Services at Kessock Equine Vets

Kessock Equine Vets is an ambulatory clinic providing wide ranging veterinary care for horses, ponies and donkeys throughout the Highlands. The practice is well equipped with a state-of-the-art x-ray machine; flexible endoscope and ultrasound scanner and crucially, we are equipped with the skills to use them.

A portable x-ray machine is an essential tool for modern equine practice. The developed films, known as radiographs, have to be processed correctly and interpreted properly. As a result it is important to have good quality radiographs in the first instance.

A flexible endoscope allows the nasal passages, throat, guttural pouches, and respiratory system to be examined internally. The ‘scope can also be easily adapted to examine the internal surface of the penis or bladder.

The ultrasound scanner has two main uses: in stud medicine to examine the reproductive tract – ovaries and womb - and for examining tendons, ligaments and other soft-tissue structures. The scanner was recently used to examine the internal structure of a tumour on a horse’s side.

Artificial insemination (AI) is becoming a common way of breeding horses throughout the world. There are essentially two ways of preserving horse semen and that means there are two ways of inseminating mares. The inexpensive option is to use chilled semen – this also has the greatest chance of success. Semen can be ordered to arrive the next day, and in most cases the mares just need to be scanned daily, whilst in season. With frozen semen, because the sperm are much more fragile, the mares need to be inseminated within a few hours of ovulation. This entails many internal examinations and scans, including scans throughout the night in some cases. In either respect AI should not be considered as a cheap way of breeding your mare - it should be used as a way of improving the quality of your mare’s foals. As well as running a service for chilled semen inseminations, we can also advise on stallion collection and transportation of semen.

Equine Dentistry is more than just tooth rasping! Kessock Equine Veterinary Clinic has a full range of dental instruments and tools. We pride ourselves on the quality of our equine dentistry, to improve the welfare and performance of your horse. We only ever examine a horse with the use of a gag (sometimes called a Hausmanns gag or speculum). Did you know that the horse’s mouth is so big that the last tooth is under the eye? it is impossible to examine or treat dental dysfunction without the use of a gag, yet it is still not in common usage.