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HUNTER EQUINE CENTRE

Hunter Equine Centre is a team of world-class equine only ambulatory and hospital-based specialist vets servicing the Scone and Upper Hunter region. Our new, state of the art hospital boasts a purpose built surgery, intensive care unit, hospital boarding, diagnostic imaging services and dedicated in-house laboratory to provide a complete service to our clients and referring veterinarians alike. We pride ourselves on providing a comprehensive and personalised first opinion and referral service for all aspects of equine work, from reproductive management through foaling, yearling sales and all the way to racehorse and elite sports horses.


Hunter Equine Centre, through its founder Dr Bridget Bester, has a long established association with the breeding and racing enterprises around the Upper Hunter region, as well as an increasing sport horse clientele. Whatever your veterinary need, our steadily growing team of highly qualified and professional veterinary surgeons and support staff can assist you and your equine counterpart.

Home: Opening Hours

OUR TEAM

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OUR SERVICES

REPRODUCTION

The HEC team provide a world class reproductive service including both intensive and routine reproductive work on stud farms, in-hospital AI service and management of problem mares and sub-fertile stallions. The team claims excellent fertility rates for the mares underour care. Reproduction contracts are available to allow regular monitoring and extensive treatment at a fixed cost.

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FOAL CARE

Looking after a sick foal can be the most difficult but rewarding part of the breeding season. Neonatal medicine is complex and often very intensive, requiring hospitalisation. Here at HEC we have a dedicated hospital and intensive care team including an internal medicine specialist to ensure that sick foals under our care received the gold standard of neonatal intensive care. Likewise, our experienced and highly qualified team of stud vets can ensure gold standard diagnostics and care on-farm for minor illness or injuries

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POOR PERFORMANCE

At HEC we have several vets with a keen interest in the management of poor performance cases; from diagnosing the cause through to implementing a treatment plan to rectify the problem wherever possible. The cause of poor performance can be varied, with possibilities including underlying orthopaedic and lameness issues (including tendon, bone and joint injuries as well as hoof and shoeing problems), myopathies or muscle diseases such as “tying up”, gastric ulceration, dental disease, airway disease including asthma, lower-airway bleeding and upper airway obstructions, and cardiac disease. A thorough, methodical approach to poor performance workup is important and often involves multiple steps; speak to one of our vets about the options available including dynamic endoscopy using your treadmill to evaluate the cause of respiratory noise during exercise, or an ECG at rest or during exercise or an ultrasound of the heart to evaluate suspected cardiac problems.

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LABRATORY

HEC has a fully equipped laboratory that enables on-site blood analysis, cytologicalevaluation of body-cavity fluids, synovial samples and airway samples, culture of diagnostic samples, including mare and stallion pre-breeding swabs and faecal analysis for parasite burden as well as some common causes of diarrhoea. Blood analysis includes routine haematology (complete bloodcount), serum biochemistry, electrolyte measurement and evaluation of acute phase proteins (markers of inflammation). In addition all of our ambulatory vets have the capacity to measure serum amyloid A (acute phase protein/marker of inflammation) using patient-side analysers to rapidly identify the degree of systemic inflammation in a sick patient.

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MEET OUR TEAM
SOCIAL FEED

Meet Sarah - Our Internal Medicine Specialist

Meet MC - our head nurse, and so much more. We’d be lost without her!

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