Please ensure that your horse is caught, clean and with its feet picked out, ready for when the vet arrives. A clean bucket of water, soap and towel is certainly appreciated by the vet!
Have your horse's passport available to present to the vet so we can check vaccination status, ensure we are giving the appropriate vaccination if due, check we have the horse's passport details recorded and importantly, to ensure the passport is signed to state the horse is NOT FOR human consumption. This section can be found in Part II of Section 2 (or Section 9 in older passports). The signing of this section legally allows us to freely treat with all appropriate medications available to us, including routine medications such as Phenylbutazone ('bute', which includes Equipalazone and Danilon), and other medications such as Prascend. Further information can be found in the Useful Info section on PASSPORTS.
Somebody who knows the horse and its history needs to be there to see the vet. We try to keep to time for our appointments but emergencies have to be fitted in as well; if we are delayed we will endeavour to ring and let you know what is happening, or we can ring when we are on the way to your yard to save you waiting. When making an appointment with the office please make sure you leave a mobile number which you will have with you at the time of your appointment.
The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) has put together a very useful information sheet on safety for vets and owners to highlight what can be done to reduce any risk of injury to horse, owner and vet while undertaking investigations / treatment on a yard. It is a useful document as a reminder of what to have prepared for a vet visit and also reasons why investigations / treatments may be stopped due to safety and why other options for the investigations / treatment discussed to reduce the potential risk of injury, such as referral into the hospital.
'Don't Break Your Vet' series
Equine veterinary medicine has one of the highest risk of injury of all civilian professions. To help address this and to reduce stress for those horses who can find vet visits stressful, the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) created a campaign called 'Don't Break Your Vet' to help owners prepare their horses and to help mitigate risk of injury to vets, handlers and patients during treatment.
The campaign comprises of a series of short videos featuring equine vet and animal behaviourist Gemma Pearson. Supported by some of the UKs top riders and competition grooms, the series of short videos provide simple solutions on how to teach horses to be calm, relaxed and confident for various routine procedures, such as vaccination, worming, clipping and treatment from the vet.
The 7 short videos offer practical advice for owners on how to help their horse, pony or donkey be calm, relaxed and prepared for:
- injections
- clipping
- worming
- standing still for examinations
- leading and trotting up
- 'happy heads' (helping to over come being 'head-shy')
- clicker training
BEVC Chief Executive David Mountford said at the time of the campaign launch in 2018 "Gemma’s amazing videos show how a little preparation can have a big impact on horse, owner and vet safety".
You can access the Don't Break Your Vet series on YouTube.
In January 2025, B&W Equine Vet Alex Wood was invited by Horse & Hound to join them on an episode of their podcast about equine behaviour and needle shy horses. You can listen to this incredibly interesting and insightful episode on the H&H website.
Clicker Training
Clicker training in horses is a form of positive reinforcement training where a distinct sound (usually a 'click') is used to mark a desired behaviour at the exact moment it occurs, followed by a reward, typically food. This method is adapted from the same principles used in dog and marine mammal training and has grown in popularity among horse trainers generally and out vets and nurses in particular. seeking a more cooperative and communicative approach.
HOW CLICKER TRAINING WORKS:
1) Charging the clicker
- First the horse learns that a 'click' means a reward is coming
- You click, then immediately offer a treat. Repeat until the horse associates the sound with a reward
2) Shaping behaviour
- You use the clicker to mark small steps towards a desired behaviour (eg standing still, lifting a hoof, tolerating an injection)
- Click at the exact moment the horse does what you want, then treat
3) Building complexity
- Once the behaviour is reliable, you can add cues (verbal or physical) and shape more complex behaviours, like trailer loading, standing for the farrier and veterinary treatments, such as administering eye medications
BENEFITS:
- Encourages willingness and engagement from the horse
- Builds a strong bond based on trust and communication
- Useful for desensitisation and fear reduction, especially in resuce or traumatized horses
- Encourages problem-solving and autonomy in the horse
CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS:
** Timing is critical - a poorly times 'click' can reinforce the wrong behaviour **
- Horses may become pushy about food if boundaries are not set
- It's important to fade food rewards over time and use other reinforcements like scratches, voice or freedom
- Not all horse professionals are experienced in clicker training, so guidance from a trained practitioner can be helpful - speak to our clinical team at BELL for further advice.
We now offer specific behavioural consultations to help this and have had a lot of success, especially in younger horses, so do please consider it as an option for humane and communicative training for your horse.
The average clicker training consultation costs between £30 & £40 (incl VAT) based on the process taking 20-30 minutes, however prices are based on time, which can vary considerably between patients.
You can find out more about clicker training and how to do it at home from Gemma Pearson's video on clicker training as part of the 'Don't Break Your Vet' series.
An example of Clicker Training
Here is an example of how well clicker training can work with RVNs Matt and Tash.
In the first video you can see how the patient resents Matt approaching, anticipating an injection. This is what we would call being 'needle shy'.
In the second video you can see that very swiftly he stops moving away and is happy to have Matt approach him and put pressure on the vein for a simulated injection (in this scenario we are not actually injecting him but using a covered needle to place pressure replicating n intra-venous injection).
Clicker training part 1
Clicker training part 2