Kingswells - Small Animal 01224 740700
Bridge of Don 01224 826121
Kingswells - Farm and Equine 01224 740700

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Equine

Vet services for horses in Aberdeen

Equine

Vet services for horses in Aberdeen

  • Introduction
  • Out Of hours and Emergency Care
  • Practice Facilities
  • Laboratory
  • Equine Fertility
  • Our Equipment
  • Dentistry
  • Diagnostics
  • Farrier
  • Joint Measurement Board
  • Pre-Purchase Examination
  • Supplements
  • Opening hours Farm and Equine

Introduction

Ardene House vet practice has the largest team of dedicated equine vets in the North East of Scotland.

We provide a 24hour, 365 days a year service to care for horses, ponies and donkeys.

Our team of equine vets and nursing team offer a high standard, caring, professional service to all their equines and owners. Caring for competition horses, children’s ponies, companion or retired horses and donkeys.

Out Of hours and Emergency Care

At Ardene House, we are committed to provide top quality care to your horse, pony or donkey 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Regardless of the time, day, or night, we guarantee to provide an experienced equine vet to assess and treat your horse. We also have a nursing assistant on call 24/7 to assist with the care, particularly if hospitalisation is required.  

During normal hours call 01224 740700.

For out of hours emergencies, please call our message handling service 01209 823708.

Our message handling service will ask for your name, address, phone number and postcode of the location / yard of your horse. They will also ask for a brief summary of the problem. They will then contact our Equine on call vet with the details required to contact you.

If you contact us on 01224 740700 out of hours and stay on the line, your call will be transferred to our emergency call handling service. Our answering machine does not record messages.

We frequently accept referrals from neighbouring practices for emergency or ongoing cases and this service is also available 24/7.

Practice Facilities

There have been upgrades to our site in recent months, leading to a more compact site, with improvements to our stables and school surface.

Our facilities now include:

Hospitalisation - stables for 7 horses, including boxes suitable for a mare and foal and isolation box if required.

Lameness workups - a long tarmac trot up, sand school, and lunging areas on a variety of surfaces for lameness investigations. Our experienced nursing team can trot and lunge the most difficult of horses, allowing you to watch your horse with the vet.

Equine stocks – the stocks are in the barn are there to allow safe treatment and examination for performing dental procedures, reproduction examinations, back surgeries and laser treatments.

Radiography – our dedicated x-ray and treatment room where x-rays (radiographs), ultrasound scans, joint/nerve blocks, shockwave therapy or other treatments can be carried out in a clean, quiet environment.

Weighbridge - for accurately monitoring horses’ weight.

Operating Theatre - a well-equipped surgical theatre, with a padded knockdown/recovery box where surgery under general anaesthetics are performed.  We have advanced monitoring equipment for assessing the horse under anaesthetic including a capnograph, direct arterial blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter and ECG.

Round pen – there is the option of turnout in our round pen if required.

Laboratory

We have a well-equipped in-house laboratory which is available 24/7 and can run a wide range of diagnostic tests for horses, ponies and donkeys under our care.

This allows tests to be run quickly so we can monitor patient parameters and tailor treatment as required.

The diagnostic tests that can be run in- house are:

Blood samples: Haematology, biochemistry, lactate, electrolytes.

Worm Egg Counts: All faecal worm egg counts are run in the practice so that our vets can tailor your horses worming needs to each individual horse or yard. We currently run a popular worm egg count programme for several of our yards.  Contact the large animal office for more details on 01224 740700.

Microscopy: Including cytology, skin scrapings, hair plucks, stallion semen analysis.

IGG: It is important to check a new-born foal has absorbed the sufficient amount of antibodies in the first 12 hours of life. This can be checked in -house on our IGG machine. If levels are low, they can be given a Hypermune plasma transfusion intravenously to boost anti-bodies and immunity.

Synovial fluid analysis: Joint infections can be a life threating to a horse so we can test a sample of fluid from a joint in house to check for infection to see if surgery may be required.

We also collaborate with outside laboratories to provide a wider range of specialist tests such as ACTH for Cushings disease (free voucher available online), strangles bloods/ guttural pouch washes and swabs/samples for antibiotic sensitivity.

Equine Fertility

At Ardene House we are a BEVA approved AI centre for frozen and chilled semen.  

To be included on this list a practice must be attain a certain standard in facilities.  Our experienced vets are on hand to scan your mare to time the AI and find and deal with problems that may arise.

We can help with everything from assessing your mare for breeding suitability right through to checking your newborn foal.

Our Equipment

At Ardene House we have a wide range of diagnostic equipment, allowing our equine vets to perform thorough, diagnostic examinations for a wide arrange of medical and orthopaedic conditions. The equipment includes:

Gastroscope: The 3-meter equine gastroscope allows for videos and still photographs to be captured.

Endoscope: Several lengths of video endoscope to visualise structure such as the guttural pouches, the bladder and the sinuses.

Mobile Digital x-rays: Allows for instant images at the practice or at your yard/premises.

Ultrasound machine: For ultrasonography of the limbs, thorax, abdomen and reproductive tract.

Dental scope: For video examination of the teeth.  

Endodontic equipment: Used for fillings and endodontic treatment in diseased teeth.

Motorised dental rasps: For accurate and efficient rasping.

Lameness Locator: Used at the practice, this has a combination of sensors which assess asymmetries in the horse’s movement.     

Shockwave Therapy: Extracorporeal shockwave therapy for treatment of soft tissue injuries.

Dentistry

Dental care in the horse is an essential part of their primary care. Ardene House equine vets are all able to carry out a first-class dentistry service for horses.

All our Equine vets carry a full set of dentistry kit with them including dental speculum, head torch, an array of hand rasps and a motorised rasp to provide an efficient service on site.  

Our vets can administer intravenous sedation, pain relief and use local anaesthetic techniques to make all dental procedures comfortable and safe for your horse. This means a thorough examination can be performed and any problems can be diagnosed and treated.

We recommend that your horse should receive a dental examination every 6- 12 months depending on their history or age. This is often performed at their annual vaccination and health check.

Most routine dentals can be performed on the yard, including the removal of wolf teeth.

More advanced dental care can be performed at the practice facility at Kingswells where we have the use of x-ray, oral dental scope, specialised equipment for teeth extractions, endodontic unit for fillings and stocks. At the practice we can administer intravenous sedation and nerve blocks to allow these procedures to be carried out efficiently and reduce the stress to the horse.

We also have the dental specialists from the Equine Dental Clinic that visit Ardene House Vet practice on a quarterly basis for the more complex dental and sinus cases.

For more information on the dental services we can offer please contact the large animal office on 01224 740700.

Diagnostics

Successful treatment and management of disease relies on first and foremost an accurate diagnosis.

To this end we have invested in some of the most up-to-date diagnostic equipment and facilities across a wide range of equine medical and surgical conditions.

This investment ranges from dedicated lameness investigation exercise areas along with mobile digital radiograph units and up to date ultrasound scanners. These diagnostics are crucial for working up orthopaedic conditions right through to medical investigations.

Farrier

At Ardene House we will work closely with you own farrier to provide the best level of care for your horse.

X-rays of the feet can be sent to your farrier, to help resolve problems such as foot balance, laminitis and lameness as quickly as possible. We can discuss remedial farriery options and treatment by phone, email and are in regular contact with the farriers in Aberdeenshire.  

We regularly take x-rays for foot balance either at the practice or at yards using our portable x-ray equipment. This allows the more accurate assessment for trimming and shoeing.

Joint Measurement Board

Ardene House is accredited to work on behalf of the Joint Measurement Board (JMB), which was established in 1934 to run a national scheme for the measurement of the height of horses and ponies for competition; and is only one of a small number of locations in the North East of Scotland where horses and ponies can be officially measured and certified.

Austen Marr BVM&S, MRCVS is the official measurer at Ardene House Veterinary Practice.

Key points to note:

  • All horses and ponies must have at least one Annual Certificate regardless of its age before they can have a Full Certificate.
  • Annual certificates are issued to animals aged 4, 5 and 6 years old, or to any animal over 7 which is being measured for the first time.
  • Measurements can be done at any time of the year, but Annual Certificates will expire on the 31st December following the last measurement.
  • Measurements are carried out on registered measuring pads with shoes removed. We have an official pad at Ardene House (Pad Number 5103).
  • The animal’s voucher (from the JMB website) must be seen at the time of measurement (copies will not be accepted).
  • All animals being measured must have a microchip inserted. This can be done at the time of measuring if required.

If you are thinking of getting your horse or pony measured for the purposes of the JMB we would advise you visit www.thejmbonline.co.uk for further details before booking your measurement appointment at Ardene House.

Pre-Purchase Examination

Our team of experienced equine vets can perform pre–purchase examinations for both our own clients’ horses and on behalf of non-registered clients.

These examinations can be performed either at the seller’s yard if facilities allow, or at the vet practice facilities at Kingswells.

A vetting or pre-purchase examination is an important step in buying a new horse to ensure it is sound and healthy.

Our vets will carry out a through clinical exam on behalf of the potential purchaser to identify and assess factors of a veterinary nature that would affect the horse’s suitability for its intended use.

The exam is composed in 5 stages.

  1. Preliminary exam – a thorough exam with the horse at rest.
  2. Walk and trot in hand and lunging.
  3. Exercise phase- an examination of the horse ridden, including strenuous exercise to check the heart and respiratory system.
  4. Rest and re-examination – where the heart and respiratory system are monitored in recovery.
  5. Second trot up to assess any changes following exercising.

In some cases (e.g an unbroken youngster) a 5 stage vetting may not be possible, in which case we can do a 2 stage vetting.

If required, we can perform full set of vetting x-rays.

Supplements

At Ardene House we have our own supplements, made from high quality ingredients to a top level specification.

Veterinary Premium Joint Supplement

Comes in 850g and 2.75kg tub. This is a complementary feedstuff that maintains healthy cartilage in the horse’s joints. Veterinary Premium joint aid contains Boswellia Serrata blended with Chondroitin Sulphate, Hyaluronic Acid, glucosamine HCI (99% pure) and MS.

Equine Haemotonic

Is available in 1.2ltr and is a highly absorbable and palatable iron, B-complex and cobalt-enriched syrup on a Sorbitol base. Equine Haemo tonic is often used for a pick me up in viral cases and post-surgery. High levels of vitamin B12 ensure red blood cell formation which is important for metabolic functions.

Veterinary Gastric Aid

Is available in 3.2kg tub and assists in maintaining gut health function through a unique formulation of probiotics, amino acid, seaweed extract and specific minerals. Always contact us if your horse is showing signs of gastric ulceration. We frequently recommend this as a follow on, preventable treatment in horses with a history of gastric ulceration.

Veterinary Probiotic

 Is available in 750g tub and is a supplement containing Probiotic and prebiotics promoting digestive and gastric health. Veterinary probiotic can be used for diarrhoea following deworming, digestive disorders and before or after anti-biotics and at times of stress. Veterinary Probiotic is a mint flavour making it highly palatable.

Veterinary Muscle Boost

Comes in 3kg tubs and is a complementary feed for horses containing a high concentration of Amino acid, as well as the important antioxidant Vitamin E. Amino acids are essential for the formation of muscles through protein synthesis, and supplement feeding of this is particularly important during periods of intense exercise, competition, during rehabilitation following muscle injury. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant which protects muscle cells from the damaging effect of free radicals.

If you have any questions regarding the supplements, please call the practice on 01224 740700 to speak to one of our equine vets.

Opening hours Farm and Equine

Opening hours Farm and Equine

Monday: 8:00am - 6:30pm

Tuesday: 8:00am - 6:30pm

Wednesday: 8:00am - 6:30pm

Thursday: - 8:00am - 6:30pm

Friday: 8:00am - 6:00pm

Saturday: 9:00am - 1:00pm

Sunday: Closed

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