NCVC Equine

🦷🐴 Equine Dental Month 🐴🦷

Final days to get in on our special offer this month where we’re putting the spotlight on your horse’s dental health!

Did you know that regular dental care is essential for your horse’s comfort, performance, and overall wellbeing? Uneven wear, sharp points, and other dental issues can lead to weight loss, behavioural changes, and difficulty eating.

✨ This month only:
✔️ Comprehensive dental checks
✔️ Expert care from our experienced equine team
✔️ Advice tailored to your horse’s needs

🐎Free worm FEC with your dental for this month only.

Keep your horse happy, healthy, and performing at their best.

📅 Book your horse in today!

📞 Call your local clinic to secure your spot,

🦷 What are wolf teeth in horses?

Three different horses and three different sized wolf teeth. So what are they?

Wolf teeth are small, vestigial teeth that sit just in front of the upper cheek teeth — and sometimes in the lower jaw too. Not every horse has them, but when present they can cause discomfort, especially in ridden horses wearing a bit.

Signs your horse may be bothered by wolf teeth can include:
• Head tossing
• Resistance to the bit
• Difficulty turning or flexing
• Opening the mouth or fussiness under saddle

Because of their position, wolf teeth can interfere with the bit and create pressure or pain. For many performance and ridden horses, removal is recommended before starting work under saddle.

Extraction is a routine veterinary dental procedure and is usually quick and straightforward when performed by your veterinarian.

If you’re booking your horse’s next dental check, we’re happy to assess whether wolf teeth are present and if removal may be beneficial. 🐴

Make sure to get your horses sorted now and make the most of our dental month special

🐴✨ Exciting News at North Canterbury Vet Clinics ✨🐴

We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of our new portable Radincon digital X-ray system! 📸

This exciting new technology means:
✅ Faster, clearer imaging
✅ Improved diagnostics for lameness and injuries
✅ More efficient assessments in the clinic and out in the field
✅ Better care and outcomes for your horses from the first visit
✅ You don’t need to bring your horse to the clinic, this unit is fully mobile so we can come to you.

Our team is always looking for ways to invest in the best equipment and veterinary care for the North Canterbury equine community, and we can’t wait to put this fantastic new system to work.

If your horse needs assessment, lameness imaging, foot balance or follow-up care, get in touch with our equine team today. 🐎💙

🦷🐴 Equine Dental Month is Here! 🐴🦷

At North Canterbury Vets, we’re putting the spotlight on your horse’s dental health this month!

Did you know that regular dental care is essential for your horse’s comfort, performance, and overall wellbeing? Uneven wear, sharp points, and other dental issues can lead to weight loss, behavioural changes, and difficulty eating.

✨ This month only:
✔️ Comprehensive dental checks
✔️ Expert care from our experienced equine team
✔️ Advice tailored to your horse’s needs

🐎Free worm FEC with your dental for this month only.

Keep your horse happy, healthy, and performing at their best.

📅 Book your horse in today – spaces are filling fast!

📞 Call your local clinic to secure your spot,

Last week was World Veterinary Day. We delayed this post as we paused to honour ANZAC Day.

This year’s theme from the World Veterinary Association — “Veterinarians: Guardians of Food and Health” — couldn’t be more relevant.

Veterinarians play a vital, often unseen role in safeguarding food safety, food security, public health, and animal well-being. From farm to fork, they’re on the frontline ensuring food of animal origin is safe, nutritious, and responsibly produced. Their work helps prevent zoonotic diseases, supports sustainable food systems, and strengthens global health security.

And of course, our pets deserve a mention too — their positive impact on human health and well-being is evident every day.

We’re incredibly proud to celebrate our team of vets working across the productive Hurunui District and beyond. They support animal owners through preventative care, diagnosis and treatment, emergency response, and compassionate end-of-life care.

From vet legends to new grads, our team brings together knowledge, experience, energy, and a strong commitment to best practice and innovation.

And they’re also a team of genuine & awesome humans.

Thank you for everything you do — for animals, their owners, and our wider community. We are so lucky to have you.

🐴Selenium - what, when and how much?🐴

Living in North Canterbury, our soils are naturally low in selenium – which means our pasture (and therefore our horses) are often low too.

Selenium is a trace mineral with a big job:
✔ Supports muscle function and recovery
✔ Works as an antioxidant (protects cells from damage)
✔ Important for immune health and fertility

⸻

⚠️ The catch? Too little AND too much are both a problem

Deficiency signs may include:
• Poor performance or “tying up”
• Muscle soreness or weakness
• Poor coat or condition
• Fertility issues

Toxicity signs (from over-supplementing):
• Hair loss (mane/tail)
• Hoof damage or cracking
• In severe cases, sloughing of hooves 😬

⸻

💉 So what should you do?

In this region, many horses do need supplementation – but guessing isn’t safe.

👉 The best approach is a simple blood test to check your horse’s selenium level
👉 From there, one of our vet’s can recommend the right type and dose
👉 Remember: selenium adds up from all sources (feed, balancers, supplements)

⸻

💬 Take-home message:
Don’t assume – test. Selenium is one of those nutrients where precision matters more than good intentions.

If you’re unsure, chat to one of our vets - it’s a quick check that can make a big difference to your horse’s health.

We are excited to welcome Sam Burrows to our veterinary team.
Sam was born and bred in Culverden before heading off to university to study Veterinary and Agricultural Science. After graduating in 2015, he moved to Central Hawke’s Bay where he worked as a mixed-animal vet, focusing on sheep, beef, and deer, alongside small animal work.
In early 2017, Sam returned to Canterbury and spent the next nine years working in Rangiora as an equine veterinarian. During this time, he developed a broad and well-rounded skill set in equine care, including:
• Lameness and poor performance
• Dentistry
• Reproduction
• Surgery
• General horse health care
Outside of work, Sam keeps busy with his polo horses, his wife’s show jumper, and most importantly, his daughter’s pony. Any remaining free time is spent with his family or helping out on the family dairy farm.
Sam, his wife Sarah, and their 2.5-year-old daughter have recently moved back to Culverden to be closer to family. He is very much looking forward to meeting clients and caring for your horses.

🐎 Equine Gastroscopy Day – Amberley Clinic 🐎

Is your horse showing signs of stomach ulcers, poor condition, girthiness, or changes in behaviour? Our Equine Gastroscopy Day is a great opportunity to check what’s really going on.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 1 April
📍 Location: Amberley Clinic

Gastroscopy allows our vets to look directly into your horse’s stomach to diagnose ulcers accurately. It’s ideal for both:
• Initial diagnostics if you suspect ulcers
• Rechecks to see how treatment is progressing

Early diagnosis can make a big difference to your horse’s comfort, performance, and overall wellbeing.

📞 Spaces are limited, so please contact the clinic to book your horse in.

Let’s help keep your horse happy, healthy, and performing at their best. 🐴

Colic is one of the most serious health emergencies we face as horse owners. Knowing the early warning signs can truly save your horse’s life.

Watch for signs like:
• Pawing or rolling
• Repeatedly lying down and getting up
• Looking at their flank
• Not eating or reduced manure
• Stretching as if to urinate
• Sweating or acting “off”

Trust your instincts — you know your horse best. If you suspect colic, remove feed and call your veterinarian right away. Don’t wait it out.

Quick action can make all the difference.