Ashbrook Equine Hospital

20/08/2025

🤩🤩🤩Head nurse Sam has been having the most fantastic time with her young horse Merlin this summer. Last weekend must have been a terrific highlight as they went to Trailblazers Dressage Championships and came home with some brilliant results.

They won both the intro and prelim warm up classes on the Thursday, were 1st in the intro and 2nd in the prelim in the first rounds of the Championship classes on Friday, qualifying them for both finals. Sam and Merlin were delighted to come away with reserve champion in the intro although, sadly, by the time the prelim came round, Merlin decided he was a bit tired after such a huge weekend!

03/08/2025

Routine regular worming is a thing of the past!

We aim for a Targeted Worming Protocol. This means we only want to worm a horse if it really needs it. Our health plan includes a tapeworm test each year so please do chat to one of our team on 01565723030 if you need further information!

https://www.ashbrookequinehospital.co.uk/equine-health-plan

📸 Equisal Website

01/08/2025

This sounds like you've got an exciting announcement Rainbow Equine Hospital - looking forward to hearing all about it and possibly some very exciting news for the equine population of the North West!

Here is a side-to-side (laterolateral) x-ray of the lower neck of a horse with neck pain and stiffness. We can see there is marked enlargement of the 'facet' (articular process) joints between C6-C7, which in this case is quite severe. This represents osteoarthritis, and on its own may in some horses be a significant issue. What we are learning more about are the secondary effects these changes might have, pressing on the spinal cord, and impinging also the spinal nerves which leave the neck at the bottom of the facets going towards the legs.... Is it possible we might have another treatment now for this, not just neck injections?!

28/07/2025

Did you know we do routine and emergency surgery for our own clients and also those of referring veterinary practices? We have a surgeon on call 24/7 throughout the year and our vets and surgeons are always available to provide telephone advice or accept surgeries or cases requiring hospitalisation.

If you need to chat to any of our experienced team, please do call on 01565723030.

26/07/2025

Steph was in her happy place last week! Sometimes when our patients are very tiny, we have to improvise - this lovely little lady (pony, not Steph!) was only 87kg!

If you've ever got concerns regarding your horse or pony, please do contact the clinic on 01565723030 for an appointment. All our vets undertake regular review training and discussion to ensure we spot dental pathology, allowing it to then be investigated further using an oroscope or radiographs.

25/07/2025

🤩Did you know that vet Nikki offers acupuncture at Ashbrook?!🤩

One of our most experienced vets, Nikki Brown, has undertaken additional training and offers acupuncture as an adjunct to our conventional treatments, with particular focus on the musculoskeletal system.

Acupuncture is a treatment option that can assist the body to heal itself by causing physiological changes. It can stimulate nerves, increased blood circulation, relieve muscle spasm and release endorphins.

It's primary use is arthritis, muscle soreness and strains and back pain. The needles used are very fine and usually incredibly well tolerated by horses. Each treatment usually lasts between 15 and 20 minutes and can be repeated once/twice weekly or as required.

Please do give the clinic a call on 01565 723030 if you'd like to chat to Nikki about this.

20/07/2025

The best moustache prize ever!

We hope this won't be shaved for work on Monday morning!

16/07/2025

🎉🎉It's another birthday 🎉🎉

We were very excited to share a big one with Kerry today (though we don't think she looks a day over 21)! Happy birthday Kerry!

14/07/2025

We've been lucky enough to have the lovely Bronwen with us over the last few months, while Hannah and Millie are on maternity leave. We even got to celebrate her birthday with another excuse for cake!

We've like to say a huge thanks to Bronwen for working with us and wish her well as she embarks on her 2 year rotating internship at Rossdales Equine Hospital later this month. Good luck for all the exciting times coming up and remember to come and visit!

12/07/2025

🛑🌞Heat alert🌞🛑

Please ensure horses, ponies and donkeys have access to plenty of fresh water and shelter from the sun (it's a good excuse to hide inside and clean tack instead!)

During a heat wave, equines (and other animals) are at risk of:

🌞 Heat exhaustion
🌞 Dehydration
🌞 Colic
🌞 Sunburn

If you are worried about your horse, please bring them into shade, offer fresh water and use active cooling with hose water and contact us on 01565723030. !Remember hose water can be extremely hot, so do run it for a few minutes before using on an animal!

10/07/2025

Welcome back Hannah!

We're delighted Hannah has come back from maternity leave to rejoin the team at Ashbrook. She promises she's not going to leave Fletcher in the food bucket every day she's at work, but we don't think he's complaining!