Advantage Equine Veterinary Practice

Congratulations to Racing Victoria and the Victorian Racing Club for a very successful carnival!

ℹ️Information for horse owners ℹ️

From our Young Member President Dr Jordie Flood

⚠️ Recent Strangles Outbreak – Central Coast, New South Wales ⚠️

Strangles is a highly contagious respiratory disease in horses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equisubspecies equi. Recent outbreaks have been reported in Central Coast, New South Wales.

It spreads easily through direct contact with infected horses or indirect contactwith contaminated gear, feed, water, or handlers’ clothing.
Horses usually show signs within 3 – 8 days of infection.
Strangles can affect horses of any age and is most common where horses are kept in close contact — such as studs, shows, and agistment centres.

❗️Clinical signs to watch for:❗️
• Fever (39.0 – 40.5 °C)
• Nasal discharge or runny nose
• Cough
• Painful, swollen lymph nodes (especially under the jaw)
• Difficulty swallowing or breathing
• Depression or dullness

🚨 If your horse shows any of these signs, isolate it away from other horses immediately and contact your veterinarian.

Preventing spread:
• Keep sick horses separated
• Practice good hygiene, including frequently washing hands
• Avoid sharing gear, feed bins, or water troughs
• Wash hands, boots, and clothing after handling sick horses
• Quarantine new arrivals for at least 2 weeks

Here is some more good information for further reading from disease surveillance in the UK. It covers the clinical signs and management strategies. It does mention a newer vaccine that is not yet available here and is different to the one we have in Australia.

https://equinesurveillance.org/landing/resources/EIDS_spotting_the_signs_of_strangles_040924.pdf

Dr Vallance travelled to not so sunny Maroochydore today to present our clinics experiences and results on a large number of Thoroughbred racehorses with Arthramid to the Equine Veterinarians Australia annual conference.

A reminder that there are consequences for using non-permitted service providers. Interesting there is not an article on Racing.com

Equine Racetrack and Surgery Internship Position at Advantage Equine Veterinary Practice.

WANT TO DO EQUINE BASED NEAR MELBOURNE CBD, AUSTRALIA?
WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH ELITE HORSES, TRAINERS AND MANAGE LARGE STABLES?
DON’T WANT TO BE AN ANAESTHESIA TECHNICIAN??
WANT TO ENHANCE YOUR SKILL SET AND BE PAID WELL?

Position available September 2025!

Great explanation on update to using the Havemeyer grading system for sales endoscopy of Thoroughbred yearlings!

A true legend of a vet and a great man! Condolences to the Maclean family.

MacLean shares his knowledge from a life spent with horses - Harness Racing Victoria Paul Richards: Alastair, it’s the Cox Plate this Saturday, and in 1992 you were the vet who helped get the great Better Loosen Up back to racing well enough that he almost won it.

Thinking of Mathew and his family. Looking forward to hearing of a speedy recovery!

Donate to Please help Mathew - we need your help, organized by Melissa Kennewell We are reaching out for your help, Mathew is stuck in a Bali hospital. Initia… Melissa Kennewell needs your support for Please help Mathew - we need your help