Avonvale Equine Practice

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Avonvale Equine Practice

100% Equine Veterinary Practice offering clinic and ambulatory services with a team of experienced, dedicated and compassionate vets 24 hours per day.

Welcome to Avonvale Equine Practice. We are committed to providing high quality veterinary care for horses, ponies and donkeys. Our veterinary and nursing teams have a broad range of equine expertise and enthusiasm and are always available for advice. Based in Ratley, nr Banbury we cover a vast area including Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands. Conven

iently located near the M40 junction 12 we have a fully equipped surgical facility as well as up to date mobile diagnostic equipment. We offer free zone visits for routine appointments.

19/06/2026

🐴🐴 Blog - Respiratory Problems in Horses 🐴🐴

Horses and ponies can suffer from a number of different respiratory problems. Some, including strangles and equine influenza (equine flu) are infectious. Others, such as equine asthma are not infectious and are triggered by allergens.

Take a look at our informative blog which outlines some of the symptoms of respiratory problems, as well as the causes of respiratory diseases in horses.

https://www.avonvaleequine.co.uk/blog/respiratory-problems-in-horses/

17/06/2026

⭐⭐ Dentistry using Oroscope ⭐⭐

Did you know that Avonvale Equine have a highly trained team of vets who perform routine and more advanced dentistry on a daily basis?

In addition to an oral assessment with a dental mirror we can perform oroscopic examinations to better assess the mouth where needed. An oroscopic examination allows better visualisation of areas of concern, particularly at the back of the mouth, and can be used in patients of all shapes and sizes.

Pictured is Edward following his oroscopic assessment where vet Claire was able to get a better view of some areas of concern at the back of his mouth.

The selection of oroscopic images show the types of things we can see more clearly with the oroscope, enabling better management of painful conditions.

If you have any questions about equine dentistry or would like your horse to have an oroscopic assessment please call reception on 01295 670501.

15/06/2026

⭐⭐ Monthly Theme - Breathing ⭐⭐

Diagnosing common breathing problems:

The clinical signs seen in respiratory cases can initially be similar for multiple of the different possible causes of breathing problems so further investigations are needed to get to the bottom of the problem.

Our clinical exam as discussed previously helps us narrow down the list of problems as a first step and can help guide us towards which tests are necessary next.

A rebreathing bag can be used as a tool when we are listening to the lungs with our stethoscope. We place a bin liner over the mouth and nose of the horse for a short amount of time to cause the horse to take a deeper breath when the bag is removed. This can amplify and abnormal sounds in the lungs for us to hear. This is however never performed on a horse who is in respiratory distress.

Blood samples can help us see if there is an infection present by looking at the white blood cells and also assess how the horse is doing overall to see if we need to support them in any other way.

Nasal swabs can be taken and sent to the lab for tests such as PCR and culture to see if there are any infectious agents present.

We can use a respiratory scope- this is a camera that we can feed into the horses nostril under sedation to visualize the nasal cavity, guttural pouches, larynx, trachea and down into the bronchioles of the lungs. We can use this to see any inflammation, abnormal discharge, masses or anatomical abnormalities for example. In addition the scope can also help us take samples from the guttural pouches ( useful for strangles tests), the trachea and deeper down in the bronchioles of the lungs ( useful for asthma and the other possible problems). The samples obtained here can be cultured and looked at under the microscope to assess what types of cells are present- is there infection? Inflammation? Changes to the respiratory cells?

If allergies are suspected we can perform a blood or intradermal skin test to assess this and help develop immunotherapy to treat the problem.

If you horse is showing signs of breathing problems do not hesitate to get in touch to speak to one of our vets on 01295 670501. We are now offering late appointments - fit in a check after your working day.

11/06/2026

⭐⭐ Blog - The Use of an Oroscope in Equine Dentistry ⭐⭐

Take a look at this informative blog, which explores the key benefits of using an oroscope, as well as how it is used to examine horses.

Visit our website - https://www.avonvaleequine.co.uk/blog/equine-oroscope/

At Avonvale Equine, we have wealth of experience in equine dentistry and our vets regularly use the oroscope to assist with dental cases.

If you'd like more information, give us a call and speak to one of our experienced vets on 01295 670501.

10/06/2026

⭐⭐ Preparing your donkey for a veterinary examination ⭐⭐

Vet visits can be confusing and daunting for both horses and donkeys alike, no matter what it is we are visiting them for. Even for routine visits they are taken out of there normal routine and asked to stand still for procedures they are likely to find strange.

As an owner there are some things you can do to try and prepare your donkey for a veterinary visit to make it a calmer experience for them. It is especially important to prepare your donkey to accept veterinary treatment should they become sick and need emergency treatment.

Here are some top tips:

👉 Performing the veterinary exam in a familiar and comfortable environment with their friend present is key.
👉 Practice grooming them tied up in a new place or with a new person/ multiple people present- ensuring they are comfortable being touched all over.
👉 Try adapting your routine in small ways- like catching them and grooming them at different times of the day for example.
👉 Little things like ensuring they are used to having their feet picked up and changing the order in which you pick them up.
👉 Touching them around the head and mouth is helpful to prepare them for a dental exam- even though donkeys often aren’t ridden and don’t wear a bridle- routine dental care is still a very important part of their care.
👉 Getting them use to plastic gloves, new smells and sounds.
👉 Use positive reinforcement, take your time, be patient and kind and break down your training into small achievable steps

Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about helping your donkey get ready for a vet visit.

08/06/2026

⭐⭐ Monthly Theme - Breathing ⭐⭐

Initial clinical exam:

When attending a call to see a horse who is having breathing problems, after speaking with you about their history we will do a clinical exam. This includes taking a heart and respiratory rate, listening to the lungs with a stethoscope, taking a temperature and looking at the horses gums to check they are normal. We will also look to see if the horse has any nasal discharge and at their general demeanor. Further tests can then follow after this basic check.

What is normal?

👉 Heart rate: 28-44 beats per minute
👉 Respiratory rate: 8-16 breaths per minute
👉 Temperature: 37.5-38.5 degrees Celsius
👉 Clear sounding lungs on auscultation
👉 Pale pink, moist gums with a capillary refill time between 1 and 2 seconds.
👉 A small amount of clear discharge from the nose can be normal

What is abnormal?

👉 A high respiratory/ heart rate/ Temperature
👉 Swollen lymph nodes
👉 Shallow quick breaths or deep breaths with abdominal effort +/- flaring nostrils
👉 Extending their neck to breathe
👉 Crackling/ wheezing/rasping sounds when listening with a stethoscope and especially if heard with the naked ear.
👉 Dry gums with an increased capillary refill time can indicate that they are dehydrated- change of colour, especially to blue shows us that they are not getting enough oxygen into their blood. Blue gums would be an emergency.
👉 Coughing
👉 Dull or depressed
👉 Decreased or no appetite
👉 Clear nasal discharge that is excessive. Or it can be white, yellow or green.
Exercise intolerance

Common breathing problems:

- Equine asthma
- Infectious diseases such as equine influenza, herpes virus and strangles
- Inflammatory airway disease
- Allergies
- Pneumonia
- Anatomical causes- such as horses who ‘roar’

If you horse is showing signs of breathing problems do not hesitate to get in touch to speak to one of our vets on 01295 670501. We are now offering late appointments - fit in a check after your working day.

06/06/2026

Take a look at our latest Central Horse News article, written by Vet Emily, on Laminitis.

In this article we look at treatments, testing and management.

Turn to pages 10 and 11 of the June/July edition. Should you have any questions on this or any other issue, please don't hesitate to call us on 01295 670501.

03/06/2026

⭐⭐ Body Condition Scoring ⭐⭐

Our vets are currently seeing lots of cases of laminitis.

Many cases of laminitis are caused by equine metabolic syndrome, a condition characterised by insulin dysregulation. Laminitis is a debilitating condition which hugely impacts quality of life, and is particularly dangerous to larger horses.

Maintaining a healthy body condition score reduces the risk of developing equine metabolic syndrome and laminitis. The link below is a super resource from the BHS on how to body condition score your horse to keep them in tip top condition:

https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/horse-health/fat-scoring-horses/

02/06/2026

🐴🐴 Brand Ambassador Update - Katrina Baker 🐴🐴

Here's a lovely update from Katrina and Patch:

I thought it was time for another little update on what we have been up to. Like most, we have been praying for some good amount of rain to soften ground up, is it’s stopped play a little with competitions. Which is good timing as Patch has recently had physio and saddle check to make sure all is in order, which I’m pleased to report it is.

I then thought it would be great to try something new for us both, and we attended Allenshill Showing Show. Admittedly, Patch was feeling extremely enthusiastic about trying something new and decided to throw in a few sneaky leaps and bucks for the judges 😂.. (oopsie). But it was great fun nonetheless and we did come home with a frilly still!

We have been doing quite a bit of in hand work and hacking and now the rains come, will be looking at some competitions in the not too distant future. We also have a fun ride in the pipelines which is always a massive favourite of mine.

We will be sure to keep you posted on our outings.

01/06/2026

⭐⭐ New Monthly Theme - Breathing ⭐⭐

This month we will be covering breathing!

Here are the topics we will discuss:

- Common breathing problems, clinical signs and our initial exam
- Diagnosing common breathing problems
- Managing a horse with Equine Asthma
- When is a breathing problem an emergency

Look out for our first post next Monday.

If you horse is showing signs of breathing problems do not hesitate to get in touch to speak to one of our vets on 01295 670501. We are now offering late appointments - fit in a check after your working day.

Address

The Churns, Home Farm Drive, Upton
Banbury
OX156HU

Telephone

+441295670501

Website

http://www.avonvaleequine.co.uk/

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