Preventive medicine includes the procedures that should be routinely carried out to keep your horse in good health and protected from disease.
These procedures include:

• vaccination against equine influenza and tetanus. Depending on the risks of your particular situation, vaccination against EHV-1, EHV-4 (herpes virus) and strangles may also be worthwhile; ask the vet for advice,
• a worming programme; we can provide further information specific to your yard or see our section on parasite control for general worming advice
• regular dental checks: we can perform dentistry at your horse’s yard and we also run clinics at our hospital.

In addition, every horse should:

• be checked regularly every day. Horses should be inspected at least twice daily.
• have regular hoof care from a farrier: If a horse has foot problems do consult the vet as well. We run a foot clinic regularly at the hospital.

Planning Ahead:

Missing any of these important preventative procedures may result in a horse or pony being unable to work and may be an expensive oversight. If a vaccination is given late, the whole course may need to be started again to be able to compete. We will attempt to send vaccination reminders, but this is not a fool-proof system and it is your responsibility to ensure appointments are made before the next vaccination falls due. It is therefore advisable to plan your worming programme and book visits for vaccination, dentistry and shoeing well in advance.

Do not forget retired horses, brood mares and companion animals, as they require the same consideration and veterinary care. They are at risk even if they rarely leave the field.

Please see HERE for information on our Horse Health Programme and all the benefits it offers for preventative medicine.