Gloucestershire Equine Vets

03/09/2026

☎️Call the office on 01452 877 595☎️
We are running another one of our very popular gastroscopy awareness months.
If you have any worries about your horse's or pony's health, please feel free to call and talk to us. Your horse's comfort is our priority.

31/08/2026

Well that has been a hectic 24 hours on call - 5 colics!!!!

Thankfully they have all been medically treated and did not require surgery..

Why now?

An important part of the horse’s digestion is bacterial digestion. Any significant changes in the diet can lead to changes in the bacterial load of the gut. This in turn can cause increased gas production and changes in motility. We always see increasing numbers of colics when there is a marked change in weather. So the sudden rainfall after two exceptionally dry weather has caused this big surge in cases.

What can you do to prevent this?

The options for prevention are limited. Try to limit access to suddenly improving grazing and make changes to the diet as gradual as possible.

What should I do if colic symptoms occur?

Call the vet immediately - even severe or surgical colics may have mild symptoms to start with. In hand walking can help to encourage normal gut movement and moderate pain. Avoid trying to drench any liquids down the horse as this can cause serious complications. Don’t panic - 95% of cases can be treated medically without the need for surgery.

27/08/2026

✨✨We have been a little quiet on our socials due to being very busy in the office and on the road ✨✨

🤩🤩In September we are running another one of our very popular gastric ulcer awareness months here at Gloucestershire Equine Vets. The offer will run from 1st September -30th September with 40% off all gastroscopes🤩🤩. Gastric ulcer and pyloric inflammation are very common but treatable.
Please give the office a call on 01452 877595 to get booked in.

20/08/2026

06/07/2026

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
With this hot summer weather what is the best way to cool your horse?

Heat is generated from muscle activity and the largest muscle mass in the horse is the hindquarters. Heat is naturally lost by sweating and from respiration.

Where cooling is inadequate, especially in hot and humid conditions, it can lead to dehydration, delayed recovery, colic, muscle cramps and collapse.

Great research into cooling horses was carried out ahead of the Atlanta Olympics resulting in the use of large volumes of water and misting fans seen at racecourses and high level competitions.

As cold water is poured over the horse it warms up due to conduction. The warmed water then runs off the horse carrying the heat away. Use of a sweat scraper should be avoided as this reduces the cooling effect and dries the skin faster. Cold water helps with muscle recovery and inflammation - human athletes use ice baths!!!!

The video in the comments below shows the extra heat generation in the hindquarters as this area has dried first.

Thank you to our practice manager Sarah and her horse Joey for the video - this was after Mark had just finished the XC phase at Offchurch Bury BE.

02/07/2026

Lucky and his kissing spine surgery update

We are now 5 weeks post kissing spine surgery with my own horse Lucky and my first ride back on him 😊😊😊.

Straightaway after surgery (the next day) we noticed a difference with him reaching right round to scratch his back with his teeth and an immediate increase in his appetite. He has always been very relaxed in the stable but has become almost horizontal. We had a bit of a hiccup where he became very playful and annoyed his field mate to the point he got kicked in the face resulting in a very smelly abscess but now fully healed.

Having been lunged for a week (and he was very very relaxed) Victoria Gregg (Plum) very kindly sat on him for the first time 2 days ago (she is a fair bit lighter than me and a c**t had just kicked me in the shin while doing a castration🙈🙈🙈). My turn tonight and WOW. Even though we only walked he was so relaxed and really loose and supple. I am so excited going forward with him

29/06/2026

28/06/2026

Great to be supporting grass roots eventing at the lovely Dauntsey

26/05/2026

This is the advice from The British Equine Veterinary Association