Laboratory

Our in-house equine laboratory service allows us to get results for your horse very quickly, which means ruling in or out differential diagnoses that must be considered.

Our equine lab provides vets with information about your horse’s hydration status, ability to fight infections, susceptibility to infections, electrolyte imbalances and the overall clinical pictures of specific bodily organ systems; these include liver function/health, kidney health, immune system, igG levels (foals), protein levels, abdominal system and musculoskeletal system.We try to maximise our information and by using blood samples we can start treatments quicker getting your horse back to normal.

Our lab is set up to run other important tests including:

Blood smears – machine error can mislead your diagnosis so we have trained staff that can recognise cells which can give us a clue to your horse’s current health status, before signs show clinically.

Fibrinogen -  a useful measurement of tissue inflammatory increases in viral infections, pus in the foot, joint sepsis, peritonitis, chronic sinus infections, tooth root abscesses, respiratory infections and many other diseases.

Haematology – a window to the body by looking at cells which fight infection and protect your horse when they are sick.

Biochemistry – a quick reference to specific organ systems – muscle disease, liver disease, kidney disease, protein alterations (diarrhoea cases)

Foal IgG test – passive transfer from the mare (tested at 18 hours to assess colostrum intake and protections against infections)

Faecal worm egg counts – used as the gold standard for livery yards and provides evidence of when to worm (and when not to worm), what product and if the product has been effective (resistance).

Peritoneal taps – used to assess abdominal diseases such as colic, neoplasia and peritonitits

Thoracic taps – used to assess thoracic diseases (pleuropneumonia, neoplasia)

Joint taps – widely used to give information about whether infection has entered a joint or tendon sheath (possibly saving your horse’s life before infection shows clinically)

Masitits – looking for bacteria in the milk to aid diagnosis and antibiotic selection

Skin scrape, hair plucks – many skin infections are caused by various mites, lice, bacteria and or dermatophytes (ringworm) which can be hard to see with the naked eye. Using various techniques we can collect samples to provide better treatment and quicker resolution of the problem.

PCT/TP – a useful measurement we use routinely for colic cases and in-patients to montior hydration status and fluid requirements.

Electrolyte monitoring – many diseases cause various electrolytes to be lost – diarrhoea (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium), inappectance (potassium), sweating (sodium and chloride), pregnancy (calcium), hyperlipaemia (glucose), refluxing colics (chloride and sodium), renal disease (potassium, calcium and sodium).