Western Counties Equine Hospital

22/08/2025

⛔️Warning: Graphic Content ⛔️

LARGE SARCOID REMOVAL ✂️

Larry had a very large sarcoid in his groin. The sarcoid was removed under general anesthesia, but due to the size and the motion in this region, dehiscence of the surgical wound was judged to be likely.

Fortunately, as you can see from these pictures, in the majority of cases even if the sutures dehisce even large wounds can heal very well with appropriate TLC 🫶🏼.

Larry recently returned for electrochemotherapy under general anaesthesia to prevent the sarcoid from returning, and as you can see it has healed perfectly with no signs of recurrence 👌🏼.

16/08/2025

Lauren Aston Dressage having an awesome summer regionals, congratulations!

Good luck at Nationals from the team at WCEH 🤞🏼

16/08/2025

Big congratulations to receptionist Chloe Howard on this superb win 🏆

WCEH employee winning in the WCEH arena 👌🏼

Winner of the 115 Open - Sponsored by Self Storage
Chloe Howard - Rug sponsored by SAS Storage & prizes sponsored by TopSpec & SAS Storage

10/08/2025

⛔️ Graphic content ⛔️

Alfie was presented to Western Counties after tripping on the road where he sustained wounds to the front of his left knee.

The wound was examined and found to have significantly contaminated the exterior Carpi radialis sheath without any joint involvement.

As a result surgical debridement under general anaesthetic was recommended, the wound was flushed, debrided and repaired.

As can often happen at high motion sites the wound repair broke down following removal of a bandage, this was treated with a medical laser which sped up his wound healing and has left him with minimal scarring.

Alfie has now returned to his normal routine and can be found out in the field or out hacking with his owner. 👌🏼

04/08/2025

Meet Rachel Smith 👊🏼

We are thrilled to welcome intern Rachel Smith to the WCEH team.

Rachel is a graduate from the Royal Veterinary College, having completed a previous degree at the university of Nottingham but grew up in Scotland. She has a keen interest in all things internal medicine, foal work and in-patient care.

Outside of work Rachel is a regular runner, having competed for both universities, and enjoys hiking, tennis, travelling and anything outdoors. 🥾 🎾 ✈️

29/07/2025

Happy 10 years from WCEH to one of our head nurses, Vikki Maddox. Vikki was offered a full time job 10 years ago today, having previously been a weekend groom. We are all incredibly lucky to have you 🍾.

Did you know that the only reason Vikki drinks tea now is because when she started at WCEH she had to join in with the nurses morning tea break ☕️ !

28/07/2025

Meet Shadow 🩶In December 2024 the lovely Shadow had neurectomy and fasciotomy surgery for proximal suspensory desmitis. This surgery is a treatment for those horses that have not responded to non surgical options. Surgery under general anaesthesia helps to provide space for healed but slightly enlarged suspensory ligaments close to the hock. With successful rehab, he is now back competing, jumping and galloping. So lovely to see everyone’s happy faces to be back. Well done from everyone here at WCEH 👏🏼✨

19/07/2025

Weaning a mare and foal ⬇️

It’s coming up to the time where you may be starting to think about weaning your mare and foal. Here are some tips:

⏰ TIMING IS KEY
* Foals are typically weaned between 4 and 7 months.
* Foals should be consistently eating suitable hard feed.

🔄 PREPARATION
* Handle the foal regularly from a young age, so they are comfortable with human interaction.
* Gradually introduce hard feed at least a month or two before weaning.
* If possible, plan a suitable companion

❔CHOOSE YOUR METHOD WISELY
* Gradual weaning
Or
* Abrupt (complete) weaning

💯 MAKE A SECURE & SAFE ENVIRONMENT
* Secure fencing
* Small enclosures
* Familiar surroundings

👀 MONITOR CLOSELY
* Monitor the mare’s udder for swelling or pain, that may indicate mastitis (they would usually have a high temperature).
* Make sure the foal maintains good condition and continues to grow.
* Monitor interaction with companion.

10/07/2025

Graphic content ‼️

CRYPTORCHIDISM

A cryptorchid (otherwise known as a rig) is a stallion with one or both testicles that have not descended into the sc***um. They can be located either in the abdomen or in the inguinal region (space between the abdomen and the hind leg). Neither of these places can be accessed with the horse standing, so general anesthesia is required.

Once the horse is anaesthetised an incision is made parallel to the inguinal ring (a natural opening in the abdomen through which the testicle usually descends into the sc***um). If the testicle is in the inguinal region it can then be quickly identified and removed.

If the testicle is in the abdomen, a structure named the vaginal process must be identified first within the inguinal ring. The vaginal process is a structure which usually helps guide the testicle into the sc***um. Once the vaginal process is identified, it can be opened and the testicle is usually located within the process up inside the abdomen. After the retained testicle is removed, the incisions are closed and the descended testicle is removed from the other side.

🤔 If you suspect that your gelding has a retained testicle due to stallion-like tendencies, a simple blood test can determine if a retained testicle is present. Retained testicle should be removed as they produce hormones and can become cancerous.

☎️ Please contact WCEH if you have a stallion with a retained testicle and wish to discuss removal or book in for cryptorchid castration.

30/06/2025

Congratulations to 3 of our clients at Kingston Maurward BE 👏🏼

🥇 Ollie Martin on MIH Pop Socks
🥈 Celia Bellamy on Moughana Star
🥈 Anna Johannson on Camira De Madford

17/06/2025

‼️ Warning: Graphic Content ‼️

Aggressive sarcoid removal ⤵️

This donkey had aggressive sarcoids into his g***s p***s, prepuce, sheath and empty sc***um.

He had an en bloc resection of his p***s, prepuse, sheath and scrotal sac, with a new urethra opening. This is healing very well.

Following this he came in for his electrochemotherapy session, which lowers the chance of sarcoid recurrence from 50% to less than 10%.