VT Vets

21/03/2025

Friday afternoon quiz!

Clinical history: new born foal with severe lameness noted at 48 hours old. No evidence of joint ill (septic joint). Umbilicus scanned within normal limits. Blood work within normal limits. These radiographs confirm the diagnosis.

Add your differential diagnoses and prognosis in the comments below. Answer to follow next week!

19/03/2025

Unilateral nasal discharge (with occasional blood)

An interesting case involving a 19 year old hunter with a known grade IV systolic heart murmur. Head x-rays were inconclusive but endoscopy of the ethmoid turbinates revealed an enlarged mass. This horse was referred to Equine Dental Clinic Ltd in Dorset who carried out further diagnostics, including a head CT scan. This differentiated this circular mass to be a nasal cyst as apposed to an ethmoid hematoma. then performed a standing sinus flap surgery to remove the cyst. Many thanks to the team at the EDC who have provided our client with these beautiful CT images. The prognosis is good.

19/02/2025

💉FEI VACCINE RULES💉

All FEI registered horses now need to have their vaccinations recorded on the FEI HorseApp.

Please ensure your horse is registered on the FEI HorseApp and the previous vaccine is uploaded. This can be done by anyone associated with the horse and needs to be done before you book in for your next vaccine.

FEI HorseApp: https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/it-services/mobile-apps/fei-horse-app

Add previous vaccines: https://howto.fei.org/content/20/304/en/how-to-register-a-historical-vaccination-on-the-fei-horseapp.html

For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.

22/01/2025

Calcinosis Circumscripta - these lesions are most commonly seen in the stifle region, but the 3rd and 4th X-ray’s show one in the base of the neck C6-C7. These two lesions have a radiant vascular pattern and a grainy appearance.

21/01/2025

Infected withers which can lead to fistulous withers involves inflammation and infection in the supraspinous bursa, a fluid-filled sac located in the area of the horse’s withers. Often caused by heavy, wet ill fitting rugs or bacteria riddled numnahs. Gravity works against the positioning of the wounds and a drain is often used to help them to heal, as in this case.

15/01/2025

Second opinion on a shoulder wound.

This youngster was found in the field with a flap wound on her shoulder which was advised to be left open to heal by second intention.
On presentation 10 days later, the dorsal flap had curled underneath itself and re-attached with the hair in contact with the wound.
The wound was cleaned, debrided and the flap un-curled and sutured closed.
The suture line broke down 7 days later and the dorsal margin of the wound, again curled underneath itself with the hair against the wound.
A new approach was tried, the dorsal flap was resected and the wound then healed without complications and with a small scar.

13/01/2025

Standing Joint Flushes!
On Christmas Eve this pregnant mare had slipped under a gate with the wounds extending in to both front fetlock joints.
In the first video you can see the joint fluid pouring out of the left fore fetlock joint.
The mare underwent a bilateral front fetlock standing joint flush with myself and . Note the large defect especially in the left fore joint capsule which allowed us to use the wound itself as an egress.
The mare remains sound, the wounds are healing well and she produced a healthy filly foal 18 days later.

10/01/2025

Not a great start to a Monday morning but we are always grateful for the superb service our clients receive from Equine Dental Clinic Ltd in Dorset. This horse was found in his stable with a mandibular avulsion fracture involving the 302 and 303. He underwent wire fixation with from the and returned home later that day.

09/01/2025

And we’re off! Tuesday saw the first foal born for our 2025 breeding season! Many congratulations to on the arrival of this beautiful filly by the first season Darley Stallion out of a mare Lead Story. Congratulations to the owners and connections.

17/09/2024

So No, not a sarcoid.
This is a low-grade mesenchymal spindle cell tumour. A form of peripheral nerve sheath tumour is considered most likely. Sometimes called benign schwannomas, they make up 2-5% of cutaneous neoplasms in the horse. They derive from dermal or subcutaneous Schwann cells and their cause is unknown. Typically seen in adult horses with no breed or s*x predilection, usually single, firm 1-4cm diameter masses.

Laser surgery to excise the entire mass is usually curative, as these types of tumour tend to be locally infiltrative, and metastatic spread is not expected. However, they can recur locally. Therefore, it is important to excise the mass with wide margins to prevent recurrence.

16/09/2024

Whats your diagnosis?
History of slow growing firm nodular mass, non ulcerated on the sternum of an 8 year old TB. Not freely movable under the skin. Non painful.
Answers and treatment options below 👇🏻

15/09/2024

Ruptured Peronius tertious.
Well done to those that knew this! The pathognomonic test of the flexed stifle and the hock extended is very impressive, although a relatively rare injury, usually due to hyperextension trauma. (Fall at polo in this case)
The peroneus tertius is a tendinous structure that originates from the extensor fossa of the femur and runs over the craniolateral aspect of the tibia to insert on the dorsoproximal aspect of the third metatarsal bone, the calcaneus, and the third and fourth tarsal bones. It is part of the reciprocal apparatus of the hindlimb, which means there is concurrent flexion and extension of the hock and stifle.
Conservative treatment with 3 months box rest followed by slow and careful reintroduction to exercise usually results in complete resolution of signs and return to athletic soundness.

12/09/2024

Firing horses. The practice was banned in the UK briefly by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the early 1990s. But advocates of firing were vociferous in its defence and after protracted discussion, the Royal College agreed that firing could be used “but only when other methods have failed”. I strongly dislike this “treatment” of tendon/suspensory injuries, which, in my opinion, should be permanently outlawed worldwide.

18/07/2024

11/06/2024

My first clone! Those of you who have been following this account for a couple of years may remember the post on harvesting biopsy’s for cloning. The first photo is the cloned foal born last week in Italy, the other photos are the donor gelding. Massive thanks to and for making this happen, and fulfilling a little dream of mine.

09/05/2024

A unicorn horn…
Not everyday we see one of these! Last documented in a paper written in 1946. The horse has sustained damage to the medial coronary band and the hoof wall has everted and grown dorsally over the winter. Radiographs showed no abnormalities and the horse was sedated, tourniqueted, the area sterilised, blocked with local anaesthetic and the “horn” was resected. We will do a follow up post of the healing

08/05/2024

The15 day pregnancy looking happy in the recipient mare, from last weeks embryo from frozen semen.

24/04/2024