Churchfield Equine Clinic

21/10/2026

🌿🐴 POISONOUS PLANT OF THE WEEK: SYCAMORE 🐴🌿

🚨 Horse owners, beware!

Did you know that sycamore seeds, seedlings and leaves can contain Hypoglycin A (HGA), a toxin linked to Atypical Myopathy — a serious and potentially fatal muscle disease in horses?

🔎 Signs to look out for:
⚠️ Muscle weakness, stiffness or trembling
⚠️ Reluctance to move or difficulty walking
⚠️ Dark red or brown urine
⚠️ Sweating or rapid, laboured breathing

🍂🌱 When is the risk highest?

Autumn and spring! Fallen “helicopter” seeds can pose a risk in autumn, while young sycamore seedlings can be dangerous in spring.

🛡️ How can you protect your horse?
✅ Check paddocks regularly for sycamore seeds and seedlings.
✅ Remove fallen seeds and plant material safely.
✅ Fence off affected areas or move horses to safer grazing.
✅ Provide adequate grazing and supplementary forage, but remember this does not eliminate the risk.
✅ Check surrounding areas, as seeds can blow into paddocks.

If you suspect your horse has atypical myopathy, contact your vet immediately. The condition can progress rapidly, and prompt veterinary attention is vital.

20/10/2026

🐎 Zone Visits!​ 🐎
​
Why not take advantage of our zone visit scheme? ​
​
For flat visit price of £30 you can have one of our Equine Vets come and visit your horse for around half the normal cost.​
​
Zone visits happen every Tuesday to Friday depending on your location - please see the map for the day of your zone visit!​
​
All you need to do to book your visit is call the clinic more than 24hrs in advance of your selected day. These days are extremely popular so we recommend booking as far in advance as possible!​
​
Please call 01226 763542 to book on! ​
​
Zone visits are provided for routine healthcare and minor ailments, examples of these include:​
Vaccination​
Routine dental care and floating​
Blood samples for wellness and medication checks​
General health concerns​
Sedation to clip ​
Sedation for paraprofessionals (timescales allowing) ​
Re-examinations of ongoing cases ​
Passport and Microchipping ​
​
Only routine work may be booked in on yard visits, for more in-depth examinations and procedures an individual visit will be required, this is to ensure the treating vet has the time required to treat your horse effectively as well as ensuring we have the equipment to hand we may not normally carry or need an extra member of staff to assist.​
​
Please also note, due to the nature of the workload on these days we are only able to offer AM and PM slots when bookings are taken but can give you a more precise one hour time slots on the day. You will ALWAYS get a phone call from the clinic or attending vet 30-60 minutes prior to arrival. We are also unable to stipulate which vet is available to attend your call.​
​
Payment must be made at the time of booking or on the day with the vet, if you are not going to be present pre-payment is essential. Failure to do this will result in re-instatement of the full visit fee.

See you on our next zone visit day! 🐴

16/10/2026

🐎 CARE ABOUT CUSHINGS 🐎

It’s Cushings awareness month, so we are reminding all clients with horses currently on Prascend that they are eligible for a free monitoring test until the 31st October. Please note that blood sampling fees, interpretation fees, visit fees and postage and packaging where applicable are still payable.

If you are concerned that your horse may be showing signs of Cushings disease, free diagnostic tests are also available until the 31st October for horses showing clinical signs of the disease. If your horse starts Prascend, a free six-week dose checker test is also available.

Please feel free to contact the clinic to discuss your horse’s symptoms with our clinical team, or to book your monitoring test in today 🐴

14/10/2026

‘Hat hair, don’t care’ 🐎

We have updated some of our policies in practice, so you may see our vets and nurses wearing hats more regularly when in the clinic or on ambulatory visits.

So please don’t be surprised if you see us wearing a hat when treating your horse, we are just working to keep our staff safe, whilst maintaining a high standard of care for all of our patients! 🩺🐴

18/09/2026

🌟 JOIN US ON TUESDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER AT 7PM FOR OUR CUSHING’S CLIENT EVENING WEBINAR🌟

We will be talking all about Cushing’s in the horse. The webinar is being supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, and is a great opportunity for owners to learn more about Cushing’s, the signs to look out for, testing and treatment, so you can…

🔎 Spot It

🧪 Test It

💊 Treat It

Please see the link attached and in our bio to join the webinar🐎

See you there!! ✨

e2d9077c-affc-48ff-85fa-f84fa71bf0aa@8a6cf78f-ef5b-41d5-b3d3-f2f952598362?source=copyLinkLegacyShareEventDialog" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/e2d9077c-affc-48ff-85fa-f84fa71bf0aa@8a6cf78f-ef5b-41d5-b3d3-f2f952598362?source=copyLinkLegacyShareEventDialog

09/09/2026

🌟 Meet Elsie 🌟

We are delighted to welcome Elsie to the Churchfield Equine Clinic team! 🫶🏼

Elsie graduated from the University of Liverpool in July 2026, and has recently joined us as part of our equine veterinary team.

She’s interested in all aspects of equine general practice and is looking forward to getting out and meeting all of your lovely horses and ponies.

Outside of work, Elsie enjoys getting outside and can normally be found hiking and climbing. She’s looking forward to exploring the beautiful countryside that the area has to offer.

We hope you join us in wishing Elsie a warm welcome to Churchfield Equine Clinic, as we continue to expand and grow our amazing team 🐎

07/09/2026

We are delighted to announce that our VaccStart vaccination programme will now be a permanent offer at Churchfield Equine Clinic!

With VaccStart, you can get your first and second flu and tetanus vaccines for £79.

In addition, clients who join the Equine Health Plan (EHP) within one month of their second vaccination will receive one month of free membership!!

Contact Churchfield Equine Clinic now to take advantage of this amazing offer on 01226 763542 🐎

24/08/2026

Exciting News!!

Welcome to inspiring vet care, the fastest growing veterinary group in the UK. Want to kick-start your career as a vet, or sell your practice? Find out how here.

18/08/2026

Meet Izzy!

We are delighted to welcome Izzy to the Churchfield Equine Clinic team as our new Practice Manager!

Izzy graduated as a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) in 2023 and brings with her over 8 years of experience working in equine practice latterly as a lead theatre nurse. Her main interest is supporting theatre based procedures although she enjoys all aspects of general practice and is excited to build on her existing management skills as Practice Manager.

Outside of work, Izzy loves spending time with her own horses Basil and Tom. She is also a competitive cheerleading coach, running her own highly successful group in the Halifax area competing nationally and internationally!

We’re excited to have Izzy join the us and look forward to the skills and energy she will bring to Churchfield Equine Clinic team! You may spot her in the clinic when visiting over the next few weeks!

Please join us in welcoming her to the team as we continue to expand and improve the service we offer at Churchfield Equine Clinic.

21/07/2026

🌟What is Sweet Itch?
Sweet-itch (Culicoides Hypersensitivity) is a common problem affecting horses and ponies, caused by an allergic reaction to the saliva of biting midges. There is some evidence that sweet itch is genetic, with foals from an affected stallion or mare being more likely to develop the condition. Also, there are certain breeds that seem more likely to be affected by sweet itch, including Icelandic, Welsh and Shetland ponies. These midges like hot, humid climates and, in the UK, they tend to be active from February until late Autumn when temperatures drop.
Horses and ponies affected by this show signs of intense itching, especially of the mane and tail. Constant rubbing and scratching of these areas cause’s loss of hair and damages the skin, which becomes inflamed and infected, creating more itchiness and entering the horse into a vicious cycle. The best way to manage sweet itch is to break this cycle and then prevent it from starting again.

🌟What is used to help with wounds caused by this condition?
This depends on the individual horse, but medications used to help can be steroids, antihistamines, soothing shampoos washes and creams can all be used. Alongside medication to reduce the inflammation.

🌟What is "The sweet itch vaccine"?!
This product which can help to battle sweet Itch and other skin allergies. It does not directly vaccinate the horse against the midge saliva but was a vaccine originally developed to treat against ringworm, vaccinating horses before midge season seems to have been successful in many cases in preventing or reducing the signs of sweet Itch which for some horses is severe. Work is still ongoing on the exact mechanism of action but is has been used extensively "off license" to treat the hypersensitivity.

🌟What else can i do?
Management of sweet itch often requires multiple approaches, owners can also help by reducing exposure of their horse to the midges by using fly rugs, turning out in appropriate fields away from standing water and sheltered areas. Timing turnout to avoid dawn and dusk also helps reduce exposure.

🦟🦟For further information please speak to one of the equine team