HORSES don’t do lockdown. They’re not much cop at social distancing either. Covid-19 just doesn’t figure in their world – but it certainly does in the world of those who tend to them - the owners, the farriers, the dentists, and nutritionists and perhaps most of all, the vets.

Paragon Vets Managing Director David Black says lessons learned during the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic stood them in good stead.

‘At the start of COVID-19 we were faced with a storm of information, some accurate and reliable, some less so. We drew strongly on our experiences of Foot and Mouth, in so much as we enhanced biosecurity measures, increased communication frequency, and took a pragmatic stance, assessing information as it was presented and not making knee-jerk decisions. Clearly the additional aspect of COVID-19 was the risk to human health and from the start our colleagues and employees have been by far our highest priority. Our second priority was to lead by example, by supporting government advice, implementing social distancing, protecting those at risk and mitigating risk of viral spread both personally and as a business. Our third priority was to continue offering a caring, compassionate and professional service to animals under our care.Immediately before lockdown, the Vets saw a slight rise in work and medicine sales as clients got jobs done and stocked up on essentials, but then came a significant slump.Our small animal and equine departments crashed to an emergency on-call level for a couple of weeks, then gradually came back to a plateau. Our equine team made huge efforts to isolate and work as a closed team in our yard at Newbiggin and so we felt that the risks were minimised. Our vet-led teams made clinical decisions based on case-by-case assessments. They balanced the risk to themselves, the client and the animal and came up with plans that minimised these as much as possible. In most cases it was possible to attend to a horse without being closer than two metres, depending on the temperament of the horse and facilities available. Clients were remarkably understanding of the constraints we were working under and grateful that we took the time to explain exactly what was going to happen during the procedure and what we expected them to do.’Some changes brought about by Covid look likely to remain in the future.We saw an increase in telephone consultations and were sent photos and videos to help make initial assessments. This pandemic will have speeded up the development of these technologies and their acceptance by the profession and the public

Equine Vet Euan Hammersley says Covid brought new anxieties for owners.

‘At the start of lockdown, horse owners faced the huge uncertainty of whether they should still be riding, while trying to understand the sometimes conflicting guidelines shared by the various equine bodies. Owners were worried if they could attend their livery yard, if they became ill themselves who would attend their horse, could the farrier still visit, what type of calls would the vet attend, how would they obtain feed supplies and they worried about vaccinations, so it proved to be a disconcerting and confusing period for many.’For those who had been fittening and feeding their horses to be ready for the competition season, lockdown brought extra woes. ‘Any sudden change to a horse’s diet could instigate colic, and stopping work in a competition horse could trigger rhabdomyolysis, a muscle condition more commonly known as ‘tying up’ so we advised owners to introduce any dietary or work load changes slowly and in a controlled manner. Additionally, turning a horse out into a grass filled paddock could bring on a laminitic response. Owners also had to be mindful of maintaining the overall health of their horses with regards to both foot and dental care.’