August is the month we focus on dental health. The article on equine dental health in this newsletter explains why this is so important. To help make this easier we are offering an equine winter special for all appointments made during August.

This special rate of $220 includes a physical examination, routine dentistry, a tetanus/strangles booster, worming, faecal worm egg floatation and a report on examination,dentistry and faecal float. You can bring your horse to us or we can come to you however travel will be charged at normal rates. Conditions also include payment on the day of service.

Make the most of this great opportunity and ring us to book your horse's dental before the end of August - 63618388

Dental examinations are an important part of your horse’s annual health check. This check-up allows routine dental maintenance, helps identify dental problems early and decreases the chance of dental issues leading to other serious health complications for your horse. As with most problems we deal with as vets, prevention is better than a cure.

How often should you get your horse's teeth checked?

At a minimum, once a year. From birth to 6 years of age, horses should be seen twice a year. Senior horses (20 years of age or older) are at increased risk of developing periodontal disease so twice-yearly check-ups are often necessary to keep their teeth functioning properly into their thirties and forties.

How do you know if your horse has a problem?

In most cases you won’t know until it is too late, as horses are reluctant to show signs of pain or weakness. Some signs you may observe include spilling of feed, biting problems, difficulty eating and eating faster or slower than normal. Remember this is not an exhaustive list of signs, just a few of the common ones.

How do diet, pasture management and stabling impact dental wear?

Horses in the wild normally spend 16 hours a day with their heads down, grazing on grass, using a crushing and chewing pattern. This allows the incisor teeth and cheek teeth to wear at a normal and even rate. Many horses are fed an abnormal diet (grain and hay) for shorter intervals during the day, with an abnormal head posture (feed tub or hay rack). All of these conditions alter the chewing pattern and adversely affect the way teeth are worn over time.

This information was taken from an Australian Veterinary Association information leaflet. To read it in full click here. To book a dental check up for your horse, contact us 63618388

Like all grazing animals, horses are susceptible to worm infections. The symptoms can vary from nothing at all to a dull coat, poor growth rates or weight loss, colic and occasionally death. Therefore it is very important to implement a worm control program for all horses.

Non-chemical means of worm control

An effective worm management program in horses does not just consist of drenching. Following are some important measures for reducing your horse's exposure to worms:

• Remove manure regularly from stables/yards/paddocks
• Harrow paddocks to break up manure and spell them during dry hot weather
• Alternately graze paddocks with sheep or cattle
• Wash the perineum of pregnant mares prior to foaling to remove infective larvae
• Don’t feed horses on the ground - use a hay ring and feed bins
• Remove bot eggs from your horse's coat (flea combs are good for this job)
• Keep foals and weanlings separate from yearlings and older horses to minimize the foals’ exposure to ascarids and other parasites.

Drenching

The use of drench is important. Here are some general guidelines for drenching:

Strategic drenching

The ideal program depends on the type, number and ages of your horses, pasture management and your geographic location. The above guidelines can be tailored to your horses by performing faecal egg counts (FEC). This measures the number of worm eggs in a manure sample and can be used to estimate the worm burden in the horse. The FEC can also tell you what species of worms are present in your horse so that the best drench can be selected.

If you would like a tailored drenching solution for your horses, please call us 63618388

Leptospirosis is a contagious bacterial disease of animals and humans. There are two strains of the organism which affect cattle both of which are contained in the routine 7 in 1 vaccine.

Infected cattle have leptospira organisms in the kidney and female reproductive tract thus contaminating pasture, water supplies and soil etc with their urine or at birth and abortion.

Many cattle are carriers which show no symptoms and act as a silent source of infection.

Signs in cattle include abortion, decreased milk production, mastitis, jaundice and ‘red water’ ( discoloured urine ) in calves.

Leptospirosis can be difficult to diagnose and treat and is responsible for significant economic loss when present in the herd. Vaccination is cheap and easy, 2 initial doses a month apart and yearly boosters in late pregnancy.

The disease in humans is a seriously debilitating zoonosis which is difficult to treat and lingers for many weeks. It causes severe flu like symptoms which can recur weeks or months after seeming recovery. It can also be fatal to unborn babies. Humans can be infected through direct contact with infected cattle (especially with urine splash while milking or assisting with calvings) or contaminated feed,pasture, water and soil. Drinking unboiled milk from infected cows can also lead to disease in people. The portal of entry for the organism is via damaged skin or through the mucosa of mouth,nose and eyes.

Good personal protection when handling cattle at close quarters helps prevent leptospirosis but a proper vaccination programme for your cattle herd is paramount in preventing this zoonosis.