Parkside Vets - Equine

14/05/2026

Dear all,
As some of you may know, I’ll be retiring from Parkside Vets on 21st May after 23 wonderful years.
It’s been a privilege to care for your animals and to get to know you over that time—something I will greatly miss. I’m confident the farm and equine team will continue to provide the high standard of care and compassion you expect.
Thank you for your friendship and trust over the years. My work as a rural vet has always felt more like a vocation than a job, and I leave with many happy memories. I look forward to seeing some of you at local shows and events in the future.
Wishing you and your animals all the very best.
Kind regards,
Alistair

24/04/2026

🌟 Celebrating Veterinary Receptionists Week 🌟

As we reach the end of Veterinary Receptionists Week, we want to shine a very well‑deserved spotlight on the incredible reception and office team who keep our practice running smoothly every single day.

They are the first voices you hear, the first faces you see, and often the calm in the middle of the storm. They juggle phone calls, emergencies, insurance forms, worried owners, farm bookings, repeat prescriptions, and a hundred unexpected moments — all while keeping the rest of us organised and on track.
Our reception and office staff are:
• The ones who make sure every animal gets booked in when it matters
• The ones who reassure anxious clients.🐴🐎🐑🐃
• The ones who keep the vets pointed in the right direction (no small task)
• The ones who hold the whole practice together on the busiest days
We simply couldn’t do what we do without them.
To our reception and admin team: thank you — for your patience, your professionalism, your humour, and your absolute dedication to our clients, our animals, and our team. You are the heart of the practice, and we appreciate you more than you know.

03/04/2026

🥚 Easter Opening Hours🥚

We are open as normal over the Easter weekend. Our equine office will close at 5.30pm today and any calls will then be transferred to the out-of-hours service over the weekend.

Remember it will always be one of our own vets that you will see out-of-hours!

We would like to wish all of our clients a very happy Easter!

01/04/2026

Sustainable Parasite Control - why is it important?

Historically, horses were wormed regularly with different classes of wormers to ensure that they did not have a worm burden. Unfortunately, this practice has been shown to be ineffective and unnecessary.

Overuse of the same products for worming animals reduces the effectiveness of the worming medications and encourages the development of resistant worms. Many horses do not require regular worming as approximately 20% of the horses will be carrying 80% of the worms on any given pasture.

The recommended protocol now is:
🐴 3-4 faecal worm egg counts (ideally from March/April to Sept/Oct) and treat as necessary
🐴 Tapeworm saliva or blood test
🐴 Redworm blood test

If you would like to take advantage of our worm egg count scheme, please give us a call on 01382 811111.

31/03/2026

🚨Changes to the Care About Cushings scheme 🚨

As many of you know, Care About Cushings is a great resource regarding Cushings (or PPID) and all it entails! Not only does their website provide a lot of information about the condition and how to spot it; they also run a nationwide diagnostic and monitoring test scheme. Previously, this meant all horses in the UK were entitled to a free blood sample once yearly, at any time.

This has now changed – diagnostic tests (ie a screening test for horses and ponies not already on medication) are now only available through the scheme during their Equine Cushing’s disease awareness months – March, April, September and October. For animals already on medication, their annual monitoring test is still available all year round. There will also be a ‘dose checker’ test available 4-6 weeks after any animal is started on medication.

Please note, although the scheme covers the lab fee, a visit charge and blood sampling fee does still apply. The test is still able to be run at any point of the year, it just means there would be a lab fee charged outwith the March/April and September/October windows, rather than it being part of the scheme.

If you have any questions, or if you think your horse or pony may be showing signs of Cushings, please do not hesitate to contact the office on 01382 811111 or [email protected]

Home page for Care about Cushing's

30/03/2026

🚨 Strangles Alert🚨

Unfortunately we are still seeing cases of Strangles in horses across the region, and across the country.

Strangles is a highly contagious bacterial infection that often causes a fever, purulent nasal discharge and painful, swollen lymph nodes.

While many horses recover quickly, it can spread rapidly and may cause complications in some cases, if not managed correctly.

🐴 What you can do to help avoid Strangles🐴
Isolate new arrivals and any horses showing signs of Strangles or other infectious diseases
Monitor for fever, nasal discharge, or swelling under the jaw.

If you have any queries regarding how best to manage biosecurity or you would like to discuss the Strangvac vaccine, please give us a call on 01382 811111.

Prevention is always better than cure. Stay vigilant and keep your horses safe.

28/03/2026

As horse lovers and owners ourselves, we know how important it is for your horse to be feeling their very best - especially during the competition season.

Whatever the issue might be, from vaccination queries to lameness checks, we are always happy to help you achieve your goals however we can!

Don’t let small issues hold you back, plan ahead and ride with confidence!

Contact us on 01382 811111 and let us know what we can do to help your horse be competition ready this spring

26/03/2026

🐴 Parkside Worm Egg Count Scheme 🐴

We are pleased to announce that our Parkside worm egg count scheme is now live for 2026!

We have frozen our prices so these remain the same as last year, offering you great value on your horse's preventative care.

For a single worm egg count test kit, these are £9.50 per horse. For yards with >10 horses, there is a bulk discount available so these are £7.50 per horse.

Our worm egg count packs now contain 4 kits to be used throughout the year, in line with our new equine health plan - these kits are £38 per horse (£30 at large yard discount price).

We will be offering a tapeworm saliva testing kit later in the year (at additional cost), as these pesky worms are very difficult to detect on a faecal sample!

If you would like to take advantage of our fantastic scheme, please contact us on 01382 811111 and speak to our equine team about ordering your testing packs.

20/03/2026

🌷Hello Spring! 🌷

The first day of spring is here and the air is full of possibility. After a long, wet winter, brighter days are finally on the way!

Longer days mean more time in the saddle, more walks in the sunshine and more moments to enjoy with your horse.

Let’s welcome the season of growth, fresh blooms and a spring in every step, especially your horse’s!

09/03/2026

🚨Announcement🚨

We are pleased to announce that we will be launching our new equine health plan from 1st April 2026. Any of our clients who are on our existing health plan should already have received an email notification, informing you that you will swap over to the new plan from 1st April.

Our new plan costs just £21.00 per month and helps you to spread the cost of preventative healthcare for your horse over 12 months, allowing you to budget appropriately and be proactive about keeping your horse healthy.

Our plan includes the following:
🐴 Annual vaccination and veterinary health check*
🐴 One visit fee per plan year either for annual vaccinations or dental exam
🐴 Annual dental exam including routine rasping and sedation (if required)
🐴 10% off additional routine dental work**
🐴 4 x faecal worm egg counts per plan year
🐴 1 x tapeworm saliva test per plan year
🐴 10% off wormer as recommended by your vet
🐴 10% off selected nutraceuticals and supplements***

* For overdue vaccines, the additional cost for restarting the vaccination course will be payable
** Advanced dental work is not included
*** Stocked in practice

Additional visit charges apply except for the one free visit per plan year either for annual vaccinations or dental exam.

If you would like further information, please visit our website or call 01382 811111.

06/03/2026

We are now approaching the time of year when we classically see cases of laminitis associated with the spring grass.

What are the risk factors for laminitis?
🚨 Cushing's disease (particularly uncontrolled)
🚨 Being overweight or having a high body condition score
🚨 Equine Metabolic Syndrome
🚨 Previous bouts of laminitis
🚨 Being a native breed pony (e.g. Welsh, Connemara, Highland etc)

What can you do to reduce the risk for your horses?
🐴 Increase turnout gradually
🐴 Change diet gradually
🐴 Ensure your horse is at a healthy weight/body condition score
🐴 Avoid turnout during high risk periods (e.g. frosty grass)
🐴 Have your horse tested for Cushing's disease and Equine Metabolic Syndrome - this can help you assess how at risk your horse may be, and you can manage them appropriately

If you have any queries regarding management of your horse, please give us a call on 01382 811111.