Winter Offer Group Dentals 5 or more horses £35 + VAT without sedation per horse £55 + VAT with sedation per horse No Visit Charge Pay at time - cash only All non routine dental work is chargeable If you would like to book a group dental, speak with your livery yard owner to organise a date and contact the office. Running from beginning of October until the end of March

Good morning everyone, all our systems are now working.

Please note that we are currently experiencing technical difficulties with our computers and phones. Please call the Whiddon Down office 01647 231246 as our Exeter number is currently unavailable. Thank you for your patience.

******* OUT OF HOURS EMERGENCIES UPDATE ******* We have recently updated our out of routine hours pager systems, we will no longer be using the old pager number. If you have any emergencies out of hours please call our office number on 01647 231246 and you will reach our out of hours telephone service.

We are now back up and running both phone lines are available. 01647 231246 or 01392 468804. Thank you for your patience.

Unfortunately we have had a power cut and our phone lines are down if you have an emergency please contact the office mobile on 07825777923 we should be back to normal this afternoon.

*** Warning graphic images *** This is the amazing Annie; back at the beginning of September Sophie was called out to see Annie after she had an accident with a gate. As you can see from the pictures below she had sustained a very deep wound to her chest and cut through one of the blood vessels. A few hours later after the vessel had been tied off and multiple layers of stitches had been placed the wound finally came together and was looking good. Unfortunately it is very difficult to make sure these wounds heal immediately as horses don’t often understand the concept of bed rest. Annie’s owners did everything right for her and we used our laser machine to apply some draining and anti-inflammatory laser therapy to the area to help the swelling. However, despite being very well behaved, Annie still managed to stretch the wound pulling some of the skin open. Our biggest worry was that the wound might not have healed on the inside and we would have to begin the slow process of healing it from the inside out. Thankfully it held together. Annie had regular laser treatments on a biostimulation setting to promote healing and vulketan gel topically. Incredibly after just two and a half months Annie is completely healed and back in full work. This is a true testament to great nursing care from her owners and the power of our laser. The comparison picture below shows 10 days difference! We hope Annie and her owners have a fun winter preparing for a busy competition season next year.

Great day at Newton Abbot. Thanks to Dengie and Naf.

Winter Health and Fitness It was very chilly this morning here at Stringer Equine and the evenings are drawing in. However there is still a lot you can do with your horse throughout the winter. Whether you’re a happy hacker, hardcore hunt follower or a dressage diva read on to find out more about caring for your horse over the next few months. When it’s frosty like this morning be very careful about turning your horse out, grazing frosty grass can potentially cause colic or laminitis. Horses and ponies prone to laminitis should not be allowed to graze on grass that has been frosty while the sun is still shining, the grass will have very high sugar content and the sugar content will continue to be high until the weather has warmed up (to above 6 degrees Celsius) or become overcast again. Offering large amounts of hay can be a good alternative but if you do this you must also remove all ice from water troughs to make sure your horse will be drinking enough. When the weather turns really bad some of you may have to keep your horses confined to their stables for long periods of time. This can potentially predispose to your horse getting impaction colic or tying up. Making sure they have a good fluid intake: making feeds really sloppy, dampening hay, putting apples in water buckets to encourage them to drink are all good ways of doing this. Also giving your horse daily exercise, even if it’s a 20 minute walk will keep their muscles and their circulation working. If you can’t exercise them don’t forget to drop their feed right down to try to prevent them tying up. We all know it can be difficult to keep your horses fit and toned unless you’re lucky enough to have fantastic facilities. However losing fitness and muscle can make your horse more prone to injury. When you do work them don’t forget they will need longer to warm their muscles up in this cold weather, especially if they have been confined to their stables or have limited turnout. They will also normally get pretty sweaty, especially if they are not fully clipped. Putting rugs on a damp horse can make them prone to chills or skin infections, make sure your horse has completely dried before putting their normal rug back on. Also don’t forget when your horse sweats they’re losing essential salts that keep them hydrated and functioning. To combat this we’d advise you add some electrolytes to your horses feed on a regular basis or especially if they are going to be working harder than normal. We are pleased to offer Stringer Equine Electrolytes, these are formulated to provide all the necessary salts in the correct amounts to keep your horse performing as well as possible. Feeding horses appropriately can also be difficult, helping them to put on or maintain muscle without fattening them up or making them too excitable. We recommend feeding Stringer Equine Muscle Fit to maintain muscle mass, for young horses or those undergoing rehabilitation to gain muscle. Stringer Equine Muscle Fit is a pellet supplement containing a high level of amino acids which are vital for muscle health as well as Vitamin E, an important antioxidant. If you have any questions about any of the above, or about looking after your horse over winter give us a call on 01647 231246 or 01392 468804.

OFFER!!! Winter is coming; the first frost has arrived at our Whiddon Down branch. This can only mean one thing; it’s time to worm your horses to cover them for encysted redworm, as these worms cannot be detected on worm egg counts. The dormant encysted red worm larvae can be treated by worming with a Moxidectin based wormer such as Equest Pramox, which also treats tapeworm, roundworms and bots. If your horse is currently in-foal we would advise worming with Equimax. This month we are offering a free weigh tape with every Equest Pramox purchased direct from us for £25.04 including VAT. Please ring the office on 01647 231246 to place your order.

As the daylight hours are getting shorter we are all finding it a little harder to get out of bed in the morning. However have you ever thought your horse might feel the same? Read on to find out about why… Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of lameness in sports and leisure horses. It involves deterioration of the cartilage within the joint and is normally progressive. Loss of cartilage causes growth of the underlying bone which results in inflammation and pain, especially when the joint is flexed. The level of discomfort, and resulting lameness, varies depending on the stage of the disease. Signs your horse may have osteoarthritis: - lameness/altered gait - slow/stiff movements after rest or in cold weather - stiffness improves with exercise - difficulty lying down and getting up - loss of muscle mass Causes of osteoarthritis: - injury/trauma - repetitive stress and strain during exercise - being overweight - poor foot trimming/ poor fitting shoes - bad conformation - old age If you think your horse might have any of the above signs it is a good idea to talk to your vet and organise a thorough examination. However we all know that prevention is better than cure so below are some ways you can prevent osteoarthritis in your horse: - Feed them a diet containing sufficient roughage with adequate vitamins and minerals including gluscosamine and chondroitin sulphate. Stringer Equine Joint Supplement Plus contains both of these as well as MSM and hyaluronic acid – also useful for maintaining joint function. Our supplement also contains Boswellia Serrata an FEI legal anti-inflammatory. - Keep your horse lean, being overweight will put excessive stress on the joints. - Hoof care – no foot, no horse! Well maintained, well balanced feet can help alignment of the lower limb. - Working your horse on an appropriate surface – very hard or deep,soft surfaces can be unsuitable. - A good training regime to make sure your horse has good posture and is well muscled will also reduce the risk of injury.