Recent content by ash_vet

very well put. vets are humans and are capable of making mistakes in the same way that a doctor will occasionally accidentally kill a patient. this does not make homeopathy an acceptable alternative to veterinary surgeons and conventional medicine.

I actually meant exactly what YCBM stated. I have been presented with patients who have been treated with homeopathic remedies, in some cases this treatment has been allowed to persist for too long a period of time. When these homeopathic rememdies do not work, and I have been asked to try and...

This article by Ben Goldacre is well worth a read. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2007/nov/16/sciencenews.g2

At this stage I feel it is important to point out the difference between homeopathy and herbalism. Herbal medicines have been around for thousands of years, in fact large amounts of modern medicine is based around ancient herbal medicine. There are over 7000 substances regularly used in human...

I was really disappointed in the RCVS response. My own governing body is either unable or unwilling to take a stand against homeopathy. Ive been graduated five years, and was taught strictly evidence based medicine. I am yet to see, read or hear any evidence in favour of homeopathy. I have no...

Very sorry for your loss. Unfortunately colics such as these can go downhill very rapidly. Strangulating colics have a very rapid progression and can lead to an animal deteriorating very quickly. I have in the past treated animals with these colics that have been so uncomfortable, that even...

Bisphosphonates dont necessarily have to be the next step, I have used them exclusively of steroids in horses who I feel would benefit more. Unfortunately for steroids, they are only analgesic, they dont really have a disease modulating effect. Therefore as the arthritis worsens, the effect of...

Its very important to remember with arthritis that often every horse is different. One persons experiences will never match up to anothers. Ive treated elderly horses with arthritis very successfully for long periods of time with NSAIDs, eventers with steroids into the joint and others with...

What leg does he go lame on? Is it the same leg every time?

I tend to advise people to hot tub for about 10 minutes twice daily, and wet poultice after. I dont like to wet poultice a foot for more than 3 days in a row though as the foot will completely fall to pieces if you continually get it wet. 3 days wet poultice followed by 3 days dry poultice tends...

Speaking from a veterinary point of view I always advise our clients to vaccinate against Flu and Tetanus. At some stage there will be a large flu outbreak in this country, such as what happened in Australia in 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Australian_equine_influenza_outbreak...

Steroids and laminitis is always an interesting one for vets. Personally I am yet to see a horse suffer from steroid induced laminitis (5 years graduated), however it certainly can happen. I think one common misconception that many owners have is that all steroids are the same, and will have the...