BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!
Enjoy your long weekend š
Steve is our Duty Vet Saturday and Sunday, Stefano our Duty Vet on Monday
Itās important that every horse has a thorough oral exam every 6-12months, performed by a vet or qualified Equine Dental TechnicianšØāāļøš©āāļø.
A common finding when examining a horseās mouth are diastema. These are gaps between teeth, which often allow food material to pack. Sometimes these horses look as if they have food in hamster cheek pouches, sometimes they are quidding, in fact this is one of the most painful dental conditions.
Horseās teeth are constantly erupting, diastema can be due to age, as the lower portion of the tooth (getting toward the root) is generally narrower than the crownš¦·. They may also be due to abnormalities of the opposing teeth, a particularly long tooth opposite is going to cause excessive wear of the opposing arcade, and this can cause a diastema to form.
In the images attached you can appreciate a focal overgrowth in the upper cheek teeth on the horseās right side, this has caused significant effects to the lower teeth causing a diastema to form. The diastema was packing food and extremely painful with inflamed tissues either side. The images are mid-clearing of the diastema.
Diastema are more challenging to treat, it will depend on how comfortable the horseās mouth is and what the surrounding teeth and soft tissues look like as to whether we recommend treatment. We will always clear all food material (with picks and high pressure water flushing). We may recommend packing with temporary filling material, or widening of the gap to allow food material to get in and out without getting stuck in the tight gap. Sometimes its appropriate to fill the gap with a more permanent bridging material. We will discuss these options with you, and recommend referral to an advanced equine dentistry vet in some cases.
If you suspect your horse or pony to be suffering with this or just want a general check to be sure, contact the practice now š
We have some handy guides to body condition scoring and weight loss at the practice - get in touch if youād like one or some advice on weight management.
Obesity is one of the biggest welfare concerns facing UK horses and ponies, with laminitis being one of the most painful and awful conditions we see we urge horse owners to take steps to manage their horseās body weight appropriately.Itās important to monitor your horse or ponyās body condition score on a regular basis year-round but especially so over the summer as they can gain weight very quickly, which can lead to #laminitis. In ideal condition (body condition score between 2 and 3), your horse or pony should have a defined shoulder blade and ribs either just visible or just coveredā as shown in the image of the black pony. You SHOULDNāT be able to feel any fat around their shoulder or over their ribs, as shown in the image of the bay! Check out our advice on condition scoring and managing a good doer: bit.ly/31gwKck #rightweight #bodyconditionscoring
A quick update after a rather stressful week.
Unfortunately on Wednesday, Florence trod on a piece of wood with nails in that was hidden in the undergrowth and two nails punctured the sole of her foot.
I was hugely grateful to have Ruth Starey to come and help keep Florence (& me!) calm until the vets arrived. Abbie from GVG Brooks Equine Veterinary Practice did a brilliant job, contacting Liphook to see if we needed to get Florence down there as she is very special and we didn't want to take any risks. However it was decided to get her on antibiotics, flush the foot and poultice it and keep fingers tightly crossed that no infection came about.
We are now 3 days post incident and it is looking really positive. She has been given the all clear to have the shoe put back on with a pad to protect the sole from the dirt, so our brilliant farrier came out this afternoon to sort it for us.
Hopefully we have been very very lucky and it will be nothing more than a stressful (and expensive!) inconvenience but still keeping everything crossed.
As a result she will not be running at Borde Hill in her first 100 tomorrow but she is showing so much promise and there is plenty of time for that.
A picture of her schooling under a beautiful rainbow last week to brighten the post!
Have a great weekend if you out partying this weekend celebrating A-level results!
Up date your horses ID š by taking up the August Dental offer!
Ryan is our Duty Vet this weekend.
This may affect some of our clients...
Fantastic to see one of our long-standing clients, ECM Dressage out and about at Hickstead at the weekend.
Define Time, "Que" is one of our vet Steve's star patients, so we're glad to see her out winning - keep up the good work š
š¦· AUGUST IS DENTAL HEALTH MONTH š¦·
In August, weāre running our popular dental offer with vets Ryan & Abbie - Ā£65 includes visit fee, sedation, dental exam, routine treatments (including rasping/floating teeth). Saving Ā£41!
Combine with a 6 month flu vaccine booster and avoid a visit fee, making dental offer plus flu vaccine only Ā£108.
If 3+ on the same yard itās Ā£60 each.
Contact reception to book now on 01737 246109, 8am to 5.30 Mon-Fri. Outside these hours you can email admin@gvgbrooksequine.co.uk and weāll respond the next working day.
*T&Cs apply, see our website for info.
Happy Monday!
šØDonāt forget - August is dental health month! šØ
If youād like to benefit from the reduced fee of Ā£65 including visit, sedation, oral exam, routine treatments (Ā£60 If 3+ at same yard) get in touch to book! š
Another common abnormality we find at a routine dental check are hooks (aka ramps). These are often due to jaw malalignment such as parrot mouth. Uneven wear from the opposing row of teeth causes a focal overgrowth, usually at the front of the premolars in the upper teeth, and at the rear of the molars in the lower teeth. In turn, this can cause excessive wear on the opposing tooth (i.e. an upper tooth overgrowth causes excessive wear on the lower tooth), causing further problems.
These can also cause painful damage to the surrounding soft tissue structures including the horseās gums, cheeks and tongue. This may in turn cause the horse to drop food (quidding).
Generally theyāre easy to deal with, by reducing the height of the overgrowth using a rasp the horse will be much more comfortable and able to chew more normally. In some severe cases its not possible to reduce the overgrowth in one go, to avoid exposing the sensitive structures of the tooth it may be recommended the horse is re-examined sooner than the usual 6 months, to allow further reduction to take place.
