Taking a horse to Endell Vet hospital

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stimpy

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Does anyone have experience of taking a horse to Endell's in Salisbury? My horse needs to go there for an eye exam but he can get pretty worried about going into strange buildings/confined areas; mainly because we don't think he can see very well. He is as good as gold at home and travelling but I think this is because he is familiar with his normal surroundings and I am worried about him getting super stressed at the vet's just about going into an exam room. I do have an alternative to wait a couple of weeks and have a different specialist come to me, I'm not sure what to do that's best for him. I guess the staff at Endell's are well used to dealing with stressed equines but never having been there I just don't know what the setup is like.
 
I have always found the staff very helpful and understanding.
Set up is good, and even one of mine who didnt like going to new places settled well.

I hope all goes well, and do ask me anything else if you want. Xx
 
Sprout said:
I have always found the staff very helpful and understanding.
Set up is good, and even one of mine who didnt like going to new places settled well.

I hope all goes well, and do ask me anything else if you want. Xx
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Thank you Sprout :)

What is the yard setup like, is it outdoor or indoor boxes? And do the horses go to an exam room or get examined in a stable?
 
Most of the stabling is in a barn, and I always had mine led into a big examination area, which they were fine with. There were a few external boxes which seemed to be used for isolation, like when one of mine was injected with radio active dye. If you voice any concerns up front, I am sure they will be very supportive.
 
Sprout said:
Most of the stabling is in a barn, and I always had mine led into a big examination area, which they were fine with. There were a few external boxes which seemed to be used for isolation, like when one of mine was injected with radio active dye. If you voice any concerns up front, I am sure they will be very supportive.
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Thanks so much Sprout, I feel better already!
 
Hi OP sorry to be nosy but whats wrong with your horses eye? I am curious as I was told that my horse has extra cells on his epitheral layer on the cornea of his eye and it was within the realms of possibility that this was what caused him to spook all the time as things appeared hazy and unclear and he shies at shadowy things more than anything. However a second vet from the same practice discounted this so I will never know if it was a correct diagnosis or not! I emailed Dr Knottenbelt and he seemed to discount it at the time. He is better on the one rein with spooking at things than the other too although I've since read this is very common.

Even now I have to switch the light on in the washbox before I can take him in there as most times he won't go in if its very dark in there.

Good luck at the vets, I am sure that he will be okay, if you get worried you will pass your nerves onto him. Like another reply said, maybe you should let them know your concerns, they maybe able to offer a little sedation (for the horse not you) x
 
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Not nosey applecart :) I don't know what is wrong with my horse's vision, he's had a problem for years that was thought to be neurological rather than physiological but it has suddenly got worse so I am having it investigated more throughly.

My horse struggles with high contrast situations, so on bright sunny days he doesn't seem to be able to 'see' that a shadow is in fact a shadow rather than a hole or other danger. We have the same problem with shadows on the yard when I turn the lights on after dark, and we've also had the problem in the snow when the ground has been scraped to reveal a dark patch next to the snow. It's not quite spooking, and he's not a generally spooky horse, but he freezes and just can't move his feet, he has a very characteristic thing he does where he wobbles his whole body about but daren't take a step. When ridden I can get him to move but only backwards, in hand he will move as soon as I step into the shadow, it's as if that makes him realise that it's not a hole. On the bright days he seems much worse when the sun is behind him rather than in front of him, and he is much, much worse on tarmac, it's like he can't cope with the colour/reflective contrast of that surface. He can be fine going along a road one way but not the other, and it bears no relation to whether he is going home or going out, it seems to be entirely related to where the sun is in the sky. It's all most odd, and I really feel sorry for him, as he is clearly frightened and he is such a good horse in every other respect. I'm lucky enough to be able to mostly ride in woods, and it never happens in the woods, so I think his dark vision is excellent, the problem comes when there is a high contrast between the light and the dark.
 
Endell is my local horsepital and I have spent far too much time there over the years, lol!
I have always found them brilliant with how they deal with the horses. When my NF was young he couldn't deal with them shutting the exam room door (panicked big time) so they left it open. Now he's fine with it shut. He spent 3 days there recently having a gamma scan and they looked after him brilliantly ☺
 
Milkmaid said:
I have always found them brilliant with how they deal with the horses. When my NF was young he couldn't deal with them shutting the exam room door (panicked big time) so they left it open. Now he's fine with it shut. He spent 3 days there recently having a gamma scan and they looked after him brilliantly ☺
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Thanks Milkmaid, that's good to hear :)
 
Benji spent 10 days there when he stood on a nail and April had a 2 night stay last year. It is spacious so I don't think you need to worry. April was in isolation as they didn't know what she had. Hope all goes well for him (and you!).
 
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