Our vets are constantly questioned about any number of health issues affecting our clients' horses. In this section of our website you will find a growing library of veterinary information relevant to you and your horse. We will be adding articles regularly but if there is something that you would like to see here then please let us know and we will see what we can do.
As always if you cant find what you need then give us a call on 07 55702988.
Surgery
Gold Coast Equine Clinic offers clients a state of the art surgical facility. We have two operating theatres and perform a variety of procedures. Dr Paul Robinson is a specialist of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in Equine Surgery and has been part of our clinic since July 2009. He and Dr Charlie McCormack have sourced equipment from Australia and overseas to allow us to perform all types of surgery.
Since we admitted our first surgical patient in August, 2009, we have averaged 4-6 surgical procedures each week. Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive surgical technique that allows the surgeon to visualize the inside of a horse’s joint. This is a relatively common procedure for racehorses where we will remove bone fragments that sometimes occur from repetitive trauma.
Arthroscopy - What do we see?
Arthroscopic surgery makes up around 40% of all surgical procedures undertaken at GCEC. Similar to human ‘keyhole’ surgery, this technique allows us to perform a minimally invasive approach to evaluate joint surfaces and treat abnormalities such as osteochondral fragmentation (bone chips).
Angular limb deformities (ALD) occur in foals and if left untreated may result in lameness and poor performance as adults. These deformities can be present at birth or develop as the foal ages. The most common sites for ALD’s are at the level of the growth plate such as the distal radius (carpus/knee) and distal cannon bone (fetlock).
Castration can be performed in horses under general anaesthesia or under sedation with the horse standing. Complications are uncommon but can include excessive bleeding, infection and swelling.
You may not think that your horse has gastric (stomach) ulcers but research shows that up to 93% of thoroughbred racehorses in training have gastric ulceration. The percentage of affected horses kept at pasture is also very high. Recent data also indicates that poor athletic performance is a key manifestation of the disease.
