Services

Microchipping is widely accepted as a safe, effective and tamper proof method of identifying horses. Since 1999, it has been a requirement for all racing thoroughbred horses that are to be registered with Wetherbys and from July 2009, all foals have also required a microchip as well as a passport for identification.

Microchipping is a quick and simple procedure. The microchip is implanted in the nuchal ligament (the ligament running from the poll to the withers) on the left side of the neck in the same way that an intra muscular injection is given. It is not uncommon for a small amount of bleeding to occur from the injection site, but this can be easily stopped with pressure applied for a couple of minutes. Microchipping is an act of veterinary surgery and can only be carried out by veterinary surgeons or qualified veterinary nurses under veterinary supervision. Adverse reactions to microchips are very rare.

Once your horse has been microchipped, your details are held on a central register so you can be contacted if your horse is found missing or stolen. It is your responsibility to make sure that these details are always up to date.

Over the last decade, there has been a huge improvement in equine dental care with people becoming much more aware of the benefits of regular dental examinations for their horse.

These examinations should form part of your horses yearly health plan and are easy to include at the time of your vaccinations. At MBM Veterinary Group, we have a great interest in dental prathology and can deal with all categories of dental problems. You can read more about the different categories of dental procedures here.

Horses' teeth erupt from their gums throughout their life so they often develop sharp enamel edges on the teeth that can make them uncomfortable when eating and being ridden. Removing these edges once a year is usually appropriate for most horses. If your horse has a dental abnormality, we may recommend more regular treatments. Many horses require light sedation for dental treatment which allows the vet to perform a more thorough examination and treatment safely and with less stress for you and your horse. For more complicated procedures, we may ask that you bring your horse to the Kilmarnock clinic so we can work is a safe and controlled environment.

Some people use an equine dental technician rather than the vet to rasp their horse’s teeth. Anyone can call them self an equine dentist so if you choose to do this, please ensure you use a dental technician that is a member of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians and are qualified and recognized by the British Equine Veterinary Association to show they can carry out the work competently. You can find a list of registered members here.

Artificial insemination (A.I.) is a technique used to transfer appropriately processed semen from a stallion into the uterus of a mare at the correct stage of her oestrus cycle resulting in a single pregnancy.

A.I. has become a very popular technique in stud medicine (although it is not allowed in racing thoroughbreds) in some cases with significant advantages over natural service.

Prior to embarking on an A.I. program, it is important to weight up the pros and cons, breeding your mare can be expensive and does not always result in a live foal the following year.

With all breeding programs, it should be remembered that there is a risk to the mare both when carrying the foal and particularly at the time of foaling, but also during mating or when performing rectal examinations. For this reason, ideally, rectal examinations are performed at premises with stocks to restrain the mare. If these are not available it is possible the vet will sedate your mare or at least twitch her during the examination for the protection of themselves but also the mare.

Artificial insemination involves the use of:

• Fresh semen
• Chilled semen
• Frozen semen

Fresh semen is usually used on studs and only lasts outside the horse for short periods of time. Chilled semen should be inseminated within 48 hours of collection and is chilled to 4 Cº and stored for shipping in a special container or commonly polystyrene boxes with a chill pack. Semen that is required to last longer than 48 hours is frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 Cº.

Poor quality semen can be an expensive and frustrating problem for all involved so it is worth ensuring that a vet or experienced stud technician is involved in collection of the semen and evaluating the semen prior to transport.

The success of the A.I. program is dependant on factors like the quality of the semen, the fertility status of the mare and the program used by the attending vet. Fertility with fresh and chilled semen is similar or slightly better than that using natural service with approximately 60% of mares becoming pregnant on the first cycle. Until recently, conception rates with frozen semen were less favourable but as experience with these techniques has improved so have conception rates.

Pre-breeding check

Prior to embarking on an A.I. program, it is important the mare is assessed for factors that may reduce fertility, such as poor vulval conformation. This will include an ultrasound examination of the uterus looking for uterine cysts, a vaginal examination checking the cervix for any abnormalities and an assessment of vulval conformation. A uterine swab and smear is also taken during early oestrus to check for evidence of infection.

Timing the insemination

A successful insemination resulting in pregnancy depends on placing the semen in the uterus at the correct stage of the mare’s cycle. This has to occur when the mare is in season and close to ovulation. Most mares have a 21 - 22 day cycle with oestrus (the receptive period) lasting three to six days. Some mares cycle year round, but most cycle between March and October with the cycles at the beginning and the end of the season being somewhat erratic. Some mares show clear signs of oestrus but in others it can be difficult to detect oestrus when there is no stallion present. For these mares, an injection can be given that will bring the mare into season.

Signs of Oestrus in the Mare

• Squatting and frequent squirts of urine
• Tail raising and adoption of a stance similar to urination but maintained for longer periods and without evidence of straining (the tail is usually held to one side)

Other signs are difficult to detect in the absence of a stallion, some mares with foals at foot may prove particularly difficult but the vet will be able to perform ultrasound and vaginal examination to determine if your mare is in season.

The oestrus cycles that occur early in the season and those towards the end of the season are less likely to result in pregnancy and are less consistent and so it is preferable to wait until the mare is cycling regularly before trying to inseminate your mare.

Chilled semen A.I.

It can be difficult to determine if your mare is in season in the absence of a stallion. We usually examine mares on a Friday, often giving them an injection to bring them into season. The mare will than be re-examined on the Monday to check she has come into season, to assess the size of the follicles on the ovaries and to perform her pre-breeding check including a swab and smear from the endometrial lining of the uterus to check for evidence of infection. The size of the follicles on the ovaries determines when the mare will require another examination, when we need to order semen and when we are likely to inseminate her.

Frozen semen

Frozen semen survives in the mare for a shorter period (approximately 12 hours) of time and as such the timing of insemination is more critical as the mare’s egg is only available for conception for about six hours. This makes frozen semen programs more time consuming and labour intensive and therefore a more expensive option. The conventional approach was therefore to scan the mare daily until she had a 3.5 cm follicle and then following injection of a drug to control the time of ovulation the mare was scanned a minimum of every six hours. This is just not possible outside a hospital setting and so more recently fixed time A.I. programs have been developed and has been reported to have similar conception rates to those, where mares have been inseminated with chilled semen.

Pregnancy Diagnosis

Transrectal ultrasound examination between days 14 and 16 following ovulation is the best method of determining pregnancy. This is the most appropriate time to examine the mare as multiple pregnancies may be detected and dealt with at this stage. After this time, the pregnancy becomes attached to the lining of the uterus and so it is much more difficult to deal with twins.

A further scan should be performed around 28 days before endometrial cup formation. This allows the vet to check again that there is not a twin pregnancy and to look for normal development (the heart beat should be visible by this stage).

It is advisable to check the pregnancy again around day 42.

If the mare is not pregnant on the first scan, then she should be back in season again imminently allowing the program to be repeated hopefully with a more favourable outcome.

Please contact the practice to discus the needs of your mare and for further information on A.I.

Most of us are not set up for and do not wish to handle a stallion, so the majority of male equines are castrated to prevent the unwanted behavior that is associated with sexually mature, entire animals. Castration is a common procedure but it is not without complications, which are commonly exempt from cover by insurance, so think carefully before purchasing a colt.

Most colts are castrated at a young age but sometimes older stallions undergo the procedure. Sexually active males that are castrated will usually retain stallion like behaviour following surgery.

We try to castrate most animals in the spring or autumn to avoid the complications associated with flies and mud.

All castrations in this practice are done under general anaesthesia. It may be appropriate to do this at home on your property if facilities are suitable. In many instances, it will be preferable for this to be done at the surgery on a day patient basis. Anaesthesia always carries a risk in equines and though this is relatively low in young fit animals the possibility of complications (potentially fatal) is still present and should be appreciated. Please inform your insurance company prior to the date of surgery.

Requirements for geldings at home

• Safe loose box of adequate size (at least 3m x 3m) for a 15.2 hh horse, there must be no sharp projections on the wall on which the horse might injure itself.
• A deep clean straw bed to provide padding during anaesthesia, other types of bedding (shavings or saw dust) are not suitable.
• The patient should have nothing to eat for 12 hours prior to surgery. Access to water should be allowed until 2 hours before.
• A confident handler who may be asked to assist should be available.

If your vet suggests or if these conditions are not available, the operation should be done at our surgery.

For geldings done at home, a consent form will need to be signed before the procedure can go ahead. You can either return it to us prior to or have it available for the vet on the day of the procedure. You can download our consent form here or, when you phone the practice to book your horse in, we can post you one.

It is important that animals are able to be walked out following surgery so a clean area must be available for this and the animal should be trained to walk in a halter. This should be done at least twice a day. Training is particularly important in donkeys that often are not halter trained.

The incision sites should be monitored following surgery. If anything is protruding from the wound, please phone and speak to a vet immediately. There will often be a small amount of bleeding from the incision sites and this is okay as long as you can count the drips. If there is excessive bleeding or you are in any doubt, please phone and discuss it with one of our vets. There will usually be some localized swelling around the incision site for a few days following surgery but if does not resolve or is excessive with discharg,e the horse should be re-examined. Your horse should be bright and willing to move around freely at all times. If you are in any doubt, please phone for advice.

In most instances, horses can be turned out within a couple of days of surgery. Your vet will advise you at the time. Your vet will also advise you on any further medication your horse may need over the days following the procedure.

The horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005 states that all equidae, regardless of age or status, requires an identification passport. Foals should have a passport by six months of age or the end of December in the year in which it was born, whichever comes later.

Without being accompanied by a valid passport, it is illegal to:

• Sell
• Export
• Slaughter for human consumption
• Use for the purpose of competition
• Use for the purpose of breeding
• Move a horse to the premises of a new keeper

Your horse or donkey should have a passport even if it never leaves the field.

The purpose of the passport is to ensure that horses treated using medicines not licensed for use in food producing species cannot be slaughtered for human consumption. Some medicines commonly used in equine practice, including Danilon, Equipalazone (Bute) and Sedalin, may be harmful to human health if your horse enters the food chain at the end of its life.

All passports should contain section IX which includes a statement that includes or permanently excludes the animal from slaughter for human consumption. The majority of horse owners have no intention of their pet being slaughtered for human consumption and in this case, the simplest measure to take is to sign the statement permanently excluding the horse from the food chain. If this statement is not signed, drugs like Danilon and Sedalin cannot be used and you must keep a drug book recording all medicines given to the animal.

Please present your passport each time the vet visits your horse or donkey.

When you purchase a new horse, you should contact the passport issuing organisation to arrange change of ownership within 30 days.

When a horse dies or is euthanased, the passport should be returned to the passport issuing organisation. If your horse does not have a passport, please contact the practice as soon as possible for advice.

For frequently asked questions and answers about equine passports, please visit the Scottish Government's page on Horse Passports.