THE Minster Equine Clinic has helped Malton Riding Club get off to a good start for the year by sponsoring 12 new saddle cloths for its teams, which will be used for all area qualifiers and championships.

The cloths will be used for the first time at the area 4 winter showjumping this weekend at Bishop Burton College, where the club is sending out seven teams to contest for the championships, to be held at Hartpury College in March.

The club has already qualified for the winter dressage with three teams qualifying.

The Minster Equine clinic opened in February 1998 as a purpose-built equine department of the Minster Veterinary Practice.

It has a superb reputation for providing quality professional care for horses in equestrian disciplines. It boasts a highly-experienced and qualified eight-vet team working from three sites across Yorkshire. They also have specialist referral for farriery using Craig McNeil and equine physio Gemma Walker.

The branch practices at Ripon and Norton are primarily ambulatory practices, with some in-patient facilities, both offering a full service, including digital radiography and ultrasound, lameness investigation, airway endoscopy and stud services to clients across North Yorkshire.

The new equine site, opened in Norton in 2012, is giving a better service to the Malton/Norton trainers, being ideally located at the bottom of the gallops at Wold House Stables, with on-site digital radiography, endoscopy, ultrasound scanning, blood sampling, medication collection, worm egg counts, horse vaccination, and drop off samples.

The site is equipped with lunging ring, hard surface trot up, canter ring, and ample parking for horse boxes.

Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to noon, there is always a vet on site, outside those hours there is always one on call for emergencies or advice.

It is not just the racing trainers benefitting, horse owners are able to ride down to the practice for vaccinations and blood sampling.

Another boost is the equine health plan which for an initial membership fee of £15 for the first horse and £5 for each subsequent horse along with a £9.34 monthly payment includes annual flu vaccinations, health check, worm counts, dental check and rasping, twice yearly re-examination for long-term medical cases, 50 per cent off prescription fee for long-term medication.

Malton Riding Club members thank Minster Equine Clinic for its support and look forward to wearing the new cloths at the qualifiers.