Not A Creature Was Stirring…

…until late at night, when a horse showed signs of colic. Andrea Oakes discovers what happens when illness or injury occurs “out of hours”

- Andrea Oakes

Accidents tend to happen at the most inopportune moments, as horse owners are only too aware, and sickness rarely saves itself for a convenient time. Thankfully, if disaster strikes at night or over the weekend, veterinary help is usually just a phone call away.

But who answers these out-of-hours emergency requests and drives to the scene if hands-on treatment is required?

In the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) requires that veterinary practices make provision for 24-hour emergency cover. The majority achieve this by running a rota within the existing team, or with neighbouring practices, meaning that the on-call vet often works the day before their night-time shift – and will most likely be back at work the following morning.

As an owner, the promise of round-the-clock care is reassuring. Yet vets in equine-only practices can expect the heaviest workload in the veterinary world, ahead of colleagues in mixed, small and farm animal practices. A 2019 RCVS survey revealed that full-time equine vets work an average of 50.5 hours per week – with on average an additional 25.5 hours per week on call.

Certainly, it is debatable whether a horse will receive the best possible care if the vet has been working both night and day.

WELFARE CONCERNS

WHAT happens out of hours to keep our equine vets so busy?

“Colic accounts for roughly one in three visits,” explains Professor Tim Mair MRCVS of Bell Equine. “We helped with a University of Nottingham study, which also revealed that wounds account for a further 20% of call-outs, and lameness for another 11%.