Valley Equine Veterinary Centre

This grass seed was embedded in the conjunctiva of the eye.

Sand colic season is in full swing but look at what came out with the sand!

🎣🎣 FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS 🎣🎣

After being an equine veterinarian for 28 years, Dr Deryck is hanging up his stethoscope and saying goodbye to the veterinary profession 👋👋
Many of you know he has an addiction problem...he can't get enough of the ocean 🌊🌊 Retirement will see him freediving and spearfishing at every opportunity 🐟🐟
He will also be spending more time creating Gyotaku Art pieces and experimenting with recipes in the kitchen 🖼️🖼️🍽️🍽️
We will miss him but not his laughing at his own Dad Jokes! His last day as a veterinarian will be 30 June 2024.
All the best Deryck and hopefully you shoot your pink snapper soon and be rid of your ghastly long hair 🤞🤞😂😂
Clients can follow his future endeavours .gyotaku and .with.deryck

Despite Dr Deryck’s upcoming departure it will continue to be business as usual here at VEVC with all of our usual services available to our clients moving forward.

We have some exciting developments in the pipeline so watch this space for more information about the new staff who will be joining the team here at the Valley, to be announced at the end of next week! 🍀🌟🍀🌟

14 days after Dr Deryck's stitch up, Fraggles' laceration is fully healed.

Cold, wet morning at Edmund Rice College in Bindoon showing students the importance of Equine Dentistry. Grateful for the shed which kept us dry. Thanks for all your hard work Miss Karen and Mr Cecil for teaching the new generation, for your assistance Emma and Olivia, and for your interest and enthusiasm ERC students. And for posing with us Trumpet and Delta.

🌵🌵 CASE OF THE WEEK!! 🌵🌵

This pony came in today because her eye had been weepy for a few days - not painful at all - just weepy. Clinical examination of her eye was unremarkable with no evidence of an eye ulcer or conjunctivitis, and no obvious reason for her runny eye.

HOWEVER, there was more exciting stuff hiding away in her nasal passage on that side of her face, and it turns out that a huge grass seed had lodged itself into her nasolacrimal duct resulting in a blocked tear duct and an overflow of tears which was the reason for her weepy eye.

When we pulled out the grass seed a heap of pus poured out from her nose and some pus also appeared in her eye. We flushed her nasolacrimal duct and it was certainly the most impressive tear duct flush we have ever seen, so of course we had to share it with our FB followers - but be warned - it comes with a rather high grossness factor 🤢🤢😂😂

Pics attached here and video to follow…

💩💩🌱🌱😂😂

Altercation with a sign. Poor Fraggle. Get well soon boy.

🐴🐴😈😈🫣🫣😂😂

🌟🌟🌟WHY GASTROSCOPE?🌟🌟🌟

Well we often get asked why bother with a scope when my horse is showing all the signs of ulcers? Well the simple answer is that we need to know exactly what we are treating. It is important to recognise that some horses will display very extreme symptoms but may have surprisingly mild gastroscopic findings, and others are very stoic and may show little if any clinical signs of stomach ulcers but actually have extremely significant gastric disease.

Another very important reason for using gastroscopy to accurately diagnose the presence and severity of gastric ulcers is because ulcers in the squamous mucosa of the stomach are not the same as the ones we find in the glandular/pyloric mucosa, and glandular disease can be significantly more difficult to treat and manage than squamous disease.

❓❓❓WHY BOTHER WITH A FOLLOW UP GASTROSCOPE? ❓❓❓

It is a well known fact that the treatment and ongoing management of squamous vs glandular disease is not necessarily the same, and what works for one horse may not work for another. So despite previous beliefs, it is very important to realise that not every horse responds equally to a certain treatment, and unfortunately some treatments just do not work at all on some horses, especially when dealing with pyloric lesions which often respond poorly to oral omeprazole.

So just like you would recheck a tendon lesion before putting a horse back to full work, follow-up gastroscopy examinations are necessary to be sure that any previously diagnosed gastric ulcers have completely healed, and if not then that can be addressed accordingly, possibly by extending the period of treatment, and in some cases by changing to a different medication protocol altogether.

So the follow up scope is extremely important as that will confirm whether or not your horse is ulcer-free following treatment, as without that information you have no idea whether or not your horse still has ongoing issues with gastric ulceration, and you certainly haven’t ruled out ulcers as an underlying cause for behavioural issues or any other symptoms that would have prompted you to get your horse scoped in the first place.

❌❌❌WHY DON’T WE RUN DISCOUNTED SCOPING DAYS? ❌❌❌

We have just discussed the importance of gastroscopy not only for the accurate diagnosis of gastric disease, but also for ensuring that any previously diagnosed stomach ulcers have actually responded to treatment, and have been fully resolved.

Having set scoping days does not take that into consideration at all, and as a result a lot of the horses that are diagnosed with ulcers on ‘cheap’ scope days end up being treated for lengthy periods of time with expensive oral anti-ulcer medication, but then don’t get the opportunity to have a follow up scope at the appropriate time for that individual horse to ensure that they are indeed ulcer-free following such treatment.

We have scoped many horses who have been prescribed oral omeprazole for several months following a discount scoping day, and who despite prolonged and expensive treatment, still have very significant gastric disease which just hasn’t responded to the medication prescribed. This is particularly relevant to pyloric/glandular disease, but also relates to cases only being treated for squamous ulceration.

At Valley Equine Veterinary Centre we have a team of vets and nurses with a special interest in equine gastrointestinal health, and we strongly believe that regular gastroscopes should be an integral part of every horses overall general health management.

In order to provide our patients with optimal gastrointestinal health care we have invested in our own gastroscope, and therefore all of the scopes at VEVC are done by a qualified veterinarian, not a technician providing the gastroscope for advertised discount scoping days. And as we are not affiliated with any particular supplier of anti-ulcer medication, deciding on treatment protocols for the horses we scope is very much based on the needs of the individual horse, not the needs of any particular drug manufacturer. We also strongly encourage that every horse gets re-scoped following treatment to ensure that any previous ulceration has resolved, which is part and parcel of aiming to ensure optimal outcomes for all of our equine patients.

Here at the Valley getting your horse scoped is not just about diagnosing and treating gastric disease, as we strongly believe it is equally important to understand the potential causes of the different types of gastric ulceration (squamous vs glandular disease), and to formulate strategies to help reduce the risk factors involved so that hopefully we can get to the point that your horse is not only ulcer-free following treatment, but with the right protocols in place ideally we can help you keep them ulcer free in the future. So a gastroscope appointment is a lot more than just looking for ulcers, it is also about finding ways to avoid them being an ongoing problem in the future, and those discussions are included as part of our gastroscope consults.

✅✅✅EVERY DAY IS A DISCOUNTED SCOPING DAY AT VEVC! ✅✅✅

We strive to keep our gastroscope prices very affordable, and with our regular scope price of $195 (including sedation + dietary and management advice) every day is a gastroscope day here at the Valley!

😂😂😂😂

With the show season now well and truely underway our gastroscope is definitely under the pump at the moment, and below are a few images of some of the ulcers we have seen on scope here at the Valley recently.

Gastroscopy is a quick, cost effective, and extremely informative procedure. It is also the only way to accurately diagnose the presence and severity of gastric disease/stomach ulcers in horses, so if you think your horse isn’t quite right, getting them scoped is always a good place to start!

We are looking forward to seeing these stomachs all fixed and looking happy and healthy at the time of their re-scopes following treatment.

For more information and for bookings, give us a call on 92963884.

So true…🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂

We have another lameness day this coming Tuesday 16th April with the awesome team from Equine Services at The Animal Hospital, Murdoch University. Due to a cancellation there is now 1 spot available. Call reception 📞 on 92963884 to secure this booking 🐴

LOST PROPERTY- these items have been left at the clinic over the past few years, anyone recognise anything of theirs? Gloves, near new chest strap, black hooded vest & a jacket. PM if yours 🙂

Severe tongue ulceration caused by retained deciduous cheek teeth 708 and 808. Large wolf teeth 105 and 205 were also extracted. Should be feeling a lot better.

🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️😂😂

Two large wolf teeth 105 and 205, two small blind wolf teeth 305 and 405. Plus decent hooks 306 & 406. Can always rely on Rikki Planke to present the challenging ones.

✅✅✅ 2023/2024 BREEDING SEASON DONE ✅✅✅

Just like that it’s over, and what a great season it has been!

Finishing up with a final frozen breed last Wednesday, and the final ET flush last Thursday with another embryo successfully flushed and transferred - the perfect way to wrap it up for the season!

We have had a record number of 31 foals successfully delivered on the VEVC maternity ward and also a record number of successful embryo transfers - 20 pregnant recipient mares to date and possibly 21 depending on the outcome of last weeks transfer 🤞🤞🍀🍀

Dr Paula Bell-Cross is now away overseas for a well overdue holiday and spending some quality time with her family in Zambia 🇿🇲🇿🇲

In the meantime Dr Deryck Tan and the rest of the VEVC team will be holding the fort, keeping our patients happy and healthy 🐴🦄🐴🦄

⭐️ SPECIAL ⭐️
Equest Plus Tape dewormer just $20 each, now goes up to 700kg! Get in quick ❗️

Yep…. 🫣🫣🤔🤔😩😩😂😂

Finding a few more embryos before the season ends 💖💖

One more frozen breed to do and one last ET flush to get done and dusted on Thursday and then Dr Paula is off on holiday, so that means the breeding season will be officially over here at the Valley as of next Friday!! ✅✅

Starting the morning with a mystery stake wound - because horses will be horses….
🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

**** EDIT TO POST - FOR THIS WEEK ONLY****

🌟WORK-UP WEDNESDAY HAS CHANGED TO TUESDAY!! 🌟

Due to the date change we have had one cancellation and so there is currently ONE SPOT LEFT - first in best dressed!

Date: Tuesday 19th March 2024

Time: drop off by 9am latest

Call us on 92963884 for further information and for bookings