IN HOUSE LABORATORY

At the clinic we have an in-house laboratory that enables us to perform a variety of diagnostic tests, which is particularly important when urgent results are required.

Running samples in house can help us reach a diagnosis and therefore commence the correct treatment and also continually monitor your horse’s progress and response to treatment without any delays.

Below is a list of the services we provide.

BLOOD SAMPLES:

The ability to run blood samples in house enables us to provide immediate results which is especially important for identifying conditions requiring urgent treatment- for example dehydration requiring fluid therapy, protein loss requiring plasma transfusion, infections requiring antibiotic treatment and assessing the degree of muscle damage in horses that have tied up. We have lab machines to run Haematology which measures blood cells and biochemistry  which assesses liver and kidney function, protein levels and muscle enzymes.

We can also measure SAA both on your yard or in the lab which allows us to accurately assess if a horse requires a course of antibiotics, or alternatively assess if a horse is responding well to a current course of antibiotics. This is especially useful in hospitalised and surgical cases as well as sick foals or coughing horses. It also allows us to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, which is an important part of the fight against antibiotic resistance. 

JOINT / ABDOMINAL TAP SAMPLES:

Samples taken from joints or abdomens, when there is concern over possibility of infection, can be rapidly assessed. Both synovial sepsis and peritonitis are life threatening conditions if prompt and intensive treatment is not commenced.

FAECAL WORM EGG COUNTS:

All of our worm egg counts are run in house. This enables vets to monitor your horses’ worm egg counts throughout the year giving up to date and personalised advise on worming your horse. We provide faecal worm egg count packs for samples to be collected in, with individual worming advice tailored to your horse. Simply call the office to order you worm egg kit – 01577841010.

FOAL IGG ANTIBODY SNAP TEST:

New-born foals are only able to absorb antibodies from milk in the first 24 hours of life. These antibodies are a vital part of the foal’s immune system for fighting against infection. We are able to run a test in house for foals, which identifies inadequate antibody levels enabling hyperimmune plasma transfusion to be carried out without delay.

MICROSCOPE:

We have an in-house microscope that enables us to examine a variety of samples microscopically, for example skin scrapes, urine samples, semen and blood smears.

We work closely with external laboratories to run some diagnostic tests we are unable to run in house. For example, strangles blood samples/guttural pouch washes, Cushing’s (ACTH) blood samples and swabs/samples requiring antibiotic sensitivity testing.

We are happy to process samples from referring practices, simply call us to discuss your requirements.