2024 Client Letter

Dear Valued Client,

Thank you for being a client of Grand Strand Equine (GSE). We are honored that you have entrusted us with your horse(s)’ care. We are a two-doctor practice serving exclusively equines. Our regular business hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Our office is located at 990 SC Highway 66 in Conway. We offer emergency services twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year to our current clients.

This year, we will be celebrating our tenth anniversary. While each of us at GSE brings passion and hard work to the table, our clients are the heart and soul of our business. Your continued support allows us to pursue our vision: to provide high-quality and comprehensive medical care to horses and donkeys of all ages and backgrounds throughout our region. In celebration of our tenth year of service, we are excited to announce that we will build our haul-in facility! It will share the same location as our current office.

Below are some guidelines that will clarify GSE’s policies. Please read them carefully as we have amended some policies to provide the best care possible for all of our clients and patients.

Current Client

A current client is defined as a client who has a valid Veterinary Client/Patient Relationship. The American Veterinary Medical Association defines this as each horse having received a wellness examination within the last twelve months. You are considered a non-client if your horse has not received a wellness exam within the last twelve months. Current clients are given priority when scheduling and are guaranteed emergency services. We cannot guarantee that non-client emergencies will be seen. If the Veterinarian is able to accommodate non-client emergencies, they will be billed at the non-client rate.

Annual Wellness Exams

All horses must have a wellness exam completed within the last twelve months for their owner to be considered a current client. These exams help us to establish a healthy baseline for our patients as well as identify any possible concerns early. We do not perform wellness exams during emergencies or sick visits. We will dispense medications at the time of service for these appointments. If a horse does not have a current wellness exam completed within the last twelve months, we will not be able to dispense any additional medications or give medical advice until one is completed. The cost for an exam done at a wellness appointment (when vaccines are given or Coggins test is pulled) is $55.00, a discount of the normal exam price of $80.25.

Emergency

Emergency services are guaranteed to all current clients. These services are provided twenty-four hours a day on every day of the year. Emergency services are provided to non-clients at the discretion of the practice and will require a $600 deposit. Please call as soon as you think you have an emergency. Daytime emergencies may incur an emergency fee during normal business hours. In concordance with this policy, we discourage horse owners from waiting over the weekend to call with an emergency. Emergencies are treated as such on both a Saturday and a Tuesday, for example. We are not open on the weekends or holidays and any calls on the weekends or holidays will be treated as an emergency. If you have an emergency please call, do not text, (843) 340-9461 and leave a message. Following this policy will guarantee that your message goes to the veterinarian on call.

Payment

Payment is expected at the time of service. We will no longer be billing clients (allowing invoices to be paid at a later date). Please be prepared for the office staff to confirm payment arrangements for every appointment at the time of scheduling. If you are not going to be at the appointment please make sure payment is arranged beforehand. We accept all major credit cards, cash, checks, and Care Credit. We are not able to process Care Credit for balances below $200. For the convenience of our clients, we are able to keep a debit or credit card on file to run at the time of service. Please note that failure to adhere to this policy may result in discontinuation of services to you and your horse(s).

Online Pharmacy

Our online pharmacy can be found at: https://grandstrandequine.myvetstoreonline.pharmacy/shop. The medications found in our online pharmacy are guaranteed to be the same quality as the medications we sell in our office, and not diverted products. We encourage clients with horses on daily medications to set up auto-ship with this service. This will ensure that your horse stays current on its medications and that you get the most affordable option. Medications in our office are priced higher than the same products available from our online pharmacy. We will continue to provide prescriptions to compounding pharmacies as necessary. Prescriptions from both the online pharmacy and compounding pharmacies will require payment from the owner and will ship to the address you provide. We will no longer be approving outside prescriptions. This includes prescriptions to third parties like Chewy and ValleyVet. If you would like to use a different pharmacy, we are happy to provide a physical written prescription for pick up or mail. Outside prescriptions will be subject to a $35 record review and administrative fee.

Appointment Scheduling

All appointments should be made by either calling or emailing the office using the contact information provided at the top of the document. Please be prepared to discuss each horse on file as well as any services or medications needed. This information allows us to schedule appropriately and ensure that we have the correct supplies/medication to dispense for your appointment. If you find the need to add services after your appointment has been made, please inform us as soon as possible. We may need to extend or reschedule your appointment in order to provide adequate care. If additional services are requested during your appointment we will try to accommodate them; however, an additional appointment may become necessary.

Same-Day Appointments

We understand that horses may show symptoms of illness or injury that do not require an emergency visit. In some cases, these horses still need to be seen sooner than the schedule will allow. These appointments still require changes to the Veterinarian’s schedule. As such, same-day appointments requested by clients or deemed medically necessary by the Veterinarian will be subject to an urgent fee.

Farrier Sedation Appointments

We know that several patients need sedation for their farrier visits to make sure everyone is safe. This can be a one-time need or ongoing. The cost for this service will be a Farm Call fee, sedation, and professional time ($33.51/15 min). If you would like to try oral sedation we are happy to discuss options like Dormosedan gel, which can be administered without the Veterinarian present.

Medication Administration Appointments

We understand that the owners in our practice have varying comfort levels in regard to giving injectable medications to their horse(s). If your horse requires injectable medications and you would like us to administer them for you, it will be subject to a lower Farm Call fee and a medication administration fee. This does not apply to medications given during routine or sick visits, but to visits where we travel to the farm solely to administer a medication.

Late Policy

Owners are expected to be present and ready at their appointment time. If you are late you may be subject to a late fee. Please make sure to have your horse(s) caught and pulled up before their appointment. If your horse is dirty, please groom them so that the Veterinarian may examine them thoroughly. While we do our best to be on time for appointments, our method of commuting to each horse owner may cause impediments. If you are not flexible with your appointment time, let us know and we will be happy to give you a call when the Veterinarian is on the way.

Referrals

We greatly appreciate positive word-of-mouth and referrals to our practice. Please encourage friends who would like to use our services to contact our office and schedule a wellness visit as soon as possible. We know that emergencies are unexpected, and as stated current clients are given priority in emergency situations.

Quarantine Recommendations for New Horses

The Veterinarians at GSE recommend that any new horse brought to a property containing any other horse be quarantined for fourteen to twenty-one days. This includes horses that have had a pre-purchase exam. Even if a pre-purchase exam has taken place, the horse may still develop clinical signs that were not present at the exam. Several highly contagious diseases can easily cause an outbreak if not properly quarantined. Our practice has observed several instances of such illness in the last year, and feel it necessary to remind our clientele of quarantine guidelines for horses entering a new environment.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in executing our policies. These policies provide the elevated level of service and quality veterinary care that you depend on from Grand Strand Equine. As many of you may be aware, there is a shortage of equine veterinarians across the country. While we are excited that Clemson will have a veterinary school opening soon, graduates will not be in practice for another six years. We would love to add another veterinarian to our practice, but at this point, there are more job openings than veterinarians willing to fill them. We look forward to continuing to build a lasting relationship with you and your horse(s). Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions on how we can better serve the Grand Strand by giving us a call at (843) 340-8450 or emailing us at grandstrandequine@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Dr. Heather, Dr. Elizabeth, and the Staff of Grand Strand Equine