Routine Healthcare for Horses and Ponies

Whether your horse is out and about competing, a happy hacker, retired or used for breeding, routine preventative healthcare is vitally important to keep them healthy.

Vaccinations

Horses are routinely vaccinated against tetanus and equine flu.

Horses are vaccinated following a strict protocol, which if missed even by one day, may prevent them competing in affiliated competitions until the course has been restarted.

The following is based on FEI rules updated in January 2022:

• 1st vaccine

• 2nd vaccine within 21 - 92 days

• 3rd vaccine within seven months (not more than 215 days) after the second vaccine

• the third vaccination must be followed by a booster vaccination given not more than 365 days later

• horses can compete 7 days after they have received the first two vaccinations (they cannot compete on the day of a vaccination or the six days following it)

We send out reminders for horse and pony vaccinations, but it remains the reponsibility of the owner to ensure that they have their horse vaccinated in accordance with their sport’s governing body rules. Since the 2019 equine flu outbreak, many affiliated competition and competition venues require flu boosters to be given every 6 months - please check if you compete. Also note that the British Horseracing Authority rules are slightly different from FEI rules.

Worming and faecal egg counts

Worming horses is an important part of every horse owner’s preventative healthcare routine.

A major worm burden can be life threatening, with potential damage to the gut leading to colic, diarrhoea, weight loss and other significant problems for the horse, even after the worms have been treated.

To reduce our overall use of wormers (to reduce resistance building up to these drugs) we recommend all horses have a bespoke worming plan, as each horse's risk of worm burdens differ greatly based on a variety of factors including age and management.

During the summer months it’s best to assess each individual horse's need for worming based on Faecal Worm Egg Counts. These detect eggs and larvae of the most common types of worm, that are readily treated by a variety of wormers.

The requirement for worming against tapeworm can be assessed through a saliva or blood test. We can class horses as low or high risk depending on how they are managed, but an annual test helps determine if worming is required.

Microchipping and passports

Horse passports are necessary in order to prevent horses that have been treated with certain veterinary medicines (such as wormers and analgesics) from entering the human food chain. Although we do not consume horse meat in any great quantity in the UK, a large number of horses are slaughtered in Britain each year for export for human consumption.

Passports will also help reduce the risk of a ban being introduced on up to 75% of veterinary medicines (including phenylbutazone, also known as 'bute') currently used to treat horses. You are advised to think carefully before deciding whether you wish to voluntarily sign your horse out of the human food chain. A 'not intended' declaration at part II of section II of the passport cannot be reversed and a horse may not be consigned for slaughter for human consumption if this section has been signed.

If unplanned or emergency veterinary treatment is required and the passport is not available, the vet will not know whether your horse is signed out of the food chain and will therefore be permitted to administer only substances suitable for food-producing animals.

Dental care

Horses teeth growth continuously throughout their life. As they chew, the opposing surfaces are ground down, but sometimes sharp edges can appear. These are usually found on the outside edge of the upper molars, and the inside edge of the lower molars. A sharp point or hook may also develop on the first or last molar. As horses get older, they are more likely to develop dental problems.

Young horses should have their teeth checked before being bitted, in particular looking for the presence of wolf teeth which may require removal. Thereafter horses should have their teeth checked, and rasped if necesssary, at least once per year. Horses or ponies with known dental problems might benefit from 6 monthly examinations.

Signs of dental disease include dropping food while eating (‘quidding’), weight loss or nasal discharge. At Two Rivers we have a dental power float and a selection of rasps to access all aspects of the teeth. We are experienced in removing wolf teeth and can also remove diseased cheek teeth if required. We have a mobile xray machine for teeth, sinus and jaw xrays, and can sedate nervous horses or ponies as required.

Gelding (castration)

Footcare

Although a farrier will have primary responsibility for the care of your horse’s feet, vets and farriers often work closely together where there is a problem with the feet. A few horses need to be sedated for the farrier, and we are happy to arrange to do this.