The ambulatory team of nine experienced equine vets provide a comprehensive range of services to our registered first opinion clients whose horses are stabled within the catchment area of the practice. This area extends for a radius of about 20-25 miles from Liphook (see catchment area map); it is limited to this to ensure that those patients that we undertake to look after can expect a call within a reasonable period of time in an emergency and also to ensure that the duty vets are not too far away from other patients’ emergencies. If you are not sure if you are within our catchment area please do not hesitate to phone the Reception office to enquire.

We are able to offer a full range of advice, investigations and treatments with the additional back up facilities of the Hospital. Whether you have Shetlands or Shires, racehorses or donkeys, we can offer both 24 hour emergency and routine daytime cover. This can range from examinations and advice before purchase (Vettings), to treatment for colic or choke, lamenesses or lungworm, dentistry to poor performance and including humane destruction (Euthanasia).

We aim to build up a relationship with each animal having a nominated vet who gets to know the individual and their owner. Your horse will however benefit from the immense depth of knowledge and experience of all 16 members of the practice in both regular formal and ad hoc informal case discussions. We always endeavour to send the vet of your choice to you but in an emergency the nearest available member of the team will attend. We cover all out of hours problems 365 days a year - the duty vet is always a member of the practice – we do not use deputising services.

Most of the initial consultations and advice can be offered at the horse’s stable yard but, either to suit the client or to use more sophisticated equipment we can also make appointments to use the out patient facilities of the Hospital. These include hard and soft trot up areas, hard and soft lungeing areas and a manege as well as Xray machines, endoscopes etc.

Members of this team are also available to travel throughout the country, or abroad, to perform vettings or to give second opinions to referred clients, other veterinary surgeons or insurance companies.

The vets in the ambulatory team are listed, together with their CVs, under the team.

The REFERRAL HOSPITAL PRACTICE

The Hospital is staffed by several experienced equine surgeons and by others who specialise in internal medicine, dermatology and in cardiology. The expertise available in the hospital team is reflected by 3 RCVS Specialists, 4 European diplomates, 2 RCVS diplomates, and 9 RCVS certificate holders (qualifications which are unsurpassed within other UK facilities). Four Housevets also work here, looking after the day to day needs of the fifty in-patients and working closely with the senior clinicians in all aspects of our patient's needs.

This is now perhaps the busiest equine hospital in the country, performing over 900 general anaesthetics each year in addition to many hundreds of medical cases and lameness investigations. We have in-patient facilities for 50 horses, looked after by a dedicated team of yard nurses, working 24 hours a day, every day. We are, we believe the first and only such hospital to offer true 24 hour nurses who are actually always there rather than being on call if needed. This easily enables very close monitoring of cases and 'around the clock' treatments to be administered.

The Hospital receives referrals for all sorts of advice, investigations and treatments both from our own ambulatory vets and from vets in practices throughout the UK. In addition the surgeons are available to operate, by invitation, in clinic facilities around the world. First opinion clients can also make appointments for investigations directly with the Hospital team.

Horses that are not registered as first opinion cases with us are welcome, but they can only be seen following referral by their own veterinary surgeon or practice. This is for the benefit and safety of the horse. Owners who would either like a second opinion on their horse or whose own vet suggests a second opinion should, in all cases, ask their own vet to make the initial referral contact. That way the horse’s best interests are preserved and, perhaps crucially, your insurance cover is not jeopardised.

The individual members and interests of the practice’s team of vets are to be found in the Veterinary Surgeons pages. For an overview of the facilities of the hospital see Hospital Facilities.

THE LABORATORY

The Liphook Equine Hospital Laboratory provides analysis and interpretation of samples to aid diagnosis, both for our own vets and for a growing number of other practices. This is a fully equipped laboratory, under the direction of veterinary surgeon and RCVS Specialist and Diplomate in Equine Internal Medicine, Andy Durham, and provides comprehensive analysis and advice about blood, microbiology, cytology and parasitology samples.

We are a nominated diagnostic laboratory for the detection of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEMO) under the HBLB scheme and appear on their list again for the 2004 season.