The Podcasting Equine Vets

In this thought-provoking episode, Liz Somerville and Liz Daniels dive into the online buzz sparked by Loch Leven Equine Practice's recent social media post about vet bills — and the debate it ignited. From pricing myths to the realities behind the scenes, they respond to comments, questions, and strong opinions shared by the equestrian community. Tune in as we unpack: • Independent vs corporate vet practices – is one really driving up costs? • Value vs cost – where does your money actually go? • Why preventative care is more affordable in the long run • How "free" human healthcare might be skewing our perception of vet fees • The power of transparency – even down to the cost of a pair of gloves • Why positivity online matters more than ever Whether you're a horse owner, vet professional, or someone who joined the social media discussion, this episode offers a fresh, honest perspective on what veterinary care truly delivers — and why it's worth every penny.

WIth the launch of a new vaccination that has the potential to eradicate strangles we sat down with Hugh Somerville MRCVS to ask him all about the new vaccine. We discuss how it is different to the previous one, how often it needs to be given, which horses can have it, any potential side effects and whether it has the potential to remove the need for pre-movement blood testings.  If you want to learn more about strangles in general you can listen to our previous episode 'A Conversation about Strangles' and you can also download our FAQs PDF here     

It's been 5 years since we released our original episode on equine dentistry so we thought an updated edition was well overdue. Even in the last 5 years things have progressed, we've learnt more, developed better techniques and invested in our dental kit and equipment. Whilst we still have some way to go, more and more horse owners are understanding the benefits of using qualified and experienced people to look after their horses and ponies teeth. In this updated episode Liz Somerville is joined by Jenny Croft MRCVS to discuss dental qualifications, who to use to exam your horse's teeth, what should be involved in a proper dental exam, the different equipment and techniques and why sedation is so important.

It's a different but special episode this week as Liz Somerville hands over the reins to Liz Daniels to chat all things 2024 and look forward to some exciting plans in 2025. Hear about some of the different cases the team have looked after this year, from the most satisfying ones, the funniest and the weirdest case and the ones the team are most proud of. A couple of naughty ponies get a mention as well, including one that belongs to the Somervilles....whoops! Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and we'll see you all in the New Year with more conversations from the Podcasting Equine Vets    

Hugh and Liz Somerville are back this week chatting about joint injections. A slightly emotive topic that lots of owners have a lot of very different opinions on so this episode covers some of the more common threads that we are seeing across social media channels, including the recent coverage of Arthrimid as well as some of the questions that our own clients at Loch Leven Equine Practice are asking. The epsidoe covers: What is a joint injection? What happens when a horse gets a joint injection? What are the risks of joint injections? What are the different treatments we can inject into joints? What happens after my horse has had a joint injection? What should owners be looking out for after a joint injection? What happens if a horse goes lame after a joint injection? Arthrimid - was it really a 'bad batch'?  

Hind leg proximal suspensory problems are a fairly common injury particulary in our performance horses but they can be diificult to get horses back to competitive fitness. In this episode orthopaedic equine vet Hugh Somerville answers some of the more common questions horses owners want answers for.  The episode covers: What the more common symptoms of hind leg proximal suspensory injuries are Whether some horses are more predisposed to these problems How we diagnose these injuries What the treatment options are and the prognosis based on clinical evidence  How we can try and prevent these types of injuries

Series 2 of The Podcasting Equine Vets is back and we are kicking it off with a topic that is getting a lot of air time at the moment. Kissing spines is a condition that horse owners are much more aware of now than a few years ago. At Loch Leven Equine Practice we are getting asked to x-ray more backs during vettings than ever before and it would be fair to say we're seeing and treating more cases ourselves. Luckily at Loch Leven Equine Practice we have exactly the right person to speak to it about! As an orthopeadic equine surgeon with additional qualifications in surgery and diagnostic imaging, and many years of experience of working with both performance and leisure horses Hugh Somerville MRCVS is very well placed to talk to us about this condition. Keep listening to find out: What is kissing spines? How we diagnose kissing spines What are the different treatment options? What rehabilitation is needed? What is the prognosis or limitations for your horse if they are diagnosed? Should I buy a horse with kissing spines?

This week we absolutely delighted to welcome Sarah and James Oakden to the podcast. Sarah and James are the husband and wife team behind Team Oakden based at Dunbog Farm in Fife. James has his BHSI qualification and has ridden up to what is now 5 star level competing at both Badminton and Burghley. Sarah has her BHSAI qualification and has ridden at top level in the showing ring. A recent move into the dressage world saw her crowded Scottish Elementary Champion in 2019. From their base at Dunbog, Team Oakden provide coaching for all levels, full competition livery packages, breaking and schooling livery, outdoor school hire and ridden clinics. Here they share their story, including their systems, management and support team that have helped the business grow into a top class training facility that is home to some very happy horses, supported by a loyal client base. 

Coughing may seem like  a trivial subject especially as the odd cough really isn't anything to worry about, but for those owners whose horses are coughing so much it is effecting their ridden work, or if they get regular coughs due to allergies it can incredibly frustrating. There can also be more than one thing going on which can complicate and prolong treatment. In this episode I talk to Jane Haden MRCVS about why our horses cough and the different causes, how we diagnose and prescribe the correct treatment as well as some management tips to reduce the environmental challenges for our horses 

In this episode we chat to Donna Case from The Horse Feed Guru about her job as an Independent Equine Nutritionist, how she came to be where she is now, and the best and worst bits of her job! She shares her top feeding tips as well as de-bunking some of the myths surrounding the labelling of feeds and the use of supplements. Donna has over 15 years experience working in the equine feed industry and works with horses and ponies at every level from the high performance yards to the one horse owner. She has worked at some of the biggest events in the world as well as with British Equestrian and Team GBR 

Foot abscesses are relatively simple to treat if managed properly. They are also one of the most common things that we see as equine emergencies and are excruciatingly painful for our horses. It is not uncommon for a client to call because their horse is completely non-weight bearing, only for the vet to arrive and diagnose an abscess. In our latest episode I am joined by Jenny Croft MRCVS to chat about what causes an abscess, the clinical signs that our owners should look out for, the best treatment plan as well as what can go wrong if they are not treated quickly and effectively. 

This week we are delighted to welcome Maeve Sheridan - ACPAT Chartered Physiotherapist to the podcast. We have worked closely with Maeve for many years taking a team approach to treating and keeping our mutual patients fit, healthy and performing at their best. In this episode Liz chats to Maeve about how she became an ACPAT Chartered Physiotherapist, how she splits her time between treating riders, horses and her latest project 'Activate Your Seat'. We discuss what being an ACPAT Chartered Physiotherapist actually means, how Maeve works with vet teams, what is involved in a physio assessment as well as the best and worse bits of her job. She shares some success stories and tells us where we can find some exercises to do at home with our own horses. It's very obvious from chatting to Maeve how passionate and focused she is about her job and from personal experience and working with her at Loch Leven Equine Practice we would highly recommend you go and check out her website and social media channels. 

Equine Grass Sickness is a particularly devastating disease given the poor prognosis and how little we know about what actually causes it. In this episode from the Podcasting Equine Vets Liz Somerville is joined by Karen Wilson MRCVS. Listen in to learn about the disease including the different categories of Equine Grass Sickness, the potential cause, symptoms, prognosis, treatment and what you can do to try to prevent your horse from getting it.  

This week Liz Somerville is joined by Hannah Hamilton MRCVS to chat about sore eyes. Most eye conditions should always be treated as a medical emergency so please don't delay in calling your vet. The right diagnosis and treatment can be the difference between a quick recovery and your horse suffering painful, long-term consequences that can result in permanent loss of sight and enucleation. This episode covers how to identify if your horse's eye is sore, some of the more common conditions that we see and the treatments that are available to us.  

In our latest episode Jane Haden MRCVS and Liz Somerville chat about the minefield of horse insurance. If you want to find about more about the different types of cover, what to consider when choosing your policy including how the excess works, how to make a claim and some of the more common pitfalls that we see in practice then this is the episode for you! 

With Loch Leven Equine Practice Manager Liz Somerville, Equine Vet Karen Wilson and SQP (soon to be RAMA) Cara Bailey dispel some of the myths and help you to understand what you should be doing with your horses when it comes to worming. Worming is a topic which is confusing for many horse owners. Differing opinions, new diagnostic testing and the withdrawal of products makes worming even more of a challenge.

Breeding from your mare is a really exciting time for all involved but foaling can also be a worrying time for even the most experienced breeder because of the speed of the labour and how quickly things can progress. In our latest podcast we chat about what to expect and bets to prepare for the birth, as well as what can go wrong, when to call for help and how to spot potential issues early.

This week's episode tries to tackle the thorny issue of equine obesity. This is an enormous problem for the UK equine industry and despite huge efforts from equine welfare charities and vets all across the country either our horse owners can't recognise that their horse is obese or are not motivated enough to take action. Last year at Loch Leven Equine Practice 1 in 5 of all the horses put to sleep was down to laminitis. This figure has almost doubled from the previous year. In this podcast Jane Haden MRCVS joins Liz Somerville to chat through how owners can objectively assess whether their horse is over weight, and discusses some of the ways to get your horse to loose weight.

The Podcasting Equine Vets are back with a brand new show 'Tails of a Horse Owner' which follows the journey of one of Loch Leven Equine Practice's patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. In this episode Liz Somerville interviews owner Lucy Blain about Caesar's journey after he was diagnosed with a penile squamous cell carcinoma. Lucy talks honestly about her experience and shares her worries and concerns as she prepared for Caesar to under go surgery as well as some of the complications that Caesar threw at the team at Loch Leven.  

The Podcasting Equine Vets cover types of wounds, immediate first aid, blood loss, sutures, more serious wounds, aftercare and potential costs, to give owners more confidence when it comes to dealing with wounds and knowing when to call the vet.

When we talk about sarcoids it is easy to picture huge, raw tumours but the reality is that lots of horses have small, seemingly innocuous sarcoids that can even sometimes go undetected unless we are carefully checking our horses on a regular basis. As well as working for Loch Leven Equine Practice Jenny Croft also works part time for Equine Medical Solutions which is the business behind the sarcoid cream that is so well-known. Her boss and mentor is none other than the incredible Professor Derek Knottenbelt who has done so much to increase our knowledge and understanding of sarcoids as well as being responsible for treating tens of thousands of sarcoids over his career.  In this episode Jenny and Liz chat about why and how horses get sarcoids, some of the more common areas to find sarcoids and how to treat them as well as how not to treat them! 

In this latest podcast The Podcasting Equine Vets discuss general anaesthetics and equine surgery. For many horse owners this scenario may never become a reality, but should your horse need surgery, be it elective or emergency, this podcast will help you to understand what happens on the day, what can go wrong and how we minimise the risks.  We cover the differences in elective and emergency procedures, how a general anaesthetic (GA) is administered and talk about the preparation that goes into surgery before the horse even leaves its stable.

In this latest podcast The Podcasting Equine Vets discuss Impaction Colic. We talk through what an impaction is and how big they can be. We look at how impactions happen, treatment, what to look out for and give our top management tips to prevent them occurring.

Strangles is a topic that seems to put the fear of God into most horse owners and it is also a diagnosis that as vets we dread getting. Whilst some horses can be very sick with strangles the real issue for the vets is the confusion and fear that a diagnosis can cause. Strangles is highly infectious and needs to be managed extremely carefully to make sure that we limit the spread and get the all clear for the yard as quickly as possible. Whilst it is incredibly frustrating for other liveries, thankfully more and more yards are realising how important it is to both shut the yard down completely as well as be open and honest on social media about the outbreak. In this episode we are going to chat about how strangles is spread, the signs and symptoms to look out for, what to do if there is an outbreak on your yard and how to minimise the risk of your horse contracting strangles.

In our latest podcast we chat about a few of the more common things we get called to see over Christmas, what to look out for and how to avoid your horse getting ill over the festive period.

In this latest episode we talk about Equine Influenza or Flu as it's more commonly known.  We talk about the 2019 outbreak, talk regulations and vaccinations, dispel some myths and chat about what to do if your horse does get flu and how to avoid it spreading further.

In our latest podcast Hugh Somerville MRCVS and Liz Somerville chat about why lameness investigations are so important and what exactly in involved when your vet mentions a lameness work up. We discuss how we identify where the pain is coming from, using nerve and joint blocks and what other options are available to help us diagnose the cause of their lameness.

In this episode Hannah Hamilton MRCSV is chatting to Liz Somerville about euthanasia. We talk about what signs we should look for in our older horses so we know when it is time to make a decision, what the options are, and go through what happens on the day so you can be fully prepared and ensure your treasured family member has a dignified end. 

In our latest podcast we catch up with Hugh Somerville MRCVS to chat about vettings. Hugh has been qualified for over 20 years, his particular interest lies with equine orthopaedics and surgery, he has his Certificate in Equine Orthopaedic Surgery, he is a Royal College Advanced Practitioner and is currently completing his Diagnostic Imaging Certificate. Listen in as we chat about the differences between 2 and 5 stage vettings, what happens during a vetting and what to do if things go wrong.

Our knowledge of Equine Dentistry is continually expanding with new procedures becoming more commonplace.  Several years ago nobody would have thought that filling a horse's tooth would be a possibility. In our latest podcast we talk about Wolf Teeth, Diastemas, Fillings, Extractions and Sinus Infections.  Find out what they are, how we treat them and how you as a horse owner can try to prevent advanced treatment being necessary.

Equine Dentistry has moved on so far in the last ten – fifteen years, that we can now treat so many more issues, which we weren't previously able to do. There is so much more to it than routine check ups and rasping sharp edges. In our latest podcast we talk about the amazing advances in dentistry, how often horses should be checked and what qualifications the person doing your horse's teeth should have.

This week we are chatting all about Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS). There is much more in the horsey media about gastric ulcers than there ever used to be and horse owners in general seem to have a much greater awareness of ulcers. Originally many of us thought that it was only racehorses who suffered from ulcers, but as more and more of our pleasure horses are being diagnosed, horse owners are realising that it is something we all need to be looking out for! Find out why we are diagnosing more cases, how to spot the clinical signs, what to do if you think your horse may have ulcers, and how we diagnose and treat them.......happy listening! 

This week's conversation is all about Equine Cushings or PPID as it is now known and Liz Somerville is once again joined by Jenny Croft MRCVS. If you are an owner of a golden oldie this episode will be particularly relevant as PPID affects so many of our older horses and ponies. Thankfully it is easy to treat and manage meaning we can prevent many of the complications that we see in undiagnosed cases of PPID. The conversation follows a simple format of Liz, as a horse owner herself, asking Jenny all about PPID, what it is, the symptoms we should be looking out for, how we diagnose it and importantly how we treat it……… We hope you enjoy it! 

If you have an overweight horse or pony then this episode from the Podcasting Equine Vets is definitely for you! In our second podcast episode Jenny Croft MRCVS is back chatting to Liz Somerville about Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and how it affects our obese horses and ponies. Equine Metabolic Syndrome affects the levels of insulin in the horse's body, and it is the high levels of insulin circling in the blood, that can cause of the onset of laminitis. As we discussed in our first episode, laminitis is a medical emergency so finding out about EMS and how you can treat it will drastically reduce the chances of your horse or pony getting laminitis.

If you want to learn more about laminitis then you need to listen in to the Podcasting Equine Vets and their 'Conversation about Laminitis'. In our very first podcast Liz Somerville is joined by Jenny Croft MRCVS to clear up some common misconceptions and help you to understand more about what laminitis is, how it affects your horse and explain the treatment and on-going management regimes.  Laminitis is incredibly painful for horses so any suspected case should always be treated as a medical emergency. If you are in any doubt please contact your own vet to make sure your horse or pony gets the necessary care and treatment.