Orrell Equine Veterinary Ltd

23/04/2026

🪱Worming Advice for Horses🪱

Targeted worming is the gold standard for effective parasite control. Follow our guide below to help protect your horse!

1️⃣ Assess your horse’s individual risk (tools like “What’s Your Worm Risk?” can help guide you 👉 https://www.whatsyourwormrisk.com/page/risk-assessment)

2️⃣ Test regularly: faecal egg counts (FECs), tapeworm and encysted redworm testing.

3️⃣ Treat based on results, not guesswork. Seasonal FECs and annual FEC reduction tests help monitor effectiveness and detect resistance.

Routine blanket worming is no longer recommended. Instead, work with your vet using up-to-date test results to create a tailored plan for your horse.

You’re always welcome to speak to a member of the team or drop a sample into the practice!

Healthy horses, healthier pastures 🌱

17/03/2026

⭐️ Congratulations to our cover photo competition WINNER ‘Edgar Mouse’ and honourable runner up ‘Salvo’!

Thank you for all your entries, votes and kind comments, it was a hard fought competition and we’re very pleased to proudly display Edgar on our page!

We hope you’re all having a fantastic week and enjoying some sunshine today! ☀️

05/03/2026

🐴 COVER PHOTO COMPETITION – FINALISTS! 📸

A huge thank you to everyone who entered, we loved seeing all your horses and it was incredibly hard to choose!

Our shortlisted photos are below and now it’s over to you to vote for your favourite…

👍 Simply like or react to the photo you want to win!

Voting closes in 1 week on 12/03/26. Good luck to our finalists! 🍀

24/02/2026

COMPETITION TIME!! 📸🐴We’re Looking for Our Next Cover Star 🐴📸

Our cover photo is due for a refresh, and we’d love it to feature one of our patients!

We’re inviting all of our wonderful clients to submit a photo for the chance to be featured as our new cover image. Whether it’s a moment from a routine visit, a day out competing, or your horse happy and healthy at home - we can’t wait to see your entries 🐎✨

🏆Prizes are on offer!
We’re delighted to have prize support from Audevard and Bova - two trusted names providing high-quality medications and supplements to support equine health and performance.

How to enter:
1️⃣Comment your photo below, or
2️⃣Send it to us via DM
3️⃣Include your horse’s name and a short caption

📸 Top tip: Landscape photos and high-resolution images work best for cover photos, so please send the original image where possible.

📆 Entries close on 03/03/26
Once entries close, we’ll shortlist our favourites and open it up for public voting so keep an eye on our page!

The winning photo will become our new official cover image, with full credit given.

You have 7 days to enter - happy snapping! 📸🐴

19/12/2025

✨🎁Wishing all of our wonderful clients and their horses a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for trusting us with your horses throughout the year – we look forward to caring for them in 2026 🐎❤️

Christmas & New Year Opening Hours:

⭐️ Tuesday 23rd December – Normal hours
☃️ Christmas Eve – 8am–2pm
🎅 Christmas Day – Emergencies only
🎁 Boxing Day – Emergencies only
🎄 Tuesday 30th December – Normal hours
🎆 New Year’s Eve – 8am–2pm
🍾 New Year’s Day – Emergencies only
❄️ Friday 2nd January – Normal hours

For emergencies outside of these hours, our on-call service remains available as usual.

From all of us at Orrell Equine, have a safe, happy, and festive season 🎄✨

31/10/2025

🐾 You’ve met our vets… now it’s time to meet our pets! 🐶

Meet the Orrell Equine “Paw-fessional” Team:

🐾 Sarge – Head of Security
🐾 Munchies – Head of Customer Relations
🐾 Mylo – Senior Accountant
🐾 Rae – Office Supervisor
🐾 Albie – Junior Vet Assistant

Each of our four-legged employees brings their own special skills to the clinic but they all share expertise in cuddles!!! 💕

Be sure to say hello when you see them around☺️

14/10/2025

Strangles Booster Reminder! PROTECT YOUR HORSE AND MAINTAIN HERD IMMUNITY!🐴💉

Strangles remains one of the most common and contagious equine respiratory diseases. Vaccination plays a critical role in limiting outbreaks and maintaining herd immunity, especially in high-risk environments such as livery yards and training facilities with frequent horse movement (E.g new arrivals, visiting horses for lessons or clinics, and horses coming and going for competitions)

Boosters are essential to ensure continued individual protection and to reduce disease spread within the wider equine population.

If your horse is due (or overdue) for their strangles booster, now is the time to book!

Maintaining up-to-date vaccination status helps:

✅ Prevent severe clinical signs

✅ Reduce bacterial shedding in exposed horses

✅ Minimise the risk of outbreaks

✅Support overall yard biosecurity

📞 Contact the clinic today to check your horse’s vaccination status or schedule a booster.

Protect your horse. Protect the herd.

01/10/2025

Castration season has begun! 🐴👀

The c**t chaos is nearly over... 🍂
* We’re excited to let our lovely clients know that castration season has officially begun, and we’re now taking bookings!

Cooler weather means fewer flies, easier aftercare, and a lower risk of infection making autumn the ideal time for your c**t’s procedure.

Is your c**t ready? ✅
* Here’s what we look for before booking:
* Two fully descended testicles
* Up-to-date vaccinations
* Under 3 years old

If you're unsure or any have questions, feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to help!

📞 Call us on 01942 733989 to get booked in today, chop chop! ✂️🐴

11/09/2025

Did you know? Horses can get bladder stones too! 🪨

Cystoliths, also known as bladder stones, may not be something most horse owners think about—but they can cause serious discomfort and health issues for your equine companion.

What Are Cystoliths?
Cystoliths are mineral stones that form in the bladder, often from concentrated urine or mineral imbalances. While not extremely common, they can lead to irritation, infections, and in some cases, urinary blockage.

⚠️ Signs to Watch For:
- Straining to urinate or frequent urination
- Blood in the urine
- Posturing to urinate without results
- Behaviour changes or signs of discomfort
- Dribbling urine

Cystoliths are often made of calcium carbonate and may form slowly over time. In geldings and stallions, symptoms are usually more noticeable due to their anatomy, while mares may show more subtle signs.

🧪 Diagnosis & Treatment:
We use a combination of clinical signs, re**al exams, ultrasound, and endoscopy to diagnose bladder stones. Treatment typically involves surgical removal, but in some cases, dietary and management changes can help prevent recurrence.

💧 Prevention Tips:
- Ensure constant access to clean, fresh water
- Monitor urine output and behaviour
- Review diet for excessive calcium or imbalanced minerals

If your horse is showing any urinary changes or signs of discomfort, don't wait—early intervention makes all the difference! 🐎

One of our lovely patients recently had a 6cm cystolith surgically removed at Leahurst following endoscopic diagnosis on yard by our vet Charlotte and is now recovering at home!

22/08/2025

18/08/2025

Obesity in the UK horse population is a growing welfare concern, with up to 50% of UK horses estimated to be overweight or obese.
Equine obesity is directly associated with endocrine conditions such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and laminitis and has been shown to significantly exacerbate conditions such as Arthritis and Asthma.
Managing weight through diet and exercise is crucial in preventing and addressing obesity in horses!

We thought we would share the efforts one of our amazing clients goes to, to keep her miniature Shetland ‘Smartie’ slim and disease free!
Being a native pony, Smartie is the classic ‘good-doer’ and being so small, it’s difficult to exercise him the conventional way through riding etc and dietary restriction is only part of the story with controlled his weight!
Smartie is the smallest patient we know that goes to the water treadmill for exercise! Helen and her family, Smartie’s owners, take him once or twice a month for a fat burning session to the water treadmill which is a novel way to keep him lean, along with this he regularly goes to the beach for some exercise and water therapy!

Not only is this an excellent form of resistance exercise to help keep him lean, apparently he also absolutely loves it and it’s certainly a sight to make you smile!

For any advice on weight loss, give us a call and any of the vets are happy to have a chat! We hope all our lovely clients have a super week.

28/07/2025

We are having a few problems with our phone lines at the moment.

Please call 07968109721.

Sorry for the inconvenience!