Controlling veterinary costs

Veterinary bills can be expensive. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce
these costs without compromising your horse’s health, says Dr Mac.

Controlling veterinary costs
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The first and most effective way of cutting down on veterinary bills is to make sure you do everything you can to keep your
horse healthy. This includes vaccinating annually against equine influenza and African horse sickness, as well as ensuring that your horse is free of internal and external parasites.

A horse should be dewormed at least three times a year, and tick and fly control should be prioritised, especially in the summer. Another source of high bills is colic, but in many cases this can be prevented by correct feeding. Always provide your
horse with sufficient grazing or hay of good quality and don’t overfeed or underfeed concentrate rations. A good rule of thumb is to make sure there is enough hay and water in the stable before the horse is given its concentrate.

Injuries can also result in vet’s fees. Inspect your stables and paddocks regularly for loose wires, holes and anything else that could hurt your horse. Fixing a fence or gate is far cheaper than paying a vet to stitch up a wound. When introducing a new horse, do it slowly. Don’t simply turn it out with the herd, where dominance struggles can lead to kicks and bites.

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Clean the horse’s hooves regularly and get your farrier in every six weeks to trim the hooves. Or learn to do the job yourself
and get the farrier in just to shoe the horse.

The sooner, the better
If you do need the services of a vet, don’t delay. Treating a fresh wound or a disease in its early stages is cheaper than treating a long-standing condition. Keep in mind, too, the differences in breeds. Boerperde, Nooitgedachts and Arabians, for instance, tend to be far hardier than Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods, and require less veterinary care. If you want to save on veterinary costs, these are the breeds you should choose.

The gender of the horse is also important: geldings are the least likely to need veterinary care and are generally much more placid than mares and stallions. Breeding horses always involves costly veterinary bills. Stallions have to be certified free of contagious equine metritis, mares have to be certified in foal, and newborns should always be checked by a vet.

Discussing alternatives
Speak to your vet about the costs of the required procedure, ask for a quote and set limits. If treatment or surgery is far more than you can afford, it’s quite acceptable to discuss the matter and explore alternatives. For instance, if the horse needs stitching for a small cut, ask the vet whether general anaesthetic is really required. If you have a horse that’s very quiet, it
may be possible to get away with local anaesthetic.

Expensive diagnostic procedures such as X-rays and sonars are also options that can be deferred and used only for further diagnosis if the primary treatment does not work. Most vets will try to accommodate your budget if they can.