Referring vets

UQ VETS Equine Specialist Hospital's services and advanced diagnostic imaging are available by referral.

We strive to deliver positive results so understanding your goals and expectations for every referral is important to us.

You're welcome to contact us to discuss your horse's case and treatment options before you make a referral.

Make a referral for consultation/diagnostic imaging

Complete our online referral form to arrange:

a consultation with our specialist veterinarians. We'll lead on the case for in-patient treatment but are in constant communication with you once you've referred a case to us.
outpatient diagnostic imaging services: computed tomography (CT), direct digital radiography (DDR), ultrasound and bone scans/nuclear medicine.

Referral form

Your horse owner or trainer can contact us after referral to arrange an appointment.

Make a standing MRI referral

Complete our online MRI referral form for a standing MRI scan with or without a consultation with our specialist veterinarians.

Standing MRI referral form

We'll send the standing MRI scan results to you 48 hours after completion. You'll remain in charge of your horse's case for out-patient referrals.

Your horse owner or trainer can contact us after referral to arrange an appointment.

What your horse owner or trainer needs to do after referral

Owners and trainers need to:

contact us to make an appointment
pay a 50 per cent deposit for the treatment before the appointment
make sure their horse is either vaccinated for Hendra virus or exclusion tested for Hendra virus (if the horse is unvaccinated) before they arrive at the hospital for an appointment. Learn more about our Hendra virus requirements.
pay the remaining 50 per cent for treatment in full at discharge.

Standing MRI

Horse owners or trainers can find out what's involved in Standing MRI for horses and how to prepare for it.

ACTH and insulin testing for PPID and EMS

UQ Veterinary Laboratory Services (VLS) accepts samples for testing equine ACTH and insulin from horses vaccinated against Hendra virus. Visit the VLS website for a price list, forms, and guidance on how to collect samples.

Testing for PPID

ACTH is measured from plasma collected from a centrifuged purple-top tube. Ideally, we would collect ACTH samples from horses admitted to UQ VETS Equine Specialist Hospital because ACTH isn't stable.

If your horse's sample is going to be submitted by an external veterinarian, they need to:

collect the blood sample into a chilled 10ml purple-top EDTA tube with the plasma separated by centrifuge
place the plasma into an empty plastic vial or yellow-top tube
send it on ice and by courier to UQ Veterinary Laboratory Services on the day it's collected.

We can perform the more sensitive TRH stimulation test at UQ VETS Equine Specialist Hospital. Learn how to test and monitor for PPID.

Testing for EMS

Fasting insulin is measured from serum collected from a centrifuged red-top tube after a six to eight-hour fast.

An oral sugar challenge test is more sensitive. It measures insulin two hours after 0.75g/kg of dextrose is administered by syringe or stomach tube, after your horse has fasted for six to eight hours.

We can also perform a two-step insulin sensitivity test at the UQ VETS Equine Specialist Hospital.