24 Hour Service: Phone 01892 835456

Opening Hours

Weekdays
8:30am - 10:30am
11:00am - 12:30pm
2:00pm - 4:00pm
5:00pm - 7:00pm

Weekends
Sat 9:00am - 11:00am

By appointment only

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FARMERS & HORSE OWNERS

The Equine and Farm section of Putlands Veterinary Surgery is run by a team of four veterinary surgeons: Eryl Davies, Lara Hummel, Pippa Hawkes and Laura Parish.  Between us we have a broad range of experience and expertise.
We try to arrange our farm/stable visits in advance to suit our clients' schedules.  Therefore the best time to call the surgery for a visit is 8-8.30 in the morning.  However we are on call throughout the day and are available to give telephone advice and make emergency visits if necessary.
We have a one-in-four rota for our nights and weekends, so normally you should see a familiar face if you need us outside normal working hours.
On the Equine side, we regularly deal with the competition horse, brood mares, pleasure horses and ponies. Do you qualify for our Yard Visit Scheme? Cheaper and more convenient than a 'zone visit', but we still maintain our excellent service standards.
If you are considering purchasing a new horse, a Pre-purchase examination or Vetting is highly recommended, and often essential if you wish to insure the horse. We are keen to help you with your decision making by performing an in depth quality vetting.
On the Farm side we also have a large range of animals under our care including dairy cows, beef enterprises, sheep flocks, pig units, goat herds, alpacas and deer. We welcome smallholders, who find us keen to provide quality individual care for their animals, whatever the number or type.
We are unique in this area of mixed practice as we are the only veterinary surgery within a thirty mile radius to have facilities for hospitalizing all types of large animals.  This aspect of animal care becomes necessary for various reasons:  to help a horse settle in before general anaesthetic, for animals that need constant checking (eg artificial insemination of mares and small calves on intravenous fluid therapy) and post operative wound management.  Where it is sometimes impractical to bring farm animals to the surgery (eg dairy cows) we can adapt our normal surgical routine and operate on the farm.
On our team we also have two large animal nurses: Helen and Liz. They look after the in-patients and assist the vets with ultrasound scanning, x-rays, endoscopy and general anaesthetics.  They will provide the extra TLC which is often required for a speedy recovery.



Smallholders

Smallholders

We take pride in looking after animals and birds kept on smallholdings. Clients who own smallholdings are from varying backgrounds and have a wide range of knowledge and are very enthusiastic.

We can help you put into practice what you have learned through reading or agricultural college courses and thereby encourage good welfare of your stock.

Services we can offer include:

  • Calf disbudding
  • Pig castration
  • Vaccination programmes
  • Help at lambing time
  • Alpaca health checks and ID chipping
  • Goat CAE and TB testing
  • Worming programmes for all species including horses
  • Worm egg counts
  • Breeding synchronisation of cattle and sheep

If you need help with breeding and artificial insemination we can guide you on the use of hormones and sponges to synchronise breeding.

We can offer you individual support for your particular kind of enterprise and give you 24-hour emergency backup.

 

Please call us for advice on 01892 835456 or email post@putlandsvets.com


Vettings

It can take a long time to find the perfect match when you are searching for a new horse. The process of buying and bringing home your new purchase is very exciting, but can be rather stressful too.

Asking us to vet a horse that you are planning to buy will remove a lot of guesswork and anxiety about the suitability of the animal for the plans that you have for your new partnership.

A vetting is conducted in five main stages:

Stage 1
A thorough physical examination of the horse during which we check the whole animal over, including the skin, eyes, heart, lung sounds, back, limbs, and feet.

Stage 2
The horse is observed walking and trotting in a straight line on a hard surface. Flexion tests may be performed to put a little extra pressure through the joints of the limbs. The horse may be lunged on a hard surface.

Stage 3
Ridden exercise is observed, with walk, trot and canter elements. If space and safety consideration allows, the horse may be galloped. Otherwise, a period of faster work in canter is performed so that the vet may listen to the horse's wind and heart when working hard.

Stage 4
The horse is allowed to rest and recovery time assessed.
Often we use this time to check the horse's identification and passport.

Stage 5
The horse is observed walking and trotting to check for any alteration after exercise.

If required, additional tests such as xrays and endoscopy of the airways are performed.

Blood samples are taken and stored for all horses vetted. This is to provide protection for all parties should there be a query after the horse is taken home. The sample can be tested for sedative and painkilling drugs for up to six months after the vetting by an independent laboratory.

Vetting for Insurance

If you intend to insure your horse, then many companies require a recent vetting certificate. Requirements vary depending on purchase price and insurance company used, so it is well worth checking with the insurance company that you intend to use.

Limited Pre-purchase Examination

A full five stage vetting is by far the best way to fully assess a horse for suitability of purpose. However, a restricted examination which includes only stage one and two may be appropriate in some circumstances(eg an unbroken youngster)

Requirements when booking a vetting are:

  • A clean well groomed horse (no hoof oil to be applied)
  • Well shod or well trimmed feet
  • A stable or building that can be darkened for the eye examination
  • A hard ''trot up' area, which is straight and level
  • A rider able to ride the horse at all paces
  • Ideally a level hard surface for lungeing
  • The horse's passport should be present for inspection
  • The horse must be kept in a stable overnight before the day of the vetting