Pool House Equine Cl inic

The Meynell and South Staffs Hunt celebrated

in style with their annual Hunt ball held at Alre-

was Hayes. They had a silent auction, good

food and plenty of

drink then danced the

night away to live

music. It is a great

night and one to get

your name down for

next year. Everyone is welcome and it’s a

lovely occasion to get glammed up for.

The eventing season has started in earnest,

after a few early cancellations things are now

well underway. Recently Stafford Horse Trials

had a successful event run over three days.

The ground held up well and the team moved

many xc fences over the

duration, to ensure good

going for all.

The Midlands Grand

National was held at

Uttoxeter Racecourse

on 18th March. Mass crowds watched the fan-

tastic racing and enjoyed the spectacle of eq-

uine athletes performing at their best. Chase

The Spud won the title race receiving a hefty

£70,388 in prize money!

Our new car park is well underway to make

room on our old car park to start the build of our

new equine hospital. We also have a new load-

ing ramp with multiple levels to cater for all

transport, to help load those not wanting to

leave! We have also put in a passing place on

the drive to help prevent the need for lots of

reversing.

This month we welcome a new

in-house vet to our team. Giulia

Rapezzano, who originates

from Italy, studied at the Univer-

sity of Veterinary Medicine of

Turin and qualified in April last year. She spent

5 weeks with us at the beginning of the year

and we were so impressed we asked her to

come back!

Issue 24

Apri l 2017

It’s that time of year when we

start thinking about getting our

horses looking smarter and tidier

for the season ahead.

Here’s a way to trim your horse’s

mane, making it look smart and

tidy and without the need to pull

it.

You will

need pink-

ing scis-

sors, thin-

ning scis-

sors and a mane comb.

Comb the mane thoroughly and

start with the pinking scissors.

Cut the mane to the desired

length leaving a couple of cm

spare for feathering. Then take

the pinking scissors and hold at

45 degree angle pointing to 10

o’clock. Make small snips along

the edge, repeat with smaller

snips each time ensuring you

comb thoroughly. You should now

have a slight zig zag edge. Now

take thinning scissors and repeat,

45 degree

a n g l e

s m a l l

s n i p s

along the

edge 2-3

times. Continue until you have a

soft feathered edge!

N E W S L E T T E R

Why not share your call out with others on your yard and save money. At Pool House we always aim to provide the very best service, but we also offer money saving options for clients too.

We offer discount-ed prices on visits when they are shared, and the more they are shared with, the

more the discount! We would encourage cli-ents on livery yards to utilise this service - if the call is shared between 6 people the visit is free! You could also generate a saving of over £36 if the call is shared by more than 3 so why not publicise when you’re next hav-

ing a visit, whether it be for a vaccination or dental or anything else and get others on the yard to share with you. If you have transport, another way to save is to bring your horse in to the clinic for examination and therefore incur no visit charge. All you need to do is ring and book an appointment conven-ient to yourself, arrive and park in our ample parking area, check in and help yourself to a complimentary drink. A vaccination can be car-ried out on the lorry or trailer to save time if you so wish, or we have treatment rooms and sta-bles available catering for any examination or routine work that is needed. Don’t forget we also offer evening appointments here at Crown Inn for vaccinations and dentals on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday up until 9pm!!

T R I M M I N G T I M E

S H A R E T H E C A L L A N D S AV E O N C O S T

Special Offers

Equipalazone - £79.26 box

Danilon - £75.56 box

Ventipulmin - £58.68 tub

Prascend - £180.00 box

Clenil Inhaler - £36.23

Sedalin Gel - £22.25 tube

Joint Supplement - £49.84

Hoof Supplement - £42.70

Gastroguard - £293.34 box

Equest Pramox 700kg—£19.50

Equest—£12.52

Equitape—£10.76

Noromectin—£7.00 These are available if paid for at time of collec-

tion and are on prescription. Payment by cash,

card or cheque. Orders taken over phone

collection from Crown Inn or Pool House Hospi-

tal Fosseway by prior arrangement.

Crown Inn Farm

Rykneld Street

Fradley

Lichfield

Pool House Equine Clinic

Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is more commonly known as a dust allergy and used to be called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This is the most common respiratory disease affecting horses today. As many as 50 % of all horses over 8 years of age have some degree of ‘dust cough’ which in most cases can be successfully controlled by management changes (avoiding dust). In some cases medication is given for a limited period of time and in extremely sensitive animals a continuous low level of medication is required. RAO is caused by an allergy to dust and fungal spores that are present in all conserved grass such as hay or haylage. Straw is also a major source of dust and spores. The degree to which hay or haylage is contaminated depends on the weather at the time the grass was cut and the subsequent storage and age of the product. Wild horses would never be exposed to the fungal spores found in conserved grasses and straw and their lungs are particularly sensitive to these allergens. When breathed in, the dust and spores cause a hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction in the lower airways which results in swelling and the production of increased mucus in the small tubules in the lungs re-stricting air flow. In addition the muscles of the airways may go into a spasm further limiting the free flow of air. The initial sign will often be a slight decrease in perfor-mance of the horse – getting tired after work or taking longer than normal to recover. A dry cough is often pre-sent, more so first thing in the morning in the case of stabled horses. In some cases, when the nasal passages are particularly inflamed, there is a thick nasal discharge. The disease progresses slowly over time leading to more obvious effort breathing and frequent coughing. If the disease process is not controlled the lung tissue may become damaged beyond recovery (the horse is ‘broken winded’); these horses can lose weight due to the effort going into breathing, they can struggle to eat and get out of breath even when resting. Occasionally horses with dust allergies suffer a severe sudden onset attack, which can be compared to an asthma attack in people, and may appear quite distressed, finding it extremely difficult to breathe – this requires urgent veterinary treatment. MANAGEMENT: 1. As much turnout as possible. 2. Ventilation in stable: Airflow should be sufficient to give 8-10 complete air

changes per hour. A good measure for airflow is the absence of cobwebs: spiders are not able to weave webs if ventilation is suffi-cient. The patient can be helped by moving to a stable opening directly outside. 3. Soaking of hay When fed while still moist, dust and spores are less likely to be inhaled, when it dries out the dust and spores will come free again however. Most hay made in the UK climate is unsuit-able to feed unsoaked to horses with RAO. Soak for a minimum of 30 minutes (totally sub-merged). Haylage is a good alternative but may still need soaking if dry and of poor quality. Remember, hay being fed in the field must also be soaked! 4. Bedding in stable: Many shavings claim to be ‘dust free’ but are often any-thing but! Grab a handful and throw it up in the air to demonstrate how many small dust particles are present! Straw should be avoided in horses with a dust allergy. Remember the airspace is shared between stables; if communicating, you must also address management of other stables and hay or straw storage. Vets use a variety of drugs to help horses with RAO but it is vital to get the management right and not depend on medication if possible. Clenbuterol (active ingredient in

Ventipulmin) and Salbutamol (Ventolin inhaler) relieve airway spasm and in-flammation and help to clear mucus from the airways, this helps affected horses breathe more easily. Corticoster-oids are very potent anti-inflammatory drugs with excellent effect in horses with RAO. Inhalers (Clenil) or tablets

(Prednisolone) can be used depending on the problem and horse’s cooperativeness. In many cases a combina-tion will be used depending on severity of the signs. If horses don’t tolerate the paediatric mask, other inhaler compatible masks are available which have been de-signed for horses particularly; these fit over the whole muzzle and can be attached to a head collar or via a poll strap. They can also be used in combination with a nebuliser; a device making tiny droplets of water which can be mixed with medication that, when inhaled, get into the deepest parts of the lungs. For more information please contact us.

R E C U R R E N T A I R W A Y O B S T R U C T I O N

Phone: 01283 799700

Fax: 01283 799707

Email: equine@poolhousevets.co.uk

Putting your horse first

Try and locate the hidden horse supplements.

BREWERS YEAST CAVALESSE COLLOVET DEVILS RELIEF ELECTRO SALTS ENERG EQUISTRO EQUILISER EQUITOP MYOPLAST FLAX OIL GARLIC GLUCOSAMINE HIMALAYAN ROCK SALT HOOF SUPPLEMENT JOINT SUPPLEMENT LEGAPHYTON MAGIC MEGABASE MINT PROBIOTIC BIOTIN SEAWEED RELAX ME APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

The use of ground poles is a great arena exercise this time of year while the fields are so wet and muddy. Setting some up can help make flatwork more interesting and also can help teach a horse to balance himself, pick up his feet and figure things out for himself. Pole work also increases a horse’s muscle tone and flexi-bility, and helps him learn how to adjust his stride - some-thing he’ll need to know be-fore he heads toward a dou-ble- or triple-fence combina-tion in a jumping course. Pole work also helps to sharp-en your riding skills because it teaches you how to maintain a steady rhythm in the trot and canter. If your horse is poking along like a snail or galloping around the arena at warp speed, he’s going to step on some poles or fall on his face, and it won’t be pret-ty. The poles you use should be solid and heavy so they don’t roll or split if your horse kicks or steps on them and a contrasting colour to the are-na surface so they stand out. The list is endless on the dif-ferent exercises you can set up using ground poles, just

remember to keep things interesting and at the right level for the capability and fit-

ness for your horse. Key distances to remember are: Walking poles – 3 feet, 90cm apart Trotting poles – 1 1/3 – 2 pac-es, 4ft -5’6’’, 1.2 - 1.7m apart Canter poles – 3 – 3 2/3 pac-es, 9-11ft, 2.7-3.4m apart These obviously all depend on the size and stride length of your horse and can be ad-justed accordingly.

G R O U N D P O L E S W O R D S E A R C H - H O R S E S U P P L E M E N T S