Horse owners in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire are invited to attend a free seminar on equine health next month (March). The event is hosted by Town and Country Veterinary Centre, the only equine vets based Market Harborough. The seminar will take place at their recently completed equine clinic in Moulton, Northamptonshire.

John Abbott, the head of Town and Country’s equine team, will be discussing the veterinary management of young horses. The seminar will also include a talk about nutritional requirements and owners will have the opportunity to discuss their horse’s particular dietary needs with Lizzie Drury, a senior registered nutritionist from Saracens Horse Feeds.

“The seminar is the ideal opportunity for horse owners to learn more about equine care and view our state of the art facilities,” comments Alex Holman, Practice Manager at Town and Country. “There will be a variety of issues discussed, including skeletal growth, energy requirements and physical and medical conditions. There will also be a question and answer session to answer any particular concerns.”

Town and Country Veterinary Centre have a dedicated equine team and are the only practice in Harborough to have on site facilities for horses including stabling, a trot up area and lunging paddock. In addition, the Moulton site offers a diagnostic suite and a fully equipped operating theatre.  The talks will be followed by a tour of the rehabilitation facility and equine spa with a demonstration of the water treadmill.

The free seminar is the first of a series of events planned for 2012 and will take place at 7pm on Thursday 15^th March at the Equine Veterinary Clinic and Therapy Centre, Moulton. For more information or to book a place, please visit www.tcvets.co.uk or call 01858 465668.

Myxomatosis is a viral disease which causes lumps and puffiness around the head and genitals, progressing to conjunctivitis and possibly blindness. Rabbits become listless, lose appetite, and develop a fever. Secondary bacterial infections occur in most cases which cause pneumonia. In typical cases where the rabbit has no resistance, death may take place rapidly, often in as little as 48 hours. Death usually occurs within 14 days.

Myxomatosis is spread by direct contact with an affected animal or by being bitten by fleas/flies/mosquitoes that have fed on an infected rabbit so pet rabbits outside can be infected.

Vaccination is a single injection which can provide immunity within two weeks, and lasts for six months so we recommend vaccination in spring/early summer to cover your rabbit through the summer months!

Emma

Until the ice melts be careful to keep your dog under control around water.

For more advice contact Town & Country Vets in Market Harborough – serving South Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire

Clinical signs, which seem to affect more than 1 in a herd and include:

• fever
• reduced milk yield (up to 50%)
• inappetence
• loss of condition and, in some cases
• diarrhoea

If you have concerns please call one of our team at our Market Harbourough branch or at our specialist centre for larger animals including farm animals.

Even if you do not vaccinate your horse for influenza, due to not competing for example, please do not forget to keep his or her tetanus protection up to date at all times as horses are particularly susceptible to this disease. The bacteria that cause tetanus are present in the soil and in faeces, and therefore contaminate other objects as well, so all horses are at risk. The bacteria enter the body via wounds, but the wound may be so small that it is not noticed. Once the symptoms have developed attempts at treatment are usually unsuccessful, as well as being very expensive, and if the disease has progressed to a certain stage it may be inhumane to do anything other than euthanase the animal.

The starting vaccination course is two injections 4-6 weeks apart. A booster every 2 years is then required to keep the protection up to date.

Mares should receive a booster when pregnant as some protection will then pass to the foal. Foals then need to start their own vaccination course from 5 months of age.

If your horse is out of date and gets a wound ring us without delay so that we can administer tetanus antitoxin to provide protection as this works faster than the vaccination.

If you would like more advice do call us at our Market Harborough (South Leicestershire) branch or at our specialist Equine Centre in North Northamptosnshire.

When not working most of Sarah’s waking hours (and some of the ones that should be spent sleeping) are occupied with looking after and playing polo on her Argentinian horses, Mariana and Moro (pictured). She isn’t as good at the game as the horses but enjoys it as much as they do!

Town and Country Vets in Market Harborough have a number of ways to desensitise and calm your pet without using sedative or tranquiliser drugs BUT they need to be started as soon as possible before the first fireworks are let off. Using these methods can reduce your pet’s noise phobia for life making November 5th and New Year tolerable for them and stressless for you.

Phone the practice now and ask to speak to a vet or a nurse. Town and Country Veterinary Centre in Market Harborough can be contact on 01858 465668

The dog show was very popular and there was stiff competition to win a coveted rosette. Judge and retired vet, Roger Fox had a difficult task picking the winners from the numerous entrants.

Photographer Wayne Neal, of www.nomadicmonkimages.com, photographed many of our four legged friends that turned up especially for the event. If you would like to purchase your pets photograph please go to blog.nomadicmonkimages.com. Great value at £15 for a mounted print with 10% going to our chosen charity for this year ‘Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’.

Of course we can’t forget to mention ‘Smokey the cat’, the cat with the loudest purr in the world, fresh from her recent appearance on BBC Radio5 live and proudly sporting her Guinness World Records certificate. It was an honour to have Smokey in attendance and there is no doubt she is an absolute star. For more information about Smokey see www.smokeythepurringcat.com.

Clients enjoyed seeing the new state of the art facilities and learning about what goes on behind the scenes in a busy pet hospital. The trade stands and demonstrations were very interesting and gave clients the opportunity to try the equipment first hand.

Partner Tim Murphy said ‘We have been using the facilities for the past few months but this weekend we wanted to show pet owners what happens in a pet hospital and let them see and use some of the equipment . It was a great afternoon’.