Equine Dentistry.

At Merlin Vet Group we like to do everything we can to help you keep your horses happy and healthy and we believe that effective routine dental care is a very important part of this. By having your horses teeth checked ona regular basis, many potential problems can be prevented and others can be detected and treated before they start to cause pain and problems with eating.

As a modern, progressive practice, showing our dedication to our equine client base, we have recently invested in a new motorised, state-of-the-art powerfloat and updated equipment including dental picks and modern rasps.

At each dental consult you will receive a full dental report.  Our equine vets attend training and refresher courses to keep up to date with the latest techniques.  We offer quality routine floating (rasping), treatment of more severe dental abnormalities (hooks, wave/step mouth, diastema (spaces between teeth), wolf tooth extraction and other procedures (including dental radiography).
We recommend a complete oral examination every 6-12 months with preventative work carried out as necessary by one of our vets.  Please remember that only a vet can examine your horse and look for other health issues at the same time and only a vet can sedate your horse, if necessary, often enabling the back of the mouth to be rasped more effectively.  It should also be noted that any damage to your horses mouth, caused by an unregistered dentist would not be covered by insurance.

Our prices are very competitive and you can take advantage of reduced visit charges on zone days (you can also share visit charges with friends at the same stables), or come to us at our new equine unit (due start October 2009) at Potsclose, nr. Kelso where we have a safe , padded, rubber floored examination area with horse examination stocks - this will make treatments safer and cheaper for you as there is no visit charge if you bring your horse to us! Often your horse will be given a mild sedative to enable us to carry out any dental treatments safely and effectively.

Equine Dentistry Promotion

As an introductory offer to our new equine dentistry services we are running a dental promotion for OCTOBER and NOVEMBER 2009 -

10% off any Dental treatment/examinations carried out!

You can also use this ideal opportunity to have your horses back examined for any problems by Iain, please ask for details. We will also be able to offer reduced rates on some wormers (e.g. Equest Pramox!) for your horses combined redworm/tapeworm treatment.

Equine Back Treatment

After twelve months of intensive training, Iain Lathangie MRCVS recently gained his diploma from the Oxford College of Equine Physical Therapy (OCEPT) and is now a fully qualified McTimoney-Corley Animal Manipulator (MCAM) -(formerly called Animal Chiropractor). 

The McTimoney-Corley technique is a method of restoring health and relieving pain by gentle corrective manipulation of the bones of the spinal column, pelvis and limbs, thereby ensuring the proper functioning of the nervous system.  McTimoney-Corley Spinal therapists are trained to assess bone misalignments by using their hands, and to correct these by highly refined rapid manipulations (called adjustments).

 Iain can examine horses with suspect back and other related problems any day of the week but we recommend taking advantage of either our new 'Zone' visit system, or bring your horse to us  at Eric Gillies yard, Potsclose, nr Kelso (see later).

 Cost of an Initial back treatment is £35 +VAT (+ visit charge (zone or normal) if applicable). Any subsquent treatments are priced at £40 +VAT.  A full report will be given at the time as well as any advice regarding follow-up treatments (if needed) and exercises you can do with your horse at home.

 For more info. on MCAM please see www.mctimoney-corley.com

Zone Visits

In addition to our other improved equine services, we are introducing a ZONE VISIT scheme, to start 14th September 2009.  This means that on a set day each week, you will be able to book a visit within your local zone and benefit from a markedly reduced visit fee- and still pay normal fees for any treatment given!  So with a little planning you can save money on routine work - vaccinations, teeth rasps, re-examinations ,etc. Please note our REDUCED CHARGE ZONE VISIT SCHEME is for pre-booked routine work only on your area's specified day of the week.  Visit charges for all zones will be £15 +VAT! (up to a maximum distance, from your particular practice, of 25 miles).  Zone days (visits from each Merlin centre) will be :-

 Tues - GALASHIELS,

 Wed - KELSO,

 Thurs - DUNS.

When booking a visit please make sure we have accurate contact details so that if an emergency should arise and the vet be delayed we can contact you to advise of this. Please make sure we know of the exact location of your horse.

New Premises

We are extremely pleased to announce that, as of September 2009, we will have a new equine clinic at Eric Gillies Yard (horse transporters), Potsclose, near Kelso.  This clinic facility will allow us to carry out work in a safe, modern environment where you can bring your horse to us and save on visit charges.  This will include a large padded examination room, with a new set of equine examination stocks( due end of September 2009) to allow us to safely carry out , amongst other things, dental work, xray horses and Ultrasound scanning of mares for chilled A.I. and pregnancy.
There will also be 2 padded, rubber floored stables for in-patients/ day cases. Back assessments and treatments as well as our normal lameness investigations can be carried out in a safe environment as we will have a trot-up area and lunge ring.  There is also easy access and parking for lorries/horse-boxes at the yard.  You can benefit from this new facility from the end of September 2009, with our last phase due open then (stocks examination room). Please contact us if you would like to arrange an appointment or to find out more!

'Mud Fever' ( cracked heels/ pastern dermatitis/mud rash)

It should seem that the days of wet, muddy horses are a long way off yet but, as we have endured another wet British summer, cases of this common condition have been more prevalent. The vast majority of horse owners will, at some point, have come across 'mud fever', usually during the autumn/winter months.

'Mud fever' is a form of dermatitis found most commonly around the heel and pastern regions and, in some cases, can extend up the limb. The organisms responsible for causing the infection are two groups of bacteria - Staphylococcus and Dermatophilus (which resists drying and may be transmitted from chronically infected horses by direct or indirect contact) .
Both thrive in moist conditions. Any horse and pony can be infected. Recovery of simple cases, kept dry and properly managed, usually occurs within 3 weeks, but recovered animals do not seem to be immune and recurrence is very common.

Treatment can be very laborious and involves washing the affected area (s) with antiseptic scrubs e.g. 'Hibiscrub' to remove the dry crusts/scabs. The bacteria involved harbour underneath the scabs and unless these are removed they will continue to multiply and treatment will not be effective. Removal of these scabs can be painful and sometimes it is better to 'sweat' the areas overnight i.e. apply 'dermisol' or 'cetavlex' antiseptic cream and wrap the areas in clingfilm and stable bandage the legs.  Removal will be much easier the next day. In feathered breeds clipping of excess hair makes treatment much more effective.

Once the leg is clean of scabs the area is dried with a clean towel.  Following this an antibiotic cream, such as ' Flamazine' can be applied to the areas.  In particularly severe cases you should contact your vet as further antibiotics and anti-inflammatories may be needed.  Non response to treatment , especially in more feathered breeds, may point to an underlying problem e.g. infestation with 'Chorioptic' leg mites - veterinary attention should be sought.

Prevention involves ensuring legs are kept clean and dry as much as possible and judicious use of barrier creams to repel moisture.

 

 

Please contact your Veterinary surgeon if you require any further information regarding 'Mud fever'.

CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Print