Anyone flying to Antalya, Turkey anytime soon?

[ester]

druid means for the the tests. I am a bit confused why it would take more than 6 days to get here, we regularly get samples from greece and malta within 48 hours, even though they sometimes go a rather weird route. Its very rare that the shipping time is our issue just customs that bugger us up, or the courier saying that there's no waybill when its right there on the box

 

[ester]

Have you spoken to westgate about it? I guess they dont do international very often/at all but a lot depends on the receiving lab (ie they are biological samples going to a registered lab for testing not just joe bloggs). As the receiving lab we always send the appropriate paperwork for the sender to include.

 

[Caski]

May I ask if the core issue could be one of communication? I'm sure that there will be excellent vets in Turkey so could you engage an interpreter if you have no other way to talk to them? Can the Turkish Equine Veterinary Association TEVA offer you any help? They are on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/THETEVA/

 

[druid]

do you mean for parasite tests? or couriers?

Testing

 

[mariaandefe]

May I ask if the core issue could be one of communication? I'm sure that there will be excellent vets in Turkey so could you engage an interpreter if you have no other way to talk to them? Can the Turkish Equine Veterinary Association TEVA offer you any help? They are on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/THETEVA/

i regularly talk with all vets in turkey about my horses situation, maybe if they were helpful enough i wouldnt be in this situation with my horses health

 

[mariaandefe]

druid means for the the tests. I am a bit confused why it would take more than 6 days to get here, we regularly get samples from greece and malta within 48 hours, even though they sometimes go a rather weird route. Its very rare that the shipping time is our issue just customs that bugger us up, or the courier saying that there's no waybill when its right there on the box

the test needs to be in the lab within 6 days, the last time i got my saddle shipped to turkey they promised it would get to turkey in one day, it took 2 months in the end and they threatened to destroy my saddle. so i don’t exactly have good associations with these couriers
could i ask where you work if that’s not illegal to ask? now im scared to ask anything

 

[nikicb]

I'm sorry I can't help with your questions directly, but there is another poster on here based in Turkey, and involved in the SJ world. She isn't on here regularly, but she may be able to recommend a vet that is more locally based, but that speaks reasonable English. She's @1ST1 It may be worth sending her a PM.

 

[Landcruiser]

if you read my previous comments you could understand my situation. i lived in the uk for 10 years i left the country when i was 14, so you think i know what protocols the uk has for shipping samples?

i also never knew saliva and fecal tests were ‘illegal’ as no one mentioned this to me previously neither did the lab.

At risk of sounding mean OP, you are throwing an awful lot of blame around here, as well as inadvertently asking some stranger to do something seriously illegal on your behalf.
It's not up to Westgate to tell you about international shipping. TBH, it's not up to strangers on the internet either - it's absolutely your responsibility to do your own research, especially in the shipping of biological samples between different countries.

 

[PurBee]

Have you spoken to westgate about it? I guess they dont do international very often/at all but a lot depends on the receiving lab (ie they are biological samples going to a registered lab for testing not just joe bloggs). As the receiving lab we always send the appropriate paperwork for the sender to include.

A USA lab i used for human testing blood and saliva sent a pre-paid international return envelope/packaging with all the international bio-samples customs paperwork filled-out. It was easy to do and all worked well for super fast ship from Ireland to USA.
Can’t remember if that was fedx or dhl.

I’m surprised westgate didnt send op an international sample package.

 

[ester]

At risk of sounding mean OP, you are throwing an awful lot of blame around here, as well as inadvertently asking some stranger to do something seriously illegal on your behalf.
It's not up to Westgate to tell you about international shipping. TBH, it's not up to strangers on the internet either - it's absolutely your responsibility to do your own research, especially in the shipping of biological samples between different countries.

If they were to do it quite a bit of it would be up to westgate/without their lab details/import licence the samples won't get through customs. But of course they may not want international samples at all. It's a shame I don't think border reiver posts on here anymore as she was westgate.

 

[teapot]

Westgate's website says it no longer accepts samples from outside the UK...

 

[mariaandefe]

Westgate's website says it no longer accepts samples from outside the UK...

i talked to them not even a week ago, explaining my situation, they said it’s all fine as long as i ship them the samples in 6 days. weird…

 

[mariaandefe]

A USA lab i used for human testing blood and saliva sent a pre-paid international return envelope/packaging with all the international bio-samples customs paperwork filled-out. It was easy to do and all worked well for super fast ship from Ireland to USA.
Can’t remember if that was fedx or dhl.

I’m surprised westgate didnt send op an international sample package.

Did you do this test for an equine? If you remember the company please please please let me know, as now i found out that saliva and fecal samples are illegal i’ve now also wasted 40£

 

[mariaandefe]

At risk of sounding mean OP, you are throwing an awful lot of blame around here, as well as inadvertently asking some stranger to do something seriously illegal on your behalf.
It's not up to Westgate to tell you about international shipping. TBH, it's not up to strangers on the internet either - it's absolutely your responsibility to do your own research, especially in the shipping of biological samples between different countries.

i called westgate explaining my situation, they confirmed that it was okay to ship a sample from turkey to the uk as long as it was done in 6 days. i am explaining again, i did not know that it was illegal, it doesn’t even come to mind to me that a cotton bud with some saliva on it can be ‘illegal’ i don’t have the time to think about things like this.
if i remember correctly, people post threads on here to hear second opinions and ask for advice. i didn’t ask to be slandered by grown adults. do you guys have nothing better to do? there’s some lovely people on here who explained to me nicely. if you don’t have any advice then what was the point in slandering me? i don’t need life lessons, thank you

 

[Tiddlypom]

Westgate's website says it no longer accepts samples from outside the UK...

Indeed.

I’m quite puzzled as Westgate often say to avoid sending samples in from within the UK during times of postal disruption and delay, including Christmas and industrial action. 6 days in transit is very long.

Overseas orders
We no longer accept samples from outside UK due to Brexit and postal times so please do not post them to us.
Equisal test kits are only available in the UK at present. For queries outside the UK please contact the EquiSal laboratory direct: enquiries@equisal.com

ETA Tbf to OP I’ve just found a post on the Westgate FB page which does state dung samples are ok to be tested up to 6 days after collection.

Agree with others, it’s complying with any necessary paperwork that will be a hindrance.

 

[mariaandefe]

Indeed.

Overseas orders
We no longer accept samples from outside UK due to Brexit and postal times so please do not post them to us.
Equisal test kits are only available in the UK at present. For queries outside the UK please contact the EquiSal laboratory direct: enquiries@equisal.com

called them a week ago, they said it was fine. weird…
honestly i’ll probably end up sending the empty samples back to the uk, as i don’t see any point in doing anything with them at this point…
will be investing in an international company now, quite annoying that they didn’t specify that they don’t do international samples, but oh well

 

[VictoriaSponge]

i called westgate explaining my situation, they confirmed that it was okay to ship a sample from turkey to the uk as long as it was done in 6 days. i am explaining again, i did not know that it was illegal, it doesn’t even come to mind to me that a cotton bud with some saliva on it can be ‘illegal’ i don’t have the time to think about things like this.
if i remember correctly, people post threads on here to hear second opinions and ask for advice. i didn’t ask to be slandered by grown adults. do you guys have nothing better to do? there’s some lovely people on here who explained to me nicely. if you don’t have any advice then what was the point in slandering me? i don’t need life lessons, thank you

It’s disappointing from Westgate that they didn’t advise you more appropriately, I’ve always had very positive experiences with them. The conflicting information on their website must also be frustrating; I’d give them an another call and ask for a refund, especially as the lab work won’t be carried out.

Although I’m sure it was entirely unintentional, you have asked strangers to do something illegal on your behalf, which has rightfully caused some concern. Unfortunately, it is one of those things you have to think about. Best of luck on getting to the bottom of this, you clearly have the horse’s best interests at heart and I hope you find out what’s going on.

 

[mariaandefe]

It’s disappointing from Westgate that they didn’t advise you more appropriately, I’ve always had very positive experiences with them. The conflicting information on their website must also be frustrating; I’d give them an another call and ask for a refund, especially as the lab work won’t be carried out.

Although I’m sure it was entirely unintentional, you have asked strangers to do something illegal on your behalf, which has rightfully caused some concern. Unfortunately, it is one of those things you have to think about. Best of luck on getting to the bottom of this, you clearly have the horse’s best interests at heart and I hope you find out what’s going on.

thanks so much! i’m very stressed and worried, not about the tests etc, but about my horses current situation with his allergies…

i am only a teenager so i don’t exactly know laws or protocols…but thanks so much for not slandering me and thanks so much for your kind words

 

[Amymay Again]

Istanbul has an equine veterinary clinic.

 

[mariaandefe]

Istanbul has an equine veterinary clinic.

yes is it called erdil? if so, my vet works there. he will be coming soon to perform a gastroscopy on my horse. i’ll be in touch with them again next week for the parasite exam hopefully

 

[PurBee]

i called westgate explaining my situation, they confirmed that it was okay to ship a sample from turkey to the uk as long as it was done in 6 days. i am explaining again, i did not know that it was illegal, it doesn’t even come to mind to me that a cotton bud with some saliva on it can be ‘illegal’ i don’t have the time to think about things like this.
if i remember correctly, people post threads on here to hear second opinions and ask for advice. i didn’t ask to be slandered by grown adults. do you guys have nothing better to do? there’s some lovely people on here who explained to me nicely. if you don’t have any advice then what was the point in slandering me? i don’t need life lessons, thank you

To be clear, posting biological samples, native country or internationally is not illegal, providing the package has all the correct customs labelling and packaging.

What people are saying is illegal, is asking a stranger to board a plane carrying biological samples that may well be infectious, without proper packaging and customs clearance.

You could request a refund from Westgate and use a lab/country closer to Turkey.

 

[mariaandefe]

To be clear, posting biological samples, native country or internationally is not illegal, providing the package has all the correct customs labelling and packaging.

What people are saying is illegal, is asking a stranger to board a plane carrying biological samples that may well be infectious, without proper packaging and customs clearance.

You could request a refund from Westgate and use a lab/country closer to Turkey.

I will double check the packaging they sent me. However, if the web says they no longer test international samples then I think there’s no point…
Anyway, thank you for making this clear!

 

[nutjob]

Having had a horse with an allergic condition that looked much worse that this horse I do understand how distressing it can be. What I don't understand is, if the horse has been wormed multiple times already what is the urgency to have fec or tapeworm saliva test done. If possible, it's good going forward to do testing rather than just worming the horse regardless but it's clutching at straws to think that this test will give you any information about the allergy.

I mentioned about an exclusion diet on another thread. This means cutting out all supplements and mixed feeds and only feeding one product. I know you said this has been done, on a previous thread, but the post indicated that the horse is still getting a lot of different things in the diet. When my horse was on an exclusion diet he was fed alfalfa and only alfalfa. He had no rugs and no chemicals sprayed onto him. This is done over 6 weeks, he was weaned off prednisolone tablets, the hives went with time and I was then able to one by one add items back in. By adding things back in I found out he could not eat live growing grass, anything herbal (probably echinacea) or glucosamine.

This horse appears to be ingesting multiple things including human medications and meadow hay which can contain multiple species of plants. Before embarking on a complex and potentially expensive process to test for worms in a horse which has already had multiple wormers I would think about doing the exclusion testing again.

What did you feed the horse previously when you say he was on an exclusion diet and how long did this go on for?

 

[mariaandefe]

Having had a horse with an allergic condition that looked much worse that this horse I do understand how distressing it can be. What I don't understand is, if the horse has been wormed multiple times already what is the urgency to have fec or tapeworm saliva test done. If possible, it's good going forward to do testing rather than just worming the horse regardless but it's clutching at straws to think that this test will give you any information about the allergy.

I mentioned about an exclusion diet on another thread. This means cutting out all supplements and mixed feeds and only feeding one product. I know you said this has been done, on a previous thread, but the post indicated that the horse is still getting a lot of different things in the diet. When my horse was on an exclusion diet he was fed alfalfa and only alfalfa. He had no rugs and no chemicals sprayed onto him. This is done over 6 weeks, he was weaned off prednisolone tablets, the hives went with time and I was then able to one by one add items back in. By adding things back in I found out he could not eat live growing grass, anything herbal (probably echinacea) or glucosamine.

This horse appears to be ingesting multiple things including human medications and meadow hay which can contain multiple species of plants. Before embarking on a complex and potentially expensive process to test for worms in a horse which has already had multiple wormers I would think about doing the exclusion testing again.

What did you feed the horse previously when you say he was on an exclusion diet and how long did this go on for?

hi, i did do an elimination test when he was only on hay. in turkey we only have meadow hay and alfalfa.

this horse has bad hives i must say, i won’t post the pictures on here as they really are awful.

when he was on a diet, he was fed only hay water and oats. he had an allergy, then we switched oats to barley, still had an allergy.
he even ate only hay and water and the hives still got worse. i switched him from an indoor stable to an outdoor stables, they only got worse…
he was doing good this week only on 5 prednisolone tablets this week until i added a supplement, i removed the supplement today. i’ll see tomorrow if he improves. otherwise, i will end up getting him tested for an insane amount of money, but ive heard some good things about immunotherapy

 

[mariaandefe]

Having had a horse with an allergic condition that looked much worse that this horse I do understand how distressing it can be. What I don't understand is, if the horse has been wormed multiple times already what is the urgency to have fec or tapeworm saliva test done. If possible, it's good going forward to do testing rather than just worming the horse regardless but it's clutching at straws to think that this test will give you any information about the allergy.

I mentioned about an exclusion diet on another thread. This means cutting out all supplements and mixed feeds and only feeding one product. I know you said this has been done, on a previous thread, but the post indicated that the horse is still getting a lot of different things in the diet. When my horse was on an exclusion diet he was fed alfalfa and only alfalfa. He had no rugs and no chemicals sprayed onto him. This is done over 6 weeks, he was weaned off prednisolone tablets, the hives went with time and I was then able to one by one add items back in. By adding things back in I found out he could not eat live growing grass, anything herbal (probably echinacea) or glucosamine.

This horse appears to be ingesting multiple things including human medications and meadow hay which can contain multiple species of plants. Before embarking on a complex and potentially expensive process to test for worms in a horse which has already had multiple wormers I would think about doing the exclusion testing again.

What did you feed the horse previously when you say he was on an exclusion diet and how long did this go on for?

it’s a very long story on what he was fed on before. what does your horse eat, since he cannot eat live growing grass?

 

[mariaandefe]

Having had a horse with an allergic condition that looked much worse that this horse I do understand how distressing it can be. What I don't understand is, if the horse has been wormed multiple times already what is the urgency to have fec or tapeworm saliva test done. If possible, it's good going forward to do testing rather than just worming the horse regardless but it's clutching at straws to think that this test will give you any information about the allergy.

I mentioned about an exclusion diet on another thread. This means cutting out all supplements and mixed feeds and only feeding one product. I know you said this has been done, on a previous thread, but the post indicated that the horse is still getting a lot of different things in the diet. When my horse was on an exclusion diet he was fed alfalfa and only alfalfa. He had no rugs and no chemicals sprayed onto him. This is done over 6 weeks, he was weaned off prednisolone tablets, the hives went with time and I was then able to one by one add items back in. By adding things back in I found out he could not eat live growing grass, anything herbal (probably echinacea) or glucosamine.

This horse appears to be ingesting multiple things including human medications and meadow hay which can contain multiple species of plants. Before embarking on a complex and potentially expensive process to test for worms in a horse which has already had multiple wormers I would think about doing the exclusion testing again.

What did you feed the horse previously when you say he was on an exclusion diet and how long did this go on for?

may i also ask, i thought about this. can a horse have an allergy to something he ate previously? because everything he eats/drinks/stable, is still the same. say all 4years i’ve had him, he’s always ate meadow hay, he always ate the same ingredients in his mixed feed. before i owned him, he used to be stabled for 2years without any access to the outside world, he was stabled on his own manure and pee, and he ate dry bran. he’s very well looked after now, and he has a superb balanced diet, he eats only good quality hay. so i’m not quite sure what he could react to so badly? nothing really changed…

 

[nutjob]

it’s a very long story on what he was fed on before. what does your horse eat, since he cannot eat live growing grass?

He was able to eat hay, haylage both ryegrass and timothy, alfalfa, linseed and I fed him this supplement https://progressive-earth.com/produ...erals-and-amino-acids-commonly-low-in-forage/
These things were added back into his diet one by one, low levels at first and then increasing.
I turned him out into a sand arena rather than in a field, I don't have him now as he had to be euthanised for other reasons but I kept him for more than 10 years after the allergies started.

he’s very well looked after now, and he has a superb balanced diet, he eats only good quality hay. so i’m not quite sure what he could react to so badly? nothing really changed…

Currently, your horse is allergic to something in his environment. Either eaten, contacted his skin or inhaled. My vets in the UK were not really helpful other than prescribing steroids, and a dexamethasone injection caused severe laminitis and my horse was lucky to survive this. If it's something in the air like pollen then you are unlucky and this may be more difficult to manage. It's not too hard to stop using rugs and sprays etc in the short term but if you want to do a proper exclusion diet then it should be one ingredient only. A well balance diet is not an exclusion diet no matter how much care you have put into it, it can contain a several different ingredients as can the human drugs you are giving him, they can be formulated with preservatives, stabilisers and fillers. The exclusion diet is only for the short term then you start adding things back in. I don't know what might be in the water in Turkey but if you are concerned about it can you used filtered, bottled or rainwater to exclude this for a while?

 

[mariaandefe]

He was able to eat hay, haylage both ryegrass and timothy, alfalfa, linseed and I fed him this supplement https://progressive-earth.com/produ...erals-and-amino-acids-commonly-low-in-forage/
These things were added back into his diet one by one, low levels at first and then increasing.
I turned him out into a sand arena rather than in a field, I don't have him now as he had to be euthanised for other reasons but I kept him for more than 10 years after the allergies started.


Currently, your horse is allergic to something in his environment. Either eaten, contacted his skin or inhaled. My vets in the UK were not really helpful other than prescribing steroids, and a dexamethasone injection caused severe laminitis and my horse was lucky to survive this. If it's something in the air like pollen then you are unlucky and this may be more difficult to manage. It's not too hard to stop using rugs and sprays etc in the short term but if you want to do a proper exclusion diet then it should be one ingredient only. A well balance diet is not an exclusion diet no matter how much care you have put into it, it can contain a several different ingredients as can the human drugs you are giving him, they can be formulated with preservatives, stabilisers and fillers. The exclusion diet is only for the short term then you start adding things back in. I don't know what might be in the water in Turkey but if you are concerned about it can you used filtered, bottled or rainwater to exclude this for a while?

When he was eating only hay and water, the vets said I should add a concentrated feed due to the fact that colic could start apparently. I tried giving him mountain water, and nothing changed.
i haven’t used any sprays or any treatments for ages now, he is rugged however i can try not rugging him. however, we don’t wash his rugs with any chemicals.
there is another horse at my yard with the same problem, ongoing hives.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi all,
I know this may sound weird, but I’m desperate…
Is anyone flying or know anyone flying to Antalya, Turkey that may be able to take two samples and send them to Westgate labs via next day delivery?

Of course I will pay for everything

May I ask what sort of allergy the horse has??? What feed is he or she on? I asked as one of mine suddenly developed a skin allergy, she ended up rubbing herself raw and hive like lumps were all over her face and neck and over her body she rubbed raw as you can see. I found she is allergic to Alfafa.

 

[mariaandefe]

May I ask what sort of allergy the horse has??? What feed is he or she on?

ongoing hives. when the allergy started he was fed on pelleted feed and meadow hay, carrots, apples and parsley.
the pelleted feed contained (barley, maize, wheat, and rice bran and a bunch of additives). he no longer eats his pelleted feed as many people have seen it coming up with mouldy patches.