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Should you be vaccinating your horse against West Nile Virus?
Infographic: Joint structure and function
Did you know that there are 3 different types of joints in a horses body? Or that a horse has 18 synovial joints? What about the fact that damage or disease to any of these joints can result in lameness and/or severely impact your horse’s performance?
Even if you did answer yes to all of the above questions, we still suggest you read the infographic below. Not only does it beautifully illustrate the different types of joints found in a horse’s body, but it also highlights what you can do to keep these joints healthy. We’re particularly fond of those parts that encourage you to speak to your vet about regarding the diagnosis and treatment of joint related problems.
Lameness investigations are something of a passion at Equis Veterinary Practice. We pride ourselves on providing clients with top quality, thorough evaluations and care. Click here for more info on our lameness locator service and/or our irap® treatment programme for osteoarthritis.
“For pets and performance” – more than just a tag line, it’s what we’re all about.
You’ve seen it on our logo, perhaps even read it on one of our cars, but do you know what we really mean when we say “For pets and performance“?
At Equis Veterinary Practice we are committed to providing more than just basic health care for your animals. We realise that for many of our clients the health of their animals goes beyond just the concern of a loving owner. Professional and competitive sports horses require a level of performance maintenance that is just not associated with your old school pony. That being said, we believe that every client, no matter how big or small, should be entitled to top quality treatment and care.
So, whether you’re looking to get the best out of your champion, or just a vaccination for the stable yard cat, you can rest assured that you and your animal will receive professional and personalised service from Equis Veterinary Practice.
Happy Birthday Carla!
You didn’t take a day off to celebrate you birthday, but why not take a year off and tell people you are younger.
Happy Birthday Dr Carla Langley!
Welcome to our Blog.
Dear reader
We’d like to start off by welcoming you to our new website and blog.
Why a website and blog? Firstly, a website not only provides you with all the information you need to find us, but also lets you know exactly who we are and what services we offer. Equis Veterinary Practice, however, is more than just a page on the web – hence the blog.
Not only concerned with sharing information on what we do, we will be using this space to give you insight into how and why we do what we do. Heard about our amazing lameness locator, but always wondered what the process entailed? Well, now you won’t have to. Over the course of the next couple of months we will be exploring our services, giving you an idea of what goes into each diagnosis, and helping you to understand why we prescribe the treatments that we do.
But, this is just the tip of the iceberg – keep visiting for the latest news and special offers from Equis Veterinary Practice, and discover new ways to care for your animals.
Kind regards
P.S. If there is any topic in particular you would like us to explore, please let us know via web@equis.co.za.
Wound Care
When it comes to equine wound care, there exists a fine art between balancing the ability of the horse to heal itself and providing the appropriate level of veterinary medical intervention.
Treatment
When it comes to treating any wound the main aim is to avoid infection and to promote healthy tissue growth. It is recommended that an effective wound care and treatment programme be implemented as soon as possible to help to avoid unsightly scarring and return function to the area quickly. Getting a jump on the problem early on will also hasten the healing process and help avoid any unnecessary complications brought on by secondary infection.
Treatment options your veterinarian may recommend include:
- Flushing the wound with sterile saline to remove any contaminants, e.g. grass, hair, sand, etc.
- Trimming away necrotic tissue so as to reduce the risk of infection and promote healthy tissue growth.
- Suturing the wound closed (if necessary).
- Applying topical equine wound treatment – again, this is done to reduce the risk of infection and promote healthy tissue growth.
- Bandaging
- Prescribing antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and/or painkillers to reduce the risk of infection and alleviate any pain or discomfort.
Low level laser therapy
Known to significantly improve tissue healing in even the most compromised wounds, low level laser therapy (LLLT) uses light to promote tissue regeneration, reduce inflammation and lessen pain. Usually applied to the wound via a a low powered laser or light emitting diode, LLLT has been shown to increase the production of proteins and other biochemicals by the body to aid in its own repair. LLLT has also been positively linked to the activation of fibroblasts and karocytes, and the stimulation of DNA replication, cellular proliferation and angiogenesis (the production of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels).
At Equis Veterinary Practice we make use of a class 4 laser and have seen dramatic results within remarkable time periods.
Equine Wellness Programme
In a continued effort to provide world-class service to all our loyal customers, Equis Veterinary Practice has developed the Equine Wellness Programme. Specifically designed to provide clients with top quality veterinary services, the programme provides members with all those annual (and essential) treatments and vaccinations necessary to keep their horse in peak condition at discount rates.
Take the guess work out of keeping your horse healthy.
All future consults are diarised, and reminders are sent to clients, ensuring that no vaccination is forgotten or treatment date missed.
In order to perform certain proceduers specified by some of the available Wellness Programme packages the member is required to bring their horse to the practice for treatment. In such cases the member / owner is notified of the treatment, a treatment date agreed upon, and the horse booked in. All in-house work on the horse will then carried out on that particular date.
Our package options:
The Equis Wellness Programme is broken up into 3 basic packages, to suit both your budget and your horses’ workload.
- Back to basics package: Just like the name suggests, this is our most basic wellness package, covering all routine treatments and vaccinations including an annual wellness examination and your bi-annual African Horse Sickness and Equine Influenza vaccinations.
- Competition package: Specifically designed for those looking to keep their competitive sports horses in peak condition, this package includes additional diagnostic services like an annual lameness screening and exam.
- 5 Star package: A package perfectly suited for the “best of the best”, our 5 star wellness package goes above and beyond. Apart from our more routine services like bi-annual deworming, the package includes more exclusive services like lameness location, legend treatment and physiotherapy.
Fees:
The annual package fee is broken down into 12 affordable monthly installments managed by our debit order system.
Back to Basics | Competition Package | 5 Star Package | |
Value of treatment: | R1 800 | R5 670 | R11 410 |
Monthly cost | R 132 | R 330 | R 660 |
Total saving | 15 % | 30 % | 30 % |
Please note that a minimal monthly mileage surcharge will be administered to customers living out of the Summerveld area, and will form part of the monthly debit order costs. Clients living in the following areas can be expected to pay a mileage surcharge of:
Summerveld: | R 0 per month |
Assagay: | R 10 per month |
Hillcrest: | R 15 per month |
Drummond: | R 20 per month |
Waterfall: | R 20 per month |
Hammarsdale: | R 20 per month |
For more info on our wellness packages click here and download a helpful .pdf on the matter. Alternatively, you could always give us a call on 031 764 1072 or email us at wellness@equis.co.za.
Pet Medical Aid
It is not uncommon in tough times for owners to delay seeking treatment for their pets because of their financial limitations. Postponing treatment, however, can create problems in and of itself. Easily treatable conditions can quickly develop into costly problems that could have a detrimental affect on your pets overall health. Having medical aid for your pet not only enables you to budget for your pets’ medical care, but also provides cover and peace of mind should a medical emergency arise.
Elective procedures such as vaccination and sterilisation can be budgeted for, however, many accidents and illnesses are sudden and unforeseen. Some conditions may even become chronic, requiring on going visits and treatment. Consider the pet that is accidentally run over in the driveway, or the puppy that swallows a foreign body or contracts severe gastroenteritis from raiding the dustbin? What about a dog that develops a chronic skin condition or a cat that develops lower urinary tract disease? Often people only consider pet medical aid once these conditions appear and, like human medical aids, pre-existing conditions are excluded from cover. Like any type of insurance, the time to consider pet medical aid is before these conditions have occurred. We therefore strongly recommend putting puppies and kittens on medical aid as soon as you acquire them.
What medical aids exist for pets?
The two pet medical aids in South Africa are:
- Medipet (www.medipetsa.co.za)
- Petsure (www.petsure.co.za)
These medical aids do differ in the services provided so please do your research and ask for advice if you are unsure about anything.
Shop Items
Committed to providing the very best for you and your pets, we are keen to become your supplier of premium pet food and parasite control. Just phone in or email us about your preferred veterinary food (including bag sizes), as well as any tick and flea control you would like us to keep in stock for you and together we’ll keep you pet happy and healthy.
Should you be looking to order a specific item (e.g. food supplements, Protexin, chondroprotectants such as Nutradyl, Canosan , GCS Dog, etc.), please place your order before 09:00 and we will do our best to assure that it is available for your collection from the practice that afternoon.
Please note that purchases of pet food, tick and flea medications. and other over the counter preparations will need to be settled at the time of collection and will not be placed on any existing accounts.