Vet Costs

Jessey

Jessey

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2004
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I am normally pretty good at guestimating my vet bills but my most recent one was a bit of a surprise, Jess gets the annual package (includes call out, flu/tet, teeth & MOT) for £106, plus sedative which is normally just under £20, while there I had the vet give Dan his tet booster. I guessed the total bill would be sub £150. I was a bit surprised to find its £186 :eek: I know it's not that much more, but it was still a surprise.
Jess' was £125 total, Dan's vaccine was £13 something, I was then charged a 50% call out for him £18 something but the big bit was the £27 something to inject him o_O its a bloody IM injection that took less than a second!
I am a bit miffed about the half call out, surely that was already covered in Jess' all in one deal, but at the same time I guess from a business point of view I get that it was only covered for the 1 horse, but to charge call out plus almost £30 to inject, I think that's pushing it a bit, am I just so out of touch? I wish we could give vaccines ourselves like some other countries.
 
It all adds up doesn't it? I feel your pain. Here our vets charges (least I think so anyways) are VERY reasonable. Compared to where we used to live. I am not on a package as such but I have found call-out's slightly cheaper here and they do a visit that can be a lot cheaper if they are on our part of the island anyway doing farm work. I think they are extremely good value with regard to their teeth and vaccinations. And I buy all my meds from them like Danilon and Prascend as that is a good price too. Only thing I do have a gripe over is the cost of things like Sedolin - wow that has shot up since I first started buying it! And I bought some Domesedan a few years ago and got a shock on the bill as it cost me £68 which would have been cheaper to get the vet out to sedate!
 
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A friend of mine says that vet prices down south are far higher than the north. She's had a couple of holidays up north taking the dogs with her just so she could get the vet checks and meds up there. In some cases it's half the price.
I think the domesadan price that I saw recently quoted was expensive which is why I held off getting any to sedate for clipping. Then there's the issue it may or may not work. However after Billie's recent IM sedations costs by the vet for his leg the domesadan is cheap. I saw someone saying you could get a prescription from the vet and buy online and it was only £13 just the other day. It's a bit different to £68.
Although his lameness treatment has been covered by insurance. I'm putting off getting the vet out again as I'm sure Billy is lame still. But I don't want to pay for call outs just to confirm he's lame. Clearly his couple of injections which cost a fortune have done nothing. So now we will have to look at alternative treatment or an op. Which I'm sure will be far higher than what the insurance is going to cover.
Its funny you never see a vet going out of business.
 
MrC said:
That’s ripping the arse a bit and I’d be questioning why it cost £27 to give a Shetland a £13 injection.
Daylight robbery and I wouldn’t be paying it either
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I will pay it, and likely won't quibble it, because frankly I have had all kinds of things not show up on my bills this year ;)

TBH I expect to pay a little more than the norm, because this is a Newmarket based vet and I have instant access to all the facilities, technology and specialists we could ever need. BUT I think I may talk to some of the local small animal vets and see if I took the boys in just for their boosters what the price would be, I know one of them used to do flu/tet in the trailer outside for £25, although that was 10 years ago now so I expect it will have gone up a bit it's still not £60 just for a tet!
 
How can they get away with charging a second call out fee even if it is 50%
 
Sorry to elaborate a bit more, at our yard and all the vets I know round here the call out fee covers the vet coming to the yard, this can be for one horse or for 10 and you can also split the amount between the owners
 
Ale said:
Sorry to elaborate a bit more, at our yard and all the vets I know round here the call out fee covers the vet coming to the yard, this can be for one horse or for 10 and you can also split the amount between the owners
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I'm guessing the included call out only applies to the horse on the mot deal, they then charged Dan's as a shared call out (hence half price), I kind of thought if call out was included any extra wouldn't be charged but I guess not.
 
I'd be annoyed at & probably questioning the second call out fee, but round here the injection fee is a standard thing.
 
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Jessey said:
I'm guessing the included call out only applies to the horse on the mot deal, they then charged Dan's as a shared call out (hence half price), I kind of thought if call out was included any extra wouldn't be charged but I guess not.
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I would still ask them to explain could have just been charged by accident. They didn't come out twice so why should you pay twice (or 1.5 times even)
 
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Jessey said:
I am normally pretty good at guestimating my vet bills but my most recent one was a bit of a surprise, Jess gets the annual package (includes call out, flu/tet, teeth & MOT) for £106, plus sedative which is normally just under £20, while there I had the vet give Dan his tet booster. I guessed the total bill would be sub £150. I was a bit surprised to find its £186 :eek: I know it's not that much more, but it was still a surprise.
Jess' was £125 total, Dan's vaccine was £13 something, I was then charged a 50% call out for him £18 something but the big bit was the £27 something to inject him o_O its a bloody IM injection that took less than a second!
I am a bit miffed about the half call out, surely that was already covered in Jess' all in one deal, but at the same time I guess from a business point of view I get that it was only covered for the 1 horse, but to charge call out plus almost £30 to inject, I think that's pushing it a bit, am I just so out of touch? I wish we could give vaccines ourselves like some other countries.
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Cost me £68.00 to get Buddy's flu jab done early so he could go to Border Union show as they were the only show that insisted you have one within 3 months of the show, and he was over that. And he didn't get to the show as he was lame so it was all for nothing. I think it is a real rip off charging for 'labour' doing a jab, fine if you have a needle phobic horse and it takes ages, but Buddy you do it in 3 seconds, and we have a £30 call out on top.
 
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They are offering a zone day round here. So if you can have the vaccinations on the day they do the zone day for your area you dont get charged a call out fee. I couldnt do it though due to working and also ive only had one vet deal with billy since i brought him and he knows how quirky he is so id rather stick with the same vet. He only does certain days.
 
chunky monkey said:
They are offering a zone day round here. So if you can have the vaccinations on the day they do the zone day for your area you dont get charged a call out fee. I couldnt do it though due to working and also ive only had one vet deal with billy since i brought him and he knows how quirky he is so id rather stick with the same vet. He only does certain days.
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Haha this was our zone day, you can only get the MOT package on zone days. Our call out is normally about 80 quid, half price on zone days. Thinking about it though, I know one of the other big Newmarket practices does free call out on their zone days, I might call them and ask what their stabbing fee is :D
 
I've noticed the flu jab creeping up in price and I'm wondering whether the drug companies are just being money-grubbing opportunists. Last flu jab that Gracie had had increased from about £25 to £34 in 6 months! (drug only).
 
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I paid £62 for a flu jab free weeks ago - on a zone visit too and with my new, cheaper vet practise. I've paid £80/90 before.
 
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I was £89 for call out and jab for Farans last one last June. I haven’t gone with the 6months regulation so if a show is wanting 6months then I won’t be attending Simples :)
 
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I was £130 for three annual vaccines and MOT. I thought that was a bit steep! I use a small local vet for routine stuff but don't trust them for big issues. Mine do rip you off for sedative. I got some gel to administer myself and it was well over £100. Last time vet injected sedative he mucked up and had to reinject. They charged me almost £200 for that mess. And most recently they charged me £40 for two out of date sachets of painkiller. When I queried/complained they said it would still be ok. Completely not the point!
 
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£80 call out :eek:. I think mine is about £20, and while they don't do zone days they also don't charge extra for out of hours visits either.
 
carthorse said:
£80 call out :eek:. I think mine is about £20, and while they don't do zone days they also don't charge extra for out of hours visits either.
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Our out of hours varies depending on when it is, a few years ago I had to have a Sunday night emergency call out for Hank and is was £145 or there abouts :eek: that was before treatment. Tbh the cheap practice near here is still a £45 call out (double for emergency) and I'd never trust them again after previous issues.
 
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