Veterinary


Veterinary

A modern, fully equipped facility and is staffed by qualified and experienced Equine Veterinary Surgeons.

Veterinary Hospital

The Singapore Turf Club Veterinary Hospital is a modern, fully equipped facility and is staffed by qualified and experienced Equine Veterinary Surgeons, which includes a number of registered specialists.Owners and trainers of visiting horses can expect the full range and quality of veterinary services available at any major racing centre.

For further information and clarification relating to Requirements & Protocols

Veterinary Research

Singapore Turf Club is a unique environment with an enclosed racing thoroughbred population, and a combined clinical and regulatory Veterinary Clinic. Accurate records on all examinations, workload history, and race and trial records are also kept going back several years. This has lead to a very valuable database that can now be tapped for high quality retrospective studies advancing veterinary knowledge and animal welfare. It is now recognized veterinary research also has valuable application in Human Medicine, with the unique model at STC already recognized as potentially a valuable research environment into the debilitating human osteo-arthritis syndrome The potential also exists for high quality prospective investigations in the future.

Some research projects of note:

Endoscopic view pre and post surgery for epiglottic entrapment
Endoscopic view pre and post surgery for epiglottic entrapment

This is a common condition whereby a fold of tissue entraps the epiglottis. Previous research had been conflicting as to the effect on performance, and whether the surgery should or should not be performed. The study done at the STC confirmed that there was definitely a significant deleterious effect on race performance, and post surgery performance would not only be improved, but horses would go on to have normal race careers.

For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023319300644

Typical clinical and radiological presentation of “tropical joint syndrome”
Typical clinical and radiological presentation of “tropical joint syndrome”

Any veterinarian or horseman working in the racing industry in Asia would be well aware of this syndrome of bony exostosis in the bones around one or both front fetlocks. A description of the condition with a survey of veterinarians was published, along side data that would reassure all that once diagnosed, horses still go on to have normal race careers, and are not at risk of suffering any further potentially catastrophic injury.

For more information, visit: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eve.13062

Dr Shaw presenting STC abstract and data from the WEVA congress Verona 2019
Dr Shaw presenting STC abstract and data from the WEVA congress Verona 2019

Racing prognosis following carpal (knee) arthroscopy

Racing prognosis following carpal (knee) arthroscopy. Presented as an abstract at the WEVA (World Equine Veterinary Association) congress in Verona, Italy, Oct 2019, this research shed new light on the prognosis of horses following surgery, and possible strategies to improve this. Significantly, the radio-carpal (top) joint had a much better prognosis than the inter-carpal (bottom) joint. Also, post surgery intra articular cortisone had a negative effect on clinical outcome. Of interest, the size of fragment and degree of radiological osteoarthritis were not important .In the future, we may look to better rehabilitation programs and longer spells following surgery (up to 6-9 months) to improve results, especially with the inter-carpal (bottom) joint surgery.

(Publication pending)

SINGAPORE IMPORTATION HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Connections of visiting horses should refer to the shippers for details on compulsory government requirements (certifications, vaccinations, blood testing, veterinary examinations, etc.) and for requirements for return to their home countries.Medication and Prohibited Subtances The Malayan Racing Association Rules of Racing require horses to be free of prohibited substances.