VETERINARY HORSE CARE
Derek Landwehr BVSc MRCVS & Associates
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Telephone: mobile 07976 740409 or 070 50 20 40 70
PO Box 1138, Windlesham, Surrey, GU20 6WR, United Kingdom
E-mail: horsevet@btopenworld.com
Equine Performance through Health, Wellness & Welfare
Promoting Enjoyable, Well-informed, Responsible Horse Ownership
WELCOME. Please scroll down for more details and also see the informative LINKS at the bottom of this page
Professional, quality, thorough SERVICE AND VALUE that Veterinary Horse Care provides to BENEFIT your horse includes:
- BYFLEET RECEPTION
- Available for your convenience 7 DAYS A WEEK to collect your supplies THAT YOU HAVE ORDERED IN ADVANCE FROM VETERINARY HORSE CARE. Collection hours are: Monday - Friday 8am - 6pm, Saturday 9am - 6pm, Sunday 10am - 4pm. To save a wasted journey please wait until you receive a text message alerting you that your supplies are ready for collection
- A wide range of equine supplies are available, please ring or e-mail for veterinary advice to assist you with your order in advance of collection. Most supplies may also be mailed to you by SPECIAL DELIVERY OR DELIVERED BY COURIER if you prefer
- RAPID RESPONSE - 24 HOUR EMERGENCY EQUINE VETERINARY SERVICE
- An equine vet is always available to attend your horse in an emergency
- HOW VISITS TO YOUR HORSE/S ARE ARRANGED
- Consultations are by appointment at a time to suit you. Strategic non-emergency geographical zone visits that cut down on travel fees by efficiently grouping visits are available on request. Please ask when booking your appointment. Emergency visits incur a surcharge depending on time of day or night
- OUR VISITS ARE NORMALLY TO HORSES WITHIN A 20 MILE RADIUS OF WINDLESHAM (Junction 3 of the M3). Outer limits are Henley-on-Thames (Berkshire) to the northwest, Basingstoke (Hampshire) to southwest, Cranleigh (Surrey) to the southeast and London (Greater and Central London) to the northeast. Satellite navigation and 4 wheel drive gets us to you reliably whatever the weather
- We can attend horses further afield by prior arrangement. Central London visits are possible but incur an urban travel fee due to the extremely congested traffic. Alternatively, we have arrangements with several Equine establishments to where you can transport your horse (circumstances permitting) for us to attend. Please ask for details.
- PLANNED PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE - AN ANNUAL WELLNESS PROGRAM
- A planned preventative health review for your horse for the following year that can be tailored to your specific requirements during our routine visit to your horse for vaccination.
- As well as the clinical examination your horse will receive prior to vaccination, at the time of our visit to your horse we recommend that as part of your horse's wellness program you ask us to:
- 1. Examine your horse's mouth with a gag and perform any necessary dentistry.
- 2. Examine your horse's foot and hoof balance and advise(communicate with your farrier)accordingly.
- 3. Objectively assess the worm burden and supply the correct wormers for your horse for the following year.
- 4. Take a blood sample from your horse for a routine health screen. This provides useful baseline data and can help detect sub-clinical disease early before external symptoms appear.
- 5. Insert a microchip if your horse doesn't already have one.
- 6. For your convenience and budget planning, a monthly standing order can be arranged for you to pre-pay towards the next routine wellness program or veterinary service in advance.
- As well as the clinical examination your horse will receive prior to vaccination, at the time of our visit to your horse we recommend that as part of your horse's wellness program you ask us to:
- PRE-PURCHASE EXAMINATIONS(VETTINGS)
- Always have your horse examined by an equine veterinary surgeon BEFORE purchase. Please contact us for advice as early as possible in the proceedings.
- INFORMATION
- Click on the links below for general background information. Please contact us for specific advice. Telephone, text 07976 740409, e-mail
- DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING
- Mobile Digital Radiography(X-Rays), Ultrasound scanning. Other imaging arranged as necessary
- ENDOSCOPY
- Enabling visual examination and sampling/treatment of internal structures
- ECG
- For detailed analysis of heart rythms
- LAMENESS EXAMINATIONS AND HOOF PROBLEMS
- This is one of Derek's areas of specific interest - working with farriers as a team. Derek trained and worked as a farrier to help him through vet school. That farrier training comes in useful on a daily basis in the all important vet / farrier relationships encountered in equine practice. See links for special shoes below.
- MODERN EQUINE VETERINARY DENTISTRY
- Appropriate dental treatment is always preceded by a thorough veterinary examination of your horse's mouth and ALL teeth, not forgetting any veterinary issues that may be relevant in the horse attached to the teeth. Procedures performed include: routine rasping of sharp tooth edges; overgrowth reduction; restoration of dental decay (fillings) or broken teeth; periodontal (gum disease) treatment and extractions. Sedation and local anaesthesia (where indicated) makes this procedure more pleasant for the horse, safer for all concerned and enables a comprehensive job to be performed.
- LABORATORY
- Blood samples, biopsies, joint fluid, swabs, worm egg counts, health screens etc.
- IMPORT/EXPORT EXAMINATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION
- For horses travelling abroad we always have at least one official equine veterinarian available.
- LECTURES
- Lectures/demonstrations to groups on requested equine veterinary topics are available by prior arrangement. Please ask for details.
- ASSOCIATIONS
- Derek is a member of the British Equine Veterinary Association
- INSURANCE
- Veterinary Horse Care feels that with a good Horse Insurance Policy for Vet Fee Cover you gain "As much peace of mind as possible". Fees for emergency and or complex diagnostics & surgery/treatment can mount up. For a monthly insurance premium, you will usually (subject to exclusions and policy limitations) be able to be reimbursed by your insurance company for veterinary fees for your horse to receive the very best care in diagnosis and treatment of those unexpected or long term illnesses / injuries, without placing yourself in the difficult position to have to compromise on your horse's future health, wellness and welfare based on financial considerations. Be sure to read the fine print when selecting an insurance company as some insurance policies are limited. Do not select a policy on lowest price alone, but rather on value and service provided. Time and circumstances permitting, it may be wise, by submitting a proforma claim in advance, to obtain clarification in writing from your insurance company that they will support a claim to reimburse you BEFORE you incur the expense
- REFERRAL TO HOSPITAL
- In the event that your horse is a candidate for hospitalisation, we are privileged to be able to rapidly select the appropriate hospital / facility for your horse from an unlimited range of the most advanced institutions throughout the country
- ESTIMATES
- Vets can provide you with an estimate for the specific treatment options available for your horse
- EMPATHY AND COMMUNICATION
- Taking the time to understand your feelings and ideas is important to us and essential in assisting us to help you with the selection of an appropriate treatment option for your horse. The very special human / companion animal bond is a big factor for most horse owners and central to why many people actually own horses. We encourage our clients to keep us informed on an ongoing basis to foster the vet-owner-horse relationship that is unique to each vet, horse and owner. We always appreciate feedback whether by phone, text, e-mail or letter.
- IDENTIFICATION
- Microchip insertion provides a permanent means of identification. Your horse can be traced back to you if lost or stolen.
- POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT-BASED BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION SERVICE
- Master the behaviour modification skills required to consistently incorporate into your routine management to rehabilitate specific problem cases and to avoid the development of behavioural problems.
- TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- In fairness to all of our clients, all fees are payable at or before the time of service. Payment may be made by online transfer direct to the practice account, cash, cheque with a guarantee card or credit/debit card. If it helps you with your budgeting, a simple pre-payment plan in advance by monthly standing order payment towards your horse's next routine veterinary wellness visit and/or veterinary service can easily be set up. For convenience, most established clients make use of our Credit/debit card account facility that is available subject to status. Data protection and card processing rules require us to obtain certain details from you at the time of each transaction. Prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, Category V, (POM Vs) from your veterinary surgeon OR ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may prescribe POM Vs only for animals under his or her care. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary. You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medicine that may be prescribed for your animal. The general policy of this practice is to re-assess an animal requiring repeat prescriptions every three months, but this may vary with individual circumstances. The minimum charge for a re-examination is travel fee plus minimum consultation fee. Further information on the prices of medicines is available on request.
- FINAL CARE
- We believe in helping your horse enjoy a full and good quality of life. Unfortunately there comes a time when, despite everyone's best efforts, life's toll on our horses deny them the ability to continue to enjoy a full, active and dignified life. This is something that all horse owners prefer not to have to consider, but before your horse has to endure any suffering, we recommend that he/she be put to sleep. Once this difficult decision is reached, we will attempt to make this distressing event as easy as possible by (circumstances permitting) arranging a convenient time for the euthanasia when the yard / environment is quiet so you can be afforded your privacy during this emotional time. Another difficult decision that you will have to face at this difficult time is what to do with your horse's remains. Ideally we advise that you take the opportunity to discuss this with us before the euthanasia so there is one less thing you are faced with at the euthanasia. We generally perform euthanasia by injection and horse's remains are collected and cremated by a professional crematorium.
- FINAL NOTE
- Veterinary Horse Care is proud to serve you and your horse/s. We hope that you find this website helpful and ask that you always feel free to make comments and suggestions about future updates or other services you would like to see us offer.
- We would like to thank all of our clients for their continued support and for their ongoing word of mouth referral of like-minded new clients. We are dedicated to providing a service of the highest possible standard. We will continue to review our facilities, equipment and training in order to implement a policy of trying to exceed your expectations.
(Click here for Derek's profile)
As well as growing up with, owning and riding horses, Derek's experience with horses and their owners has been gained by providing professional, quality Veterinary Horse Care since 1990 in collaboration with many colleagues. The mobile equine practice was established to provide a friendly, modern, thorough service offering its clients and patients personal veterinary care with the highest standard of service and equipment. Our professional duty is to always inform our clients of all available options, followed by consultation to formulate the best course of action possible within the available budget and circumstances. We regularly attend domestic and international continuing professional development conferences and events, as well as ongoing hard copy and online peer-reviewed literature study to remain abreast of current best practice as part of our commitment to life-long learning.
In addition, conveniently located in Horsell, Surrey (10 minutes from the M3 and M25 motorway junction), the EQUINE REHABILITATION CENTRE facilities, resident ACPAT equine physiotherapist, technicians, lecture room, training amenities and professional horse transport (for any type of horse transport, not limited to veterinary cases) are available when necessary. See link below.
Veterinary Horse Care encourages responsible and enjoyable horse ownership by your horse/s participation in the WELLNESS PROGRAM (planned preventative medicine- see below) and by providing you with advice and products concerning all aspects of horse health, care and wellbeing.
Veterinary Horse Care has an excellent team consisting of experienced associated equine veterinary surgeons who collaborate to provide your horse's veterinary health care. We encourage our liaison with any other providers of care to your horse/s to facilitate the common goal of integrating efforts to best benefit the horse.
(Click here for the VHC facebook page link)
Click on the LINKS below for general background information. Please contact us for specific advice:
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF EQUINE PRACTITIONERS
SAFER HORSE RESCUES - All about equine rescue
Equine Industry Welfare Guidelines Compendium for Horses, Ponies and Donkeys
Equine Strangles and vaccination
Strategic targeted worming versus routine prophylactic worming
Horseslips - The flexible glue-on horseshoe. Look for Horse slips under products
An alternative to nailed metal and glue-on horseshoes
Horse Pasture Management Project
HBLB Codes Of Practice on Equine Contagious Disease
SAFE - Surrey Action For Equine
All horses (where "horse" means an animal of the equine or asinine species or crossbreeds of these species but does not include zebras) should now have a PASSPORT. Note that owners of horses declared as intended for human consumption or where the declaration is not signed, have an existing separate legal obligation to keep a written record of ALL medicines or substances administered to their horse (i.e. to keep a "medicines book"). The requirement falls to them under existing food safety legislation rather than the new passport regulation.
Disposal routes for horses including National Fallen Stock Scheme
FREE Equestrian Classified Ads at The Horse Exchange - Free horses and ponies for sale ads - also Loans and Hire as well as Equine Products and Services - UK and Worldwide - Free Photos - Free Hyperlinks.
An information directory for everything equine in Berkshire, North Hants and North Surrey.
Online Equestrian TV - Watch Equestrian TV on your browser.
In the interests of your horses WELFARE, if you are struggling to keep or treat your horse for financial or other reasons and would like professional assistance to find a new home for your horse please Click on the following links: International league for the protection of horses now called World Horse Welfare Blue Cross
Redwings Horse Sanctuary
The Horse Trust
Horse World
. . . . . Domesticated horses are entirely dependent on their owners for their health, wellness & welfare . . . . .