Equine Services

The UCDVH Equine Field Service offers on-site care to horses at their stable or yard. Our experienced team provides both scheduled & emergency care in the South Dublin and Wicklow areas (within a 30 minutes drive south of UCD).

Services provided include:

• Routine examinations & wellness checks
• Dentistry - from routine annual check ups to advanced periodontal work & extractions
• Sport Horse Medicine & Lameness
• Acupuncture
• Chiropractic & laser therapy
• Reproductive services including AI
• Medical investigations

With direct access to the boarded specialists within the UCDVH, the Equine Field Service vets can easily access more advanced diagnostic and specialised services. Our team also work in conjunction with your farrier / physiotherapist / massage therapist to design and implement the most comprehensive and integrated care regime for your horse.

The UCDVH Equine Field Service can be contacted through the UCD Veterinary Hospital on (01) 716 6002.

UCD Veterinary Hospital is one of the few facilities in Ireland that provides high quality specialist Equine Internal Medicine expertise.  Our Team can evaluate diseases of particular systems such as:

• Intestinal disease (e.g. chronic diarrhoea, chronic colic, gastric ulceration)    
• Respiratory disease (e.g. recurrent nasal discharge, chronic cough, abnormal respiratory noise)
• Cardiac disease (e.g. murmurs, arrhythmias)
• Neurologic disease (e.g. behaviour abnormalities, abnormal posture or gait)
• Urogenital disease (e.g. haematuria, incontinence, painful urination)
• Hepatic disease (e.g. jaundice, weight loss, photosensitivity)
• Skin disease (e.g. hair loss, eruptions, pruritis)
• Reproductive disease (e.g. sub-fertile mare)
• Diseases of the young and older foal (pneumonia, diarrhoea, ill-thrift)
• Endocrine disease (Equine cushing's (PPID), Equine metabolic syndrome)

We can also investigate conditions where a system is not obvious:

• Fever of unknown origin
• Unexplained weight loss
• Poor performance

‌Equine Internal Medicine specialists perform a thorough clinical examination, choose and perform the most relevant diagnostic tests, and subsequently amalgamate and analyse the findings of those tests.  Then they discuss the diagnosis, prognosis and a treatment plan with the referring vet.

Diagnostic tests include endoscopy, diagnostic imaging, haematology, biochemistry, cytology, microbiology, parasitology, histopathology, endocrinology and hormone assay.

Click here for further information on Equine Diagnosis and Treatment Services offered at the UCDVH

All of the academic clinicians of the UCDVH Equine Surgery Service are board-certified by the European (ECVS) and/or American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). In order to become board-certified, a veterinarian must graduate from an accredited college of veterinary medicine, perform an internship (one year of general equine experience), and an approved residency (a minimum of 3 years of specific equine surgical training). Finally, board certification requires successfully passing an intensive 3-day written, practical, and oral examination.

Why might my horse need specialist treatment from a board-certified equine surgeon?

The only surgeries routinely performed in general equine practice are minor lacerations and castrations. This is because horses are relatively difficult to anaesthetise, and have a greater incidence of postoperative complications than other species. Therefore, advanced surgical expertise (with the accompanying expertise of an anaesthetist) is needed for many of the more complicated problems encountered. In addition, surgeons at the UCDVH Equine Service have access to and expertise in a range of high tech diagnostics such as CT, ultrasonography, arthroscopy (for lameness), laparoscopy (for workup of chronic colic) and endoscopy (for throat problems).

The Equine Surgery Service at the UCDVH specialises in diagnosis and treatment of horses with diseases that may require surgery as a major component of their management (click here to see Equine Diagnosis and Treatment Services offered at the UCDVH).

Diagnostic Evaluation and Treatment

Our surgery clinicians provide in-depth diagnostic evaluation and treatment for horses with a variety of orthopaedic and soft tissue disorders, such as lameness, upper respiratory tract conditions, sinus disease, colic, trauma and orthopaedic injury. The Surgery Service utilises sophisticated techniques such as arthroscopy, endoscopy and laparoscopy.

The Hospital's expertise in equine orthopaedic surgery is enhanced by its Anderson sling recovery system. With this system, horses with serious fractures can safely recover from general anaesthesia. Horses awaken suspended in a sling in a standing position so that they do not have to struggle to rise to their feet, thus avoiding further injury.