Recent content by DaveS

Depends on the individual vet, but generally they are supposed to stay for the majority of the sedation, given that the horse is technically under anaesthetic. If they left and the horse reacted and/or collapsed then they would be held accountable and negligent. However, having said that, after...

What about exploring the money of the sport? For instance, a rich, but significantly less talented person has a much greater chance of reaching the top of the sport than someone who has done years and years of hard slog to often find themselves being groom to those that are better off. Money...

Well done for getting such a low heart rate on your second attempt! How long was the ride?

I would have suggested gastric ulcers too. One thing which could make a difference is to split his feeds into morning & evening, if that is possible? Horses are trickle feeders, therefore giving an actual meal is quite unnatural. This would become more of an issue when a horse gets older...

Didn't get stuck! Mind you it didn't help that my mum is a hypnotherapist in-training and was giving me a bit of a lecture on the hypnosis techniques he was using... with the result that I fell for none of it. I did quite enjoy standing up, stretching and going to get a cup of tea though at the...

I would use the bute and then if he doesn't seem better, ask for another vet. A week of bute will hopefully rule out any bumps/whacks/small injuries which will heal spontaneously; thereby saving you money on unnecessary expensive tests. If he is still lame then you can look into more in-depth...

Petplan seemed to go through a few err 'issues' a few months back where they seemed to be stalling over payment or refusing for no particular reason... personally I suspect they had a cashflow problem that they were trying to cover up! However, I haven't heard of anyone having problems...

If you get a positive diagnosis for what could be considered a 'long term, pre-existing condition' then you have a very good chance. Advanced navicular disease, for instance, would be one of these conditions. The problem is that it is going to cost you quite a bit to get the diagnosis... though...

From what I understand bone spavin is often only a problem when it is forming, when it can be quite painful and may require regular bute, steroid injections etc. When it has formed however - when the bones of the hock have fused together - the horse often goes on as if almost nothing has ever...