Equine

Equine Services

At Finley Vet Clinic, our Vets are well qualified to care for and treat your horse and we are available 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week to provide a comprehensive service for all your equine needs

A number of our Vets are registered with the Australian Stud book for microchipping and identification of thoroughbreds. We are also registered to identify and Vaccinate horses against Hendra Virus.

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Some of the services we can help your horse with include:

Colic
Routine surgeries : castration, wound sutures, hernias, tenotomy
Lameness assessment
Founder
Injuries
Foalings
General sickness
Nutrition
Freeze branding
Microchipping , DNA testing and identification
Vaccination
Merchandise

Equine Dental Services

An annual dental check-up brings peace of mind for you and your horse.
Regular dental examination and treatment is essential for every horse whether it be competing at a high level or just grazing the paddock as a retired pet. Dental treatments performed at least once a year are recommended to prevent painful conditions of the mouth.

Common signs of dental trouble is a change in chewing habits in your horse. Dental issues can include dribbling or dropping feed out of its mouth while eating, holding head to the side or simply refusing to eat hard grain. This can lead to behavioural problems that include

Tossing their head when being ridden
Pulling to one side when ridden
Increased resistance to the bridle
Becoming nervous
Lunging, rearing and being generally unsettled or unwilling to perform correctly or consistently

It is not uncommon for your horse to show no outward signs of dental issues. Our equine vets are specially trained in the diagnosis and treatment of dental issues and are fully equipped with a powerfloat, dental halter and portable crush, giving you peace of mind.

Equine Lameness

At the Finley Vet Clinic we offer a comprehensive lameness exam for thorough evaluation of your horses soundness and performance issues. This can include walk and trot in a straight line and on the lunge, flexion tests, hoof testing, nerve blocks and diagnostic imaging (radgiography/ultrasonography). Horses can also be evaluated under saddle if it is required.

Each lameness exam is tailored to the needs of the client and the direction it takes is dictated by our findings at each stage. For further information please call the Finley Vet Clinic and have a chat with one of our staff members.

Equine Annual Health Program

An annual health check helps to keep your horse performing at its best all year round
Our Equine Annual Health Program includes:

Equivac 2 in 1 (Tetanus & Strangles)
Dental examination/float
Equest wormers x 2
4 x Faecal Egg Counts (per horse per year)
Wellness check
Additional wormer and vaccine discount of 10%

Common Conditions

Colic

The veterinary definition of colic is any condition that leads to pain within the abdomen of the horse. This may be pain associated with the gastrointestinal system, or it maybe related to pain associated with other vital organs such as the liver or the kidneys. Commonly we use it to refer to pain associated with the gastrointestinal system.

Mild colic resulting from gut spasm or minor impactions can respond well to medical treatment without the need for surgery. More serious cases arise when pieces of gut are twisted or compromised and these require surgical intervention to correct.

Colic may manifest in your horse as one or more of the following symptoms:

Pawing the ground
Looking at their flank
Lying down
Restless behaviour
Rolling or sweating
Decrease in appetite
Reduction in faecal output

It is advisable to call a vet if your horse is displaying signs of colic so that we can try to determine if the colic is likely to be medical or surgical. Monitoring of vital signs can give us clues as to the severity of the colic, and the best course of action to take.

Respiratory Disease

Respiratory disease is a relatively common occurrence in the horse. Respiratory disease is defined as a deleterious process affecting any part of the respiratory system; from the nose and sinuses, throat and airways, through to the lungs.

Lifestyle factors such as prolonged periods of travel, stabling and mixing with other horses at competitions can play a key role in the development of respiratory conditions.

Signs of respiratory disease are:

Coughing
Nasal discharge
Increased noise on exercise
Reduced appetite
Swollen glands
Noticing if your horse seems dull or flat

If you are concerned that your horse is showing one or more of the above signs call your vet for further advice.

Additional Treatments

Hendra Virus

Hendra Virus infection was first observed in Queensland in the 1990’s. It is spread by bats and causes disease in horses that come into contact with bats (droppings. saliva, and probably urine). The infection is always fatal in horses as any horse that is identified with the disease is to be euthanased to stop infection from spreading, and to reduce disease risk to humans. Humans can be infected from infected horses. Infection in humans causes severe disease and is usually fatal. Humans that recover from the disease suffer illness for many years after their initial recovery.

The infection in horses causes respiratory disease (airway disease) and neurologic (brain disease). A diagnosis can only be made by a specific blood test.

We have not seen any cases of Hendra Virus infection in Victoria, however the bat populations in Victoria carry the virus. The infection may eventually spread from the Victorian bat population to horses given the right conditions prevail.

There is now a vaccine available to prevent disease in horses. This vaccine has been shown to be 100% effective in clinical trials and is safe to administer. I must be given by vets who have completed specific training to use and administer the vaccine. A national registry is kept which includes each horse’s microchip number.

We recommend every horse should get the vaccination. Infection in Victoria is unlikely, but it carries a 100% case fatality rate in horses. Vaccination also reduces the risk of human infection.

Vaccination is a requirement of entry for many horse events in Queensland, and New South Wales.

Stem Cell Therapy

Via Gippsland Equine Hospital, which is part of Apiam Animal Health, we can provide Stem Cell harvesting, processing and treatment options for injuries such as tendon tears and arthritic conditions. Stem cells help tissue repair when infused directly into damaged tissue.

We provide two different stem cell options. One is using fat tissue harvested from the injured horse by liposuction, then stem cells are harvested and activated from the fat, so that they can be used to treat an injury on the same day. Excess stem cells can be sent for banking for future use. We also have an option of using banked stem cells harvested from other horses. The decision of which method we use is case specific.

View a video of Stem Cell treatment