Connaught House Equine Centre

Zone visit fees are either £19.40 or £30.32 depending on location. In order to offer this scheme, we are unable to book specific time slots or specific vets, however we are happy to give you up to one hours notice. Zone visits need to be booked no later than 2pm the day before required.

This scheme is for routine procedures only, including vaccinations, routine dentistry, microchipping, passports, health checks and stitch removal. Procedures such as lameness investigations, radiography, colt castrates and pre-purchase examinations are not applicable for zone visits.

Please phone the practice on 01902 424725 to ascertain which zone day is applicable to where your horse is stabled. Please note that zone visit fees cannot be shared.

Visits not booked under the zone visit scheme can still be booked with the usual visit fee if you require a specific vet or time slot.

It is often easy to schedule this with vaccinations on your zone day visit.
We can perform routine rasping and correction of abnormalities where needed.

At a dental check all horses are examined using a special oral gag to allow us to fully examine the mouth safely and effectively. Horses teeth continually erupt throughout their lives. Ideally the rate of eruption should match the rate of attrition (wear). Unfortunately this is rarely the case, which can lead to sharp enamel points developing causing pain and ulceration. We will routinely rasp these as well as checking for any other dental abnormalities such as overgrowths, diastema (abnormal spaces between the molars) or loose teeth. We use hand floats and /or a battery run powerfloat.

We would always recommend that youngsters have a dental check up before being broken in, to ensure their mouths are comfortable prior to training commencing. We will often remove wolf teeth at this stage to avoid any bit interference.

Sedation is used if necessary for routine dental work dependent on the temperament of the horse or the nature of the work to be performed. Wolf tooth extractions are routinely done under sedation.

We are also happy to work with registered equine dental technicians (EDT’s) and sedate horses if needed.

Out of hours a recorded message will give you contact details for the vet on duty. Listen carefully and please only call in the event of an emergency. Please give your details, full details of the problem, location of the horse and contact telephone numbers to the duty vet. We all have access to your horses records even at night as there is a duty nurse at the hospital who can provide this.

Please note that billing is as normal via the practice, if you are a newly registered client we may require payment at the time of consultation.

We are always happy to discuss what you do or do not need in an equine insurance policy in order to help you decide what is right for your horse.

Insurance allows your horse to have the best veterinary treatment available, without the worries of financial constraint.

Advances in veterinary medicine – although referral to a specialist centre may be involved – mean that conditions that would once have resulted in euthanasia, for example, some cases of colic and even some fractures, can now be successfully treated. But this can be very costly. Some wounds may take months to heal and cost thousands.

If your horse is insured, please inform your insurance company as soon as possible after an occurrence likely to result in a claim.

Please also inform the attending veterinary surgeon to ensure that we comply with any requirements of the insurance company.

Sue is also an examiner for the Worshipful Company of Farriers.

Corrective or surgical hoof/foot treatment for lameness or deformity/ cracks etc can be carried out in consultation with your own farrier, or through several farriers with whom we work closely.

For some horses that are nervous of farriery, it is sometimes necessary to sedate them in order for even routine work to be carried out, if this is the case we can arrange to visit and sedate the horse with your farrier, or in less severe cases oral sedation can be provided.

We are happy to make arrangements to coincide our visit with the farrier in order to do this.

We do not have a “free” visit scheme, however our fees are transparent, we maintain them at a fair level, and we do split the cost of a visit between clients if more than one person is seen on a yard, so it can save a significant amount if several people book at one time. In an on going effort to support our equine clients we also have a reduced visit fee zone scheme available Tuesday to Thursday for routine appointments.

Should you require an estimate of costs we will endeavour to give you one, however, for non routine matters, as cases vary, this may not be accurate.

Fees charged for out of hours visits and on Sundays/Bank Holidays reflect the increased cost of providing this service.

New clients are asked to pay at the time of consultation. Established clients will be forwarded an account at the beginning of the month following treatment.

Prompt payment is always appreciated, and our terms of business request that payment is received by the end of the month in which the invoice is received. We accept cash, cheques and credit card payment, in person or over the phone. Internet payment is now also possible.

Interest may be charged if payment is not received.

EGUS can occur in any horse from the most sedate lead rein pony right through to racehorses. Foals are also at particular risk – around 50% of foals develop gastric ulcers in the first few months of life.

A gastroscope is a long, flexible video-endoscope that can be passed carefully down into the horse’s stomach (under sedation) to visualise the stomach and see whether or not ulcers are present. We are also able to capture images of any ulcers, so we can define the grade of those present.

Horses need to be starved for a minimum of 16 hours before the gastroscope, this can be done by putting them in an empty stable for the night (so they are not tempted by any bedding) alternatively they can stay at our Equine Clinic for the night before. Water can be given over night but needs to be taken away at least 2 hours prior to the procedure.

Common signs of gastric ulcers are poor appetite, condition and performance along with weight loss and behavioural changes (such as development of girthing pain). If you wish to discuss any of these symptoms with us, or to book in for a gastroscope please call the Wolverhampton hospital.

It is very important to get on top of issues before they become problems – whether that’s dental problems (e.g. quidding), weight loss, stiffness and discomfort, or signs of more serious illnesses like Cushings. So, make an appointment to get your golden oldie checked out regularly by one of our vets, and nip any problems in the bud!

If you want your aged horse to receive a health-check, give us a ring and speak to one of our experienced equine vets – let’s work together to give them the retirement they deserve!

In cases where investigation may be prolonged, then the patient may be left on a day patient basis.

Patients in need of ongoing veterinary attention, for example daily dressing changes following trauma (particularly if sedation is required), treatment of sarcoids, or frequent administration of drugs, may be hospitalised at the clinic.

This is cost effective and negates the need for home visits and the disruption this can cause to working owners.

Microchipping is used to permanently identify horses invisibly.

All horses that do not now have a passport must be microchipped in order for a passport to be issued.

All horses are required by law to have a passport if over 6 months of age. All foals born should hence now be microchipped and then passported.
It is also extra security in case of theft, and also permanently identifies a horse with few distinctive markings.

It is a permanent form of identification, an electronic animal identification system, and is implanted in the left side of the crest of the neck.

Each chip has its own unique code which provides information such as the owner’s name, address, and telephone number, which is stored on a computer database that is contacted when an animal’s identity/ownership is in question

We frequently have special offers on microchipping available at a reduced rate- please call for details. We may be able to offer a bulk discount if a number of animals are to be chipped at one location.

The identification is in the form of a diagram showing the markings, which needs to be completed by a vet or a registered identifier.If the horse does not have a passport, then it must be microchipped in order to be issued one. This passport should be available whenever the vet visits in case any details need to be entered in it. There is a declaration at section IX in the passport which refers to possible human consumption of the horse, this should be signed. If the horse is designated as not for human consumption it is much easier to use certain drugs as they may otherwise need to be recorded.

We normally perform 5 stage pre-purchase examinations on horses and ponies. This involves a general examination of the horse, and examination of hear and eyes, and in hand trot up, then ridden or lunge work, followed by a period of rest and a second trot up. Flexion tests and trotting on a circle on a firm surface are also done.
We recommend routine blood sampling at the examination, which is then stored and but can be tested for drugs should there be a problem after purchase.
In some cases due to perhaps the age of the horse i.e. young and unbroken and hence cannot be worked, or if the value is very low, a 2 stage examination may be performed which is less extensive.This only involves the general examination and heart/ eyes and an in hand trot up. This may miss some detail which would be picked up on a full examination, which we would always recommend if possible.

In some cases there may be a need to perform X-rays to check that there is no underlying bone problem present, or for insurance purposes in a horse of higher value- generally over £10,000. This is easily done using our portable digital x ray unit.

We are happy to do whatever is required, Please call the hospital to discuss your needs.It is also necessary to ensure that suitable facilities are available in order to be able to perform the examination fully. Details are needed of vendor, purchaser, intended use of horse and location of horse.

It produces images on site within 7 seconds, enabling us to take whatever views may be needed immediately without the need to return to the practice to process the images.Should there be any need to refer images to a specialist for further opinion, this can be done easily and very rapidly by email.

Taking multiple X-rays for vettings or insurance examinations is now much simpler and quicker. This can be arranged if you require it at the time of the examination, as long as there is somewhere suitable to work and a good mains power supply.

It is still easier for us, and hence a little less cost to you, i.e. no visit fees, for X-rays to be taken at the yard. We also have a larger and more powerful X-ray machine there which, although still portable, is less easy to transport than the small machine. We prefer to use this for upper limb/ back/head X-rays, or if a large number are to be taken in order to limit exposure of people to X-rays.

Whenever possible, please give 48 hours notice. This enables us to check with your vet and ensures that the drugs will be in stock. In order to comply with legislation, it is necessary to check your horse on a regular basis, usually every six months.

The horse will require a stable prior to this and possibly afterwards, depending on the surgery undertaken.

Major surgical procedures are referred to a variety of referral practices/universities

It produces images on site within 7 seconds, enabling us to take whatever views may be needed immediately without the need to return to the practice to process the images.Should there be any need to refer images to a specialist for further opinion, this can be done easily and very rapidly by email.

Taking multiple X-rays for vettings or insurance examinations is now much simpler and quicker. This can be arranged if you require it at the time of the examination, as long as there is somewhere suitable to work and a good mains power supply.

It is still easier for us, and hence a little less cost to you, i.e. no visit fees, for X-rays to be taken at the yard. We also have a larger and more powerful X-ray machine there which, although still portable, is less easy to transport than the small machine. We prefer to use this for upper limb/ back/head X-rays, or if a large number are to be taken in order to limit exposure of people to X-rays.