tapeworm and Bots.

WHY should you change from giving a yearly Equest Pramox? Encysted redworm are larvae which have to mature into adult roundworms and produce eggs to ensure the next generation. If you have few or no roundworm eggs in the poo then you should have a insignificant roundworm population in your horse's environment, encysted or not.

As we are unlikely to develop newer, better wormers we should consider the risks of Equest Pramox over-use, such as potential resistance issues. Equally concerns have been raised about the environmental fall out of such effective wormers leaking into the soil.

So perhaps this year go poo picking and give poo samples a go?

09/01/2024

Calling all owners of SWEET ITCH ponies and horses.
BE Prepared the Sweet itch season will soon be upon us (honestly!)
Despite the recent cold snap, daytime temperatures will soon be rising and with the first hints of dry weather the midges will be out in force!
SWEET ITCH is a chronic, allergic skin condition due to the bites of female Culicoides midges, similar to the flea bite allergies which affect dogs and cats. The injection of midge saliva from the insect bites causes a delayed allergic reaction leading to itchiness, superficial skin damage and characteristic mane and tail hair loss. So although initial exposure may be OK in the first year, the following year(s) when exposed to midges again the allergic reaction is increased and over a more prolonged period. Some horses and ponies can suffer sweet itch reaction nearly all year unfortunately.
Over the last few years I have been advocating that the use of a licensed Equine Ringworm Vaccine which may offer SOME help to MILD Sweet Itch suffers.....though only IN CONJUNCTION WITH the established management practices such as:
* avoidance of midges by turning out 10am-3pm,
*wearing a Midge-proof rug,
*keeping muck heaps away from horses,
*avoiding standing water in fields
*regular use of effective insecticides.
Two injections, two to four weeks apart are given shortly before the Midge season starts in late Feb/ March. Clients have been impressed with their horse's response... enough even to ask to use the vaccine again!
HOWEVER the vaccine unfortunately seems to ineffective in really chronic Sweet Itch cases.
Please call me on 07795975705 to discuss whether your pony or horse might benefit from these vaccinations.

19/04/2023

SYCAMORE POISONING: An Ever Present Danger!

The toxin responsible for atypical myopathy is also contained in sycamore seedling (Acer pseudoplatanus or Maple tree). Currently, there are large number of sycamore seedlings coming through.

So, it is imperative that horses, ponies and donkeys avoid ingesting them. To help this monitor your pasture to for these seedlings.

The spring outbreak has started and the number of cases of atypical myopathy has increased in recent days both here and in Europe. The following advice is given by a group of researchers at the University of Liege (http://www.myopathie-atypique.be)

Their advice is as far as possible:
- temporarily limit access to pastures containing sycamore seedlings (or at least avoid areas where seedlings are present in large numbers);
- limit pasture time to a few hours a day (the majority of clinical cases grazed more than 6hrs per day);
- whenever possible, feed the animals HAY before putting them in the meadow;
- organize the rotation of pastures to offer sufficient grazing to avoid animals hoovering up 'alternative feeds' (PONIES ON STARVATION PADDOCKS ARE MOST AT RISK);
- do not place food (hay or other) on the ground;
- try to destroy the seedlings as early as possible by mowing, harrowing (cutting/ break the cotyledons of the seedlings should kill them) and/ or burn them. For reasons of environmental protection, avoid chemicals. Be careful, do not offer these pastures right away as it has been shown that even faded seedlings still contain the toxin. Wait until the seedlings have disappeared and the grass have grown; (See: « Pasture Management to Reduce the Risk of Acer pseudoplatanus Poisoning While Preserving Ecological Sustainability ». Open access ttps://doi.org/10.3390/land11081345).
- consider cutting branches of maple trees near pastures to avoid the production of flowers and seeds.
- The toxins pass into the milk and could pose a risk to unweaned foals.

Photo Sycamore seedlings courtesy AVRIL – PHOTO DV

31/01/2023

Calling all owners of SWEET ITCH ponies and horses.

BE Prepared the Sweet itch season will soon be upon us (honestly!)
Despite the recent cold snap, daytime temperatures will soon be rising and with the first hints of dry weather the midges will be out in force!

SWEET ITCH is a chronic, allergic skin condition due to the bites of female Culicoides midges, similar to the flea bite allergies which affect dogs and cats. The injection of midge saliva from the insect bites causes a delayed allergic reaction leading to itchiness, superficial skin damage and characteristic mane and tail hair loss. So although initial exposure may be OK in the first year, the following year(s) when exposed to midges again the allergic reaction is increased and over a more prolonged period. Some horses and ponies can suffer sweet itch reaction nearly all year unfortunately.
Over the last few years I have been advocating that the use of a licensed Equine Ringworm Vaccine which may offer SOME help to MILD Sweet Itch suffers.....though only IN CONJUNCTION WITH the established management practices such as:
* avoidance of midges by turning out 10am-3pm,
*wearing a Midge-proof rug,
*keeping muck heaps away from horses,
*avoiding standing water in fields
*regular use of effective insecticides.
Two injections, two to four weeks apart are given shortly before the Midge season starts in late Feb/ March. Clients have been impressed with their horse's response... enough even to ask to use the vaccine again!
HOWEVER the vaccine unfortunately seems to ineffective in really chronic Sweet Itch cases.
Please call me on 07795975705 to discuss whether your pony or horse might benefit from these vaccinations.

01/11/2022

ALERT: SYCAMORE POISONING

I have had my first case for several years of ATYPICAL MYOPATHY (Sycamore poisoning). We may be in for a problem winter with the unseasonal summer followed by a warm and wet autumn affecting grass growth.

All parts of the Sycamore tree (Acer pseudoplatanus); the seedheads, the leaves and the saplings appear toxic. However some trees appear less toxic than others and we have no easy way of determining which yours might be!

In short, go check your paddocks. If you can easily see Sycamore seedheads amongst your grass you MAY have an issue.

There is NO antidote.....however studies have shown the feeding of HAY seems to be protective.. probably by lessening the urge of ponies or horses to have to hoover up everything in the paddock.

Further advice is available at whitchurchequine.co.uk under Health Advice

28/01/2022

WINTER WORMING ADVICE
My take on worming is to keep the system as simple as possible…
The majority of clients keep their horses and ponies in small ‘closed’ herds, on limited grazing and poo pick once or twice weekly...
SO, for these clients I would advice worming once yearly, around December to January, with a wormer capable of eliminating the so called over wintering parasites… TAPEWORM, ENCYTSTED REDWORM, BOTS (and any roundworms still brave enough to face our winter!)
SO, use EQUEST PRAMOX…
AND then worm count at 14wk intervals, so EASTER, mid SUMMER and late AUTUMN. I would expect, if you are regularly poo picking, your horse's poo sample to come back low, anything under 250 eggs per gram, so need no further worming...
SO after a couple of years and you are happy with worm counts confirming ‘freedom’ from roundworm infestation, then you can downgrade from the Equest Pramox to a combined wormer (Ivermectin plus Praziquantel) as the risk of encysted redworm is no longer significant but you still need cover against Tapeworm and bots.
WHY should you change? Encysted redworm have to mature into adult roundworms and lay eggs to produce the next generation. If you have no roundworm eggs in the poo then you have little or no roundworm population in your horse, encysted or not.
We are unlikely to develop newer, better wormers than Equest Pramox and should consider the risks of it’s over-use of leading to potential resistance issues.

17/01/2022

Calling all owners of SWEET ITCH ponies and horses.

BE Prepared the Sweet itch season will soon be upon us (honestly!)
Despite the deluge of winter rain, daytime temperatures are still reasonable so with the first hints of dry weather the midges will be out in force!
SWEET ITCH is a chronic, allergic skin condition due to the bites of female Culicoides midges, similar to the flea bite allergies which affect dogs and cats. The injection of midge saliva from the insect bites causes a delayed allergic reaction leading to itchiness, superficial skin damage and characteristic mane and tail hair loss. So initial exposure may be OK but the following year(s) when exposed to midges again the allergic reaction is increased and prolonged. Some horses and ponies can suffer sweet itch reaction nearly all year unfortunately.
Over the last seven years I have been advocating that the use of a licensed Equine Ringworm Vaccine which may offer SOME help to MILD Sweet Itch suffers.....though only IN CONJUNCTION WITH the established management practices such as:
* avoidance of midges by turning out 10am-3pm,
*wearing a Midge-proof rug,
*keeping muck heaps away from horses,
*avoiding standing water in fields
*regular use of effective insecticides.
Two injections, a month apart, to be started shortly, before the Midge season starts in February. Clients have been impressed with their horse's response... enough even to ask to use the vaccine again!
HOWEVER the vaccine unfortunately seems to ineffective in really chronic Sweet Itch cases.
Please call me on 07795975705 to discuss whether your pony or horse might benefit from these vaccinations.

24/08/2021

Complimentary monitoring blood tests from 'Care about Cushings'.
Those horses and ponies previously diagnosed with Cushings disease are able to access FREE monitoring blood tests under the Care about Cushing's scheme.
It is simple to register for your complimentary monitoring test scheme. All you need do is visit the website www.careaboutcushings.co.uk. and follow the instructions.

Owners will be emailed every 6 months to prompt them to book a review consultation with their vet and receive a complimentary monitoring test voucher annually (to cover the cost of laboratory fees) and be able to access a library of information and downloadable resources to support them in managing their horse's or pony's PPID.

16/03/2021

Sweet Itch update****

I have a couple of doses of Insol vaccine remaining, which has been shown to be helpful in the reduction of clinical signs of Sweet Itch in low to moderately affected ponies and horses.
If any client is interested please contact the practice as soon as possible and certainly before the midges start visiting...

10/02/2021

Just published a few new articles on the website www.whitchurchequine.co.uk covering topics:

* Pastern leukocytoclastic vasculitis which seems to replacing Mud fever as the most annoying skin disease.
* Tapeworm advice and introduction of our 'Equitape' replacement product.
* Advice on Care of the Senior Equine

Whitchurch Equine Veterinary Practice Director: Richard Vile MRCVS Ambulatory Equine Veterinary Practice, covering Hampshire/ Wiltshire and Berkshire Mobile 077 959 757 05 Office 01264 563263 Email [email protected] and Whatsapp Join us on Facebook