Trigger the Pony Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales

Hi, I'm Rory. Today, I'm in London to meet Amber at a riding stables

and I hear the pony dentist is paying a visit too.

This is exciting.

And I'm Ferne.

I'm at a zoo in Winchester to find out what the vets do to look

after some amazing animals.

# Ferne and Rory telling you the story

# Of some poorly pets

# We will take them Show you how to make them

# Better at the vet's

# Vet tales These are our vet tales

# Vet tales Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. #

Hello, my name's Amber and I love ponies.

I like giving them strokes and cuddles.

I come here for pony club where I help around the stable.

This is Dougie. I like grooming him.

He really enjoys being brushed too.

My favourite thing is horse riding. It's so much fun!

-Hi, Amber.

-Hi, Rory.

-And you must be mum, Sophie. Hello.

-Hello, Rory.

Would you like to come and meet the ponies, Rory?

-I'd love to. Are they in here?

-Yeah.

-Come on, let's go.

-This is Harry.

-He's gorgeous! Look at his hair!

-Look how long it is! He's beautiful. What have we got here?

-Apples.

Right. This is a treat for you, my friend.

Crunched it in one. Right, who else have we got? Who's down here?

-Who's this?

-Dougie.

-Dougie. Hi, Dougie.

-I think he's very interested in these apples, don't you?

-Yeah.

Here we go. That's for you, Dougie. Good boy, Dougie.

And somebody's getting very impatient for the apples,

-aren't they?

-Jack.

-Jack. Here you go, Jack.

-Is Jack the smallest one here?

-Yeah.

-Here's Trigger.

-Trigger is gorgeous.

-Shall we give him an apple?

-Yeah.

Amber, someone very special is visiting today. Who is it?

-The pony dentist.

-Yes, that's right.

A pony dentist is also known as an equine dentist

and they look after the mouths and teeth of horses and ponies,

just like your dentist looks after your teeth.

You can join us, Rory.

That sounds like lots of fun. And you can join us too.

This is Bea.

She's not actually a vet, but an equine dental technician.

She loves meeting new horses every day.

She once treated an American mammoth donkey

and has had afternoon tea with a goat.

-Hi, Bea.

-Hi, Rory. Hi, Amber.

-Hi, Bea.

Now, Bea, you have a very special job.

-You look after the teeth of horses and ponies.

-I do indeed.

Just like us, horses have milk teeth, or baby teeth, first.

These fall out and then they get all their adult teeth.

Amber, have you got your adult teeth or have you got some

baby teeth as well?

-I've got some of both.

-Let me see, give me a big smile. Ding!

-Now, how many teeth does an adult horse have?

-Up to 42 adult teeth.

-Wow!

-But it all depends if they're a boy or a girl.

-OK, and that's more than a human, right?

-Yes. Humans get around 32.

-A lot of teeth to look at, so you're going to look at Jack first.

-Yep.

So what we start off with is an external examination of his head.

We check for any lumps or bumps across the surface,

and if there's any lumps or swellings,

it could be an indication of a problem going on in the mouth,

and then we go round and have a look at his nose and we look at the eyes

and make sure there's no discharge coming out of them.

-Discharge is like gunk, basically, isn't it?

-Yeah. Yep.

OK, but he's all clear, is he?

-He's all clear.

-Look at him opening his mouth for you!

Nice big yawn there, wasn't it?

We then start looking at his lips.

So you see just there, he's got a bit of a sore?

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

-Just there.

OK. And what do you think that's from?

They shed their baby teeth at four and a half years old, roughly,

so it's just a bit uncomfortable, so he's given it a bit of a rub.

And Jack's five years old, right,

-so he's still getting some new teeth in?

-Yep.

One there, and he's got one just coming through up at the top,

-just there.

-Yeah, just poking through on the top.

-Yep.

Once we've had a look around the gums

and check they're OK, we then have a look at the front teeth.

Wow! What do you think, Amber?

Those are some gnashers. RORY LAUGHS

We turn my headlight on and that gives me

a chance to check all the teeth and see if there's anything on the

surface of the tooth that could be causing a problem.

-He's got a really long tongue.

-He does, doesn't he?

Amber, why do you think the teeth are flat at the back?

-Chomping all the food.

-Yeah.

-So you're happy with how Jack's looking?

-Very happy.

-Great.

-Well, what a good boy you've been. Well done, Jack.

-Well done, Jack.

Good boy.

Just like us,

horses and ponies have lots of teeth that need to be looked after.

They have incisors at the front, canines in the middle

and molars at the back.

But unlike us, they can't brush their teeth themselves.

The equine dentist will remove plaque, smooth rough edges

and remove teeth if necessary.

This is vet Elaine,

and she has given Trigger a special injection which makes him nice

and sleepy, and that will mean he stays calm during his dental work.

So, Bea, what's on for Trigger today?

Trigger's getting a full examination where it

requires us to check and treat all his teeth.

-We're going to put a gag on first.

-And why do you have to put a gag on?

So I can do the back teeth and his lower teeth.

This isn't going to hurt him, is it?

No, it just looks a bit scary, but I can't ask him to open his mouth.

-Of course.

-I have to ask for help.

Trigger's sleepy head is heavy and difficult for him to hold up,

so Bea gives him a special padded rest.

Bea now uses this really long mirror,

so she can carefully examine all of Trigger's teeth.

I'm checking each tooth for any cracks, any decay,

any sharp edges, anything we need to be concerned about.

And what are you seeing in there?

It's looking good. He hasn't got any cracks,

but he has sharp edges and a bit of plaque.

Now, sharp points, they can be a problem

because they can cut his guns.

And he's got a little sore just on his cheek,

just where it's been pressing into his cheek a little bit.

-First of all, Bea uses a circular file.

-Ready, Trigger?

FILE WHIRS

The file removes any sharp edges on Trigger's teeth.

That's a lot of noise, isn't it?

Bea, you're putting your hand in there, are you just checking

-to see how sharp it is?

-Yeah.

Got a nice rounded edge to them now. I'm going to give him a break

and then we'll start dealing with the plaque.

And it's important to give him these breaks, isn't it,

-to relax his mouth?

-Yeah.

If you go to the dentist and you open your mouth for a long

period of time, it hurts, same thing.

It's a good idea, isn't it, give him a break?

Now we're going to take the plaque off his teeth.

Plaque is caused by a build-up of food on the teeth,

so it's quite similar to you and I. Luckily, Bea is here to help.

-What's your tool here?

-It's a little pic here.

-To scrape those bits off.

-Yep.

Just to scrape it off, a bit like the dentist does with you.

Wow, look at all that plaque coming off.

-Trigger's all done now.

-You've been very good.

And while Trigger rests,

let's see who else Bea has been checking on today.

Whilst Bea is visiting the stables,

she takes a look at some of the other horses and ponies too.

Flo has some sores in her mouth that Bea wants to examine.

A little lump, just here.

So we'll keep an eye on her, but if it starts to bother her,

we refer her to the vet and they'll remove it.

This is Harry.

He's having a checkup just like Jack.

And Minnie is having a thorough checkup too.

All of their teeth are now sparkly clean.

Right, that's looking nice and cosy, isn't it, for Trigger?

-Yes.

-Perfect. And Trigger and the other ponies

-have been really good today, haven't they?

-Yes.

It's been so interesting to see what a pony dentist does

and awesome meeting you as well, Amber.

I'd like to come back soon and see how you

-and the ponies are getting on. Is that all right?

-Yes, please, Rory.

Now, while we make Trigger's bed cosy, let's see what Ferne's up to.

CAR BEEPS

I'm at a zoo near Winchester where they have lots of different animals.

Today, head vet Justine is going to show me one of them

getting a health check.

So, Justine, who have we got here?

-This is Rufus and he's a red ruffed lemur.

-He is beautiful.

He's just under anaesthetic now, isn't he?

Exactly, so we have given him an anaesthetic to make him sleepy,

-so that we can give him a full health check.

-Perfect.

Red ruffed lemurs, like all lemurs,

come from the island of Madagascar, and they live in the rainforests

and live high up in the trees. So, what is Rufus in for today?

So, today, we're going to do a full body check

and make sure he's really healthy.

So, first, we're going to start by looking at his feet and his toes.

Do you just need to check if the nails are too long?

Exactly, or if there's any breaks in them or if they need trimming.

These back feet, the shape of them are absolutely fantastic.

It's perfect for gripping branches.

So we'll have a feel of his tummy too.

What are you feeling for with his tummy?

I'm just feeling for any lumps and bumps that shouldn't be there,

and it all feels really normal there.

So what age is Rufus?

-So, he's 18 now.

-Wow!

-Which is quite old for a lemur.

But he looks fantastic for an old boy.

Next, I'm going to have a listen to his heart and his lungs as well.

HEART BEATING

-How does his heart sound?

-Sounds really good. Nice and regular.

So now we're going to have an ultrasound scan of his tummy

-and check there's no problems there.

-Perfect.

Go between the fur.

This ultrasound machine lets Justine see

-a picture of the inside of the Rufus.

-Guts at the moment.

Are you just checking, then, if they're all clear

-and he's eating properly?

-Exactly.

So, the black bits on the screen are gas,

so if he's got any gas in his tummy.

-So this is gas along here?

-Exactly.

-And underneath is his liver.

-Just here.

Oh, and look, you can see some heart beating. Oh, fantastic!

And that looks good. There's no fluid around it,

-there's no problems with the structure.

-That is amazing.

And then the last thing we're going to do is just try

-and clean his teeth little bit.

-Great.

We're just going to scale his teeth and make sure that all

the plaque and tartar has gone and they're nice and sparkly clean.

Wonderful.

DRILL SQUEAKS

Because Rufus is fast asleep, he doesn't feel anything at all.

They look brand-new.

OK, I think we've done everything we need to do.

Great. Great job, Rufus.

Rufus has had a good checkup with no problems and once he wakes up,

he can go back to playing with the other lemurs.

Justine, it has been

so interesting finding out what happens with the lemur

examination and I loved meeting Rufus too. Thank you very much.

No, thank you for coming, and thanks for all your help with him.

Recently, I met Amber at a riding stables and saw

lots of different ponies who were been visited by the equine dentist.

I'm back today to see how they're all doing.

-Hi, Amber.

-Hi, Rory.

It's good to see you and it's also good to see Trigger.

-How are his teeth doing since the dentist visited?

-Good.

-Excellent.

That's good to hear.

-I think he definitely deserves a treat for that, don't you?

-Yeah.

I've got an apple here. There you go, buddy.

And his teeth must be doing well

-because he's crunching right through that apple, isn't he?

-Yes.

What a clever pony!

What's going on here? Is he getting ready to go for a ride?

Me and my friends are going for a ride in the park.

That sounds very exciting.

-Do you want to come, Rory?

-I'd love to. Come on, Trigger, let's go.

Here we go, buddy. Come on. Come on. What a good boy.

-One, two, three, up. And over.

-Well done.

-What pony am I going to be riding?

-Harry.

-Who's...?

Oh, there he is. There's Harry right there.

-Do I jump on then?

-Yes.

-OK, here we go.

-How are you doing, Rory?

-Good, I think.

-How do you think I'm doing?

-Good.

Amber, that was so much fun! It was absolutely brilliant

and what a lovely park you've got here to go riding in.

I have had a brilliant time meeting you,

all your friends, and these gorgeous ponies too.

-Thanks very much for having me.

-Thanks for coming, Rory.

You're very welcome.

And I hope you've had fun finding out all about the ponies

and the equine dentist too.

See you again soon for some more Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. Bye.

ALL: Bye!

# Ferne and Rory telling you the story

# Of some poorly pets

# We will take them Show you how to make them

# Better at the vet's

# Vet tales

# These are our vet tales

# Vet tales Ferne and Rory's vet tales. #