A general musing..whats the law on...

Girlychu

Girlychu

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the following:-

Friend and I discussing a hoof abscess and best way to treat. I mention that farrier/vet best person for advice - she agrees. But say an owner decides to dig in to the horses hoof and then calls the vet/farrier out because the horse is still lame after owner interference does the following apply:-

1.Can the vet/farrier refuse to treat the animal because of owners interference?
2.Does the vet/farrier have to report the matter to a relevant body?

I can't find anything Google wise and there is a very nice bottle of plonk plus choccies riding on this. Any help welcomed. :D
 
I think, and I'm not totally sure of this, but, rightly or wrongly you are allowed to treat your own animals. You are not allowed to treat anyone else's without relevant training and qualifications.
 
Unless the horse is permanently lame, and you could produce evidence that digging the horses foot out was of a direct result of this and got the welfare organisations involved, her horse her decision if she thought she was doing the right thing. Hope the vet/farrier can fit the damage.
 
Again not certain but I understand a farrier can dig a hole in the hoof/foot to help drain an abscess but must not draw blood, if they do I think it's classed as an invasive procedure and can only be carried out by a vet. Again not certain but I think you are able to treat your own animals.
 
Depends, I'd have a dig around, but my version of dig around (light scrape for something obvious) would be very different to farrier/vet dig around.

Ours (OH's dad) would dig around differently dependant on horse and situation so I wouldn't like to do more than a surface dig around as don't know enough to know whether I'd do damage and he's never said not to be doing this (and is very vocal about what I can and cant touch and on which horses feet!)

Our vet, OH's dad and ex donkey sanctuary farrier have in the past (over phone) asked us to dig around on one donkey foot to see if certain things were showing. Made the difference between an obvious answer and a call out. So should imagine none of the above would have done so if there was a problem doing it yourself.

I think complications caused could cause a bigger bill, but I doubt a vet would refuse to treat, unless they had reason to believe you'd meddle after the treatment and could be dangerous to recovery?
 
As far as my SA knowledge goes you can treat your own animals. Otherwise to do 'minor surgery' you have to be a MRCVS vet, or an RVN nurse acting under direction of, and deemed competent byt he MRCVS

Not sure on the equine side of things, esp farriers. Maybe this has the answer - RCVS guide to professional conduct - Can't trawl thru it right now sorry, as my son needs putting to bed

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/
 
If we aren't allowed to treat other peoples horses how does that work for grooms? When I was a hunt groom I treated abscess's and injuries on a regular basis. And if vets were needed it was me that called them.
 
Farriers are not allowed to diagnose or treat horses - only vets can - even though a good farrier probably knows far more about a hoof that a vet. Madness!!
 
pinklilly said:
If we aren't allowed to treat other peoples horses how does that work for grooms? When I was a hunt groom I treated abscess's and injuries on a regular basis. And if vets were needed it was me that called them.
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AFAIK as an employee you are able to treat your employers animals - such as a farm hand is able to give a cow a shot of antibiotics under their employers direction.

If you were self employed then I have no idea, and I think that if I had to think about it (as a self employed RVN) then my head would explode lol :o
 
Sorry OP got side tracked in my first post
Your vet canot refuse to treat a horse in need .
A farrier can it's a commercial transaction between you.
You can broadly do what you want to your own horse but you can't put shoes on it.
But if if you caused suffering to the horse you would be putting yourself in a postion where you could prosecuted.
 
Mouldy Mistletoe said:
Thank you for all the replies. :D

tankgirl the link is very interesting. Thank you :)
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You are welcome - I'm sure there is a downloadable PDF file on the RCVS somewhere, which has all the detail and nitty gritty details. But there will always be grey areas, as us VNs are finding out - wouldn't surprise me if farriers were struggling in a similar way...
 
tankgirl1 said:
AFAIK as an employee you are able to treat your employers animals - such as a farm hand is able to give a cow a shot of antibiotics under their employers direction.

If you were self employed then I have no idea, and I think that if I had to think about it (as a self employed RVN) then my head would explode lol :o
Click to expand...

I don't allow my grooms to inject the horses I always do it myself.
 
I'm sure its actually that farriers aren't allowed to diagnose. So in theory they shouldn't be digging around for abcesses unless a vet has diagnosed an abcess. Ditto anything else you'd get a farrier too. However even vets usually turn a blind eye to farriers treating stuff. And farriers aren't allowed to do anything that draws blood, it classes as surgery. As for owners, grooms etc its fine afaik provided no blood is drawn & basic welfare is adhered to.
 
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