19February 2009 CUMBRIA FARMER CumbriaHorse
Brought to you in association with Paragon Veterinary Group
Vet's CasebookVet's Casebook
Why is health planning important?
Liz Jackson, of Paragon Group, explains why benefits outweigh costs
V
eterinary care is as much
about maintaining good
health and performance
as it is about treating ill-
ness and accidents. Many dis-
eases can be prevented by good
management and health care
strategies.
In recent years, we have seen
herd and flock health plans become
common on farms. Veterinary sur-
geons are also trying to encourage
horse owners to take an all-round
view of preventative health care in
their horses to help reduce illness
and injuries as much as possible.
Health plans can provide a formal
health records for your horse.
Minor problems, if detected and
treated early, can often prevent more
serious career or even life-threaten-
ing problems from developing.
Incorporating tetanus vaccina-
tion into a pony's health care plan
can also prevent it from contract-
ing this life-threatening illness.
What is contained in a horse
health plan?
The first part of the horse health
plan is a questionnaire in which
the owner fills in details of their
horse's vaccination status, worm-
ing history, normal feeding and
management, dental and foot care.
The next section allows you to
detail any specific health problems
your horse may have and what is
normally done to control these
problems.
Health care plans involve an
annual health check involving a
veterinary assessment of general
body condition, weight, heart and
lung function, eyes, teeth, sound-
ness examination and blood tests.
The blood test checks levels of
red and white blood cells, the lev-
els of muscle enzymes and liver
and kidney function.
Your vet will review the results
of the clinical examination and
blood tests and the information
provided on vaccination, worming,
feeding and farriery. Based on this,
a written report will be provided
detailing improvements that can
be made and further investigation
recommended. This allows your
vet to consider all aspects of your
horse's health and advise you
based on this knowledge.
When is it best to carry out a
horse health check?
In geriatric horses and pony, the
annual health review is best con-
ducted before winter to highlight
any health issues that could cause
problems over the winter months.
The checks on soundness and
sight also provide reassurance that
geriatric horses and ponies are
safe to continue ridden work.
In competition horses, a health
check carried out in the early
spring will allow any health issues
to be highlighted and corrected
before starting fittening work.
I have several horse. Do I need a
separate health plan for each
one?
Individual health plans can be
carried out for each horse and will
allow a detailed assessment of each
of them, their specific problems
and the management strategies
required to control them.
It is also possible to produce a
yard health plan which focuses on
feeding, management, vaccination,
worming, dental and foot care pro-
grammes for all the horses kept on
that yard.
How often does the plan need
renewing?
We recommend the health plan
is renewed every 12 months. This
allows reassessment of problems
detected on the previous exami-
nation and a review of manage-
ment strategies. Building up a
database of blood results from
your horse or pony annually can
allow early detection of subtle
changes and provides a good indi-
cation of what is normal for that
individual.
Is health planning just another
additional cost?
There is, of course, a cost asso-
ciated with health planning, but the
benefits more than outweigh this
cost. Health planning can prevent
costly episodes of serious illness or
injury and time out of work.
FLY is a 14-year-old Irish draught
horse belonging to Brenda
Hankin, of Ireby. Brenda has
owned him for four years now;
and he has several minor health
problems that have required her
to make some specific changes in
his management.
Fly's first annual health plan
and review was carried out at the
time of his vaccination in
December 2007. The health plan
provides an annual assessment of
his existing respiratory allergy
and skin and hoof horn quality
problems, and checks up on his
teeth, general health and
soundness.
The health review was
repeated again in December
2008. This allowed his
management to be monitored
with reference to his previous
problems. It meant we could also
monitor the progress of a
forelimb lameness problem that
had developed during the year
due to some ringbone changes
on the pastern joints.
Fly is kept turned out as much
as possible. This system is
beneficial to both the pastern
joint arthritis and his respiratory
allergy. There have been visible
improvements in the horn quality
in Fly's feet over the last two
years � thought to be due to the
use of a Formula for Feet
supplement and regular foot
trimming and balancing that
Brenda has implicated.
With the health plan, a
worming programme has been
designed for Fly incorporating
the use of worm egg counts
through the grazing season.
The blood test results at the
latest check have detected a
slight reduction in the level of red
blood cells so this will be checked
again in a few months to see how
it is progressing. In the meantime,
Fly is being fed a supplement
containing vitamin B12.
For Brenda the health plan
provides a useful annual
assessment of Fly's health status
and provides reassurance that she
is doing the best she can to keep
him fit and healthy.
Reassurance: Brenda Hankin with Fly, a 14-year-old Irish draught horse
Annual checks give peace of mind
Townhead Veterinary Centre
Newbiggin.
Tel: 01768 483789
Caldew Veterinary Hospital
Dalston.
Tel: 01228 710208
Comprehensive Veterinary Services
from both centres, including:-
Newbiggin
Equine - operating suite, recovery,
stabling, pastures
Advanced cattle and sheep breeding
Dalston
Veterinary Hospital
www.paragonvet.com
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