loch leven equine practice

Series 2 of The Podcasting Equine Vets is back and we are kicking it off with a topic that is getting a lot of air time at the moment. Kissing spines is a condition that horse owners are much more aware of now than a few years ago. At Loch Leven Equine Practice we are getting asked to x-ray more backs during vettings than ever before and it would be fair to say we’re seeing and treating more cases ourselves.

Luckily at Loch Leven Equine Practice we have exactly the right person to speak to it about! As an orthopeadic equine surgeon with additional qualifications in surgery and diagnostic imaging, and many years of experience of working with both performance and leisure horses Hugh Somerville MRCVS is very well placed to talk to us about this condition.

Keep listening to find out:

• What is kissing spines?
• How we diagnose kissing spines
• What are the different treatment options?
• What rehabilitation is needed?
• What is the prognosis or limitations for your horse if they are diagnosed?
• Should I buy a horse with kissing spines?

This week we are back in the Vet’s Corner with Hugh Somerville from Loch Leven Equine Practice chatting about joint medications. Done on a very regular basis in equine practice to help our horses maintain athletic function and manage them as they get into their golden years, but often misunderstood especially on some of the social media platforms!

Liz and Hugh discuss how equine vets will go about diagnosing joint problems and what drugs are used to medicate the different joints. They discuss the risks verses the benefits as well as how often your horse may need a repeat medication.

As is always the tradition on the podcast Hugh is also treated to our quick fire questions so if you want to know who he would invite to dinner then make sure you listen to the end!

This week Liz Somerville is joined by husband, Hugh Somerville from Loch Leven Equine Practice, for the second episode in our ‘Ask the Vet’ series. One of the most common questions the practice gets asked is 'how do I know when to call the vet?’ So Liz puts this question to Hugh, and specifically asks about some of the more common emergencies that the vets get called to see.

In this week’s episode Liz Daniels chats to Liz Somerville who is wearing her Loch Leven Equine Practice hat, to discuss the very relevant subject of laminitis, overweight ponies and just how dangerous this devastating condition can be.

With the grass growing at a rapid rate, vets are currently seeing a massive spike in the number of horses and ponies with laminitis. We chat about the risk factors and what triggers laminitis, how we all need to be better at recognising when our horses are overweight and why horse owners struggle to implement a successful weight loss plan.

However it’s not all doom and gloom, there is lots that we can do to minimise the risks and help our horses and ponies. If you want to learn more, here are some of the other resources that we discussed during our chat.

A conversation about laminitis with The Podcasting Equine Vets

A conversation about equine obesity with The Podcasting Equine Vets

EquiTeam’s blog on ‘How you can prevent laminitis’

EquiTeam’s Body Condition Scoring download

On this week’s episode, Liz Daniels chats to equine vet Dr Jenny Croft about equine gastric ulcers.
Jenny explains in a way that everyone can understand about the causes, clinical signs, diagnosis and what a gastroscope involves, before discussing treatement and most importantly management and prevention.

Liz and Jenny explore the new thinking of feeding fibre before riding and why this is important, as well as tackling the confusing subject of supplements.

A must-listen for anyone wanting to learn more about equine ulcers and what management strategies they can put in place for every horse to potentially reduce the risk of ulcers developing.

Topics include: 

• Why do horses get gastric ulcers 
• What are the clinical signs of equine gastric ulcers 
• How do we diagnose equine gastric ulcers 
• How to we treat and manage equine gastric ulcers 
• How to we prevent equine gastric ulcers 

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We have another brand new show for you! In the Vet’s Corner this week EquiTeam chat to Hugh Somerville MRCVS from Loch Leven Equine Practice about horse insurance.

Should you insure your horse in the first place, what type of policy and cover should you choose, what’s covered and what’s not and why checking the small print is so important.

Whether you choose to insure your horse or not will depend entirely on your own financial situation, your horse and your feelings around risk. In this episode Liz and Hugh chat about the very murky area around claiming for the value of your horse should you have to make the heart-breaking decision to put them to sleep, and Hugh explains about the BEVA Guidelines that set out when an insurance company will pay out and when they won’t.

Excesses, exclusions, how much cover you need and loss of use are all covered as well as the relatively new practice of insurance companies splitting injuries into multiple claims. Good news if you need more money to cover the treatment not so good if you have chosen a policy with a high excess.

www.lochlevenequine.co.uk

www.equiteam.co.uk

Read the BEVA Guidelines on Euthanasia for Mortality Insurance https://bit.ly/3vekxpV