Equine passport
Bring your equine passport
Under current legislation, all horses must have a passport. Please bring it with you so that it can be checked on admission.
In accordance with the law, many medicines can only be administered if it has been certified in the horse’s passport that they are not for human consumption.
While we will not decline treatment of your horse if the passport is unavailable, we will treat your horse as though you have agreed that it will not be used for human consumption.
It will be your responsibility to complete the passport, when it becomes available, to this effect.
Insurance details and claim form
Bring your insurance details and claim form
If your horse is insured for veterinary fees, loss of use or mortality, please ensure that you bring details of your insurance cover and a claim form with you.
Rugs
Bring a rug for inpatients
If your horse is likely to be admitted as an inpatient, please bring any day or night rugs that your horse might need.
Our team will be happy to guide you on this if you are unsure what to bring.
Feed and dietary supplements
Bring any Feed and dietary supplements
We stock most usual feedstuffs. On admission, we will ensure that we know what your horse is currently being fed, so we can feed an appropriate diet.
If your horse is coming in for a lameness examination, please bring the tack that you normally use for the horse, as it may be necessary for our veterinary surgeons to see the horse being ridden under tack.
It is preferable that the horse’s regular rider is available in such circumstances, although, if this is not possible, we can arrange for a member of our team to ride your horse, with your permission.
In most cases, we would advise you to rest lame horses before they come in for investigation.
However, if your horse has a subtle lameness, we might ask you to keep it in light work until the appointment date.
Your vet will advise you on whether to rest your horse prior to the assessment.
All horses that are normally shod should remain so. We would prefer them to be shod in their normal way. This can be confusing and complicate the diagnosis of the true lameness.
Some drugs can mask lameness, making assessment of your horse’s true condition difficult.
In most cases, all anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesic medication should be stopped at least 48 hours before your appointment date, unless you have been advised otherwise by a veterinary surgeon.
Payment
When is payment due?
At the initial consultation, the veterinary surgeon will discuss the investigation and treatment options with you and can provide you with an estimate of costs.
Full payment must be made before or at the time of your horse’s discharge, unless you are a registered, first opinion client and have an authorised account with us.
We accept most types of credit and debit cards.
Insurance
All about equine insurance
Please note that the role of the insurance company is to reimburse you for fees incurred for veterinary treatment.
If your horse is insured, it is your responsibility to contact your insurance company before your horse’s appointment and make them aware of the potential costs.
If your horse is admitted as an emergency at night, at the weekend or on a bank holiday, you should notify your insurance company as soon as possible after admission.
You will need to check with your insurance company about your level of cover, any exclusions that might apply and what excess you will need to pay.
We will do our best to help with this process, but insurance companies usually prefer to deal with the policyholder and will only speak to us with your permission.
Irrespective of whether your horse is insured for veterinary fees, we ask that you settle your account at or before collection of your horse and that, if you do have a valid insurance policy, you claim back the costs from your insurance company.
Please ask your insurance company for an insurance claim form and give it to one of our receptionists or the veterinary surgeon attending your horse.
We will complete the insurance form for you and send off the form on your behalf, so that your insurance company can reimburse you directly.
Please note that you will be liable for any shortfall in fees which is not covered by your insurance company. If you anticipate any difficulty with payment, please telephone the accounts department 01509 814505 in advance to discuss whether alternative arrangements are possible.