Equine Veterinary Surgeon

Are you an Equine Vet looking for your next challenge? Would you like clinical autonomy, case continuity and the support of an independent practice? Then Connaught House Vets might be just what you’re looking for!

The Practice

Connaught House Vets was founded in 1953andwas among the first pioneering practices in the country to receive RCVS hospital status. Over the years, we've evolved into a thriving independent multi-centre practice. Our dedicated equine unit was set up by partner and head vet Sue in the 1980s and has grown into our current four-vet team.

Our base is in a very beautiful and rural location, just 10 minutes from the M54. Our fantastic facilities include a heated treatment room, stables, horse walker, ménage, and hard standing for lameness examinations. We’ve also created a new vet’s office, lounge/meeting room and kitchen with lovely, white-washed walls and exposed beams. We have been awarded outstanding in ambulatory practice and are RCVS accredited in equine general practice and equine emergency service provision. The practice is mainly ambulatory, with the clinic base used for lameness workups, dental extractions, standing surgery, etc.

We have a range of excellent equipment, such as a surgical and therapeutic laser, gastro/ URT video scopes, Sprint air DR with battery generator and large 6kw x-ray generator, two US scanners, powerfloats, and more. Our in-house lab at the small animal hospital also allows us to get quick results for urgent cases.

While the equine centre is on a separate site, you would also be part of a wider Connaught House community; we have 50 colleagues across our five practices.We believe in nurturing our team, building confidence, and developing your skills, and we want you to feel comfortable and supported. Our current team reflects that, with many of us having been here for years!

The Role

Our workload is diverse, catering mainly to leisure horses, with a mix of show jumpers, eventers, dressage horses, and racehorses. As a close-knit team, we've fostered a collaborative environment where knowledge sharing is encouraged, thanks to the wealth of experience within the practice.

You won’t be just another assistant surgeon here. From day one, you’ll be fully immersed in cases, handling them from start to finish. Our experienced vets are always here to support you if needed, but we really do encourage you to have as much clinical autonomy as possible.

The partners, Sue and Andy, have special interests in dentistry, lameness and performance. Gayle is also very experienced, having qualified 25 years ago, and is a mentor for BEVA. We are also lucky to have developed very close relationships with local equine referral centres so we can continue to be involved in our patient's care after referral.

Chiara, one of our assistants who has recently left us to pursue a residency in equine internal medicine, said, “I have worked at Connaught House Vets for two years. Since the beginning, the partners have been extremely welcoming and supportive. I can say that this place was my second family. Never once did I feel that I was on my own. Even in the middle of the night, there has always been someone ready to help.

Both partners are wonderful and supportive. Every time I wanted to attempt a new procedure, one of them was there to support me and guide me. In fact, with Connaught, I started my CertAVP, and Sue has always been extremely encouraging and helpful and has always been available to read my assessments. The Equine RVN is one of the best nurses I have ever worked with. She strives for perfection, and there is no difficult horse that she can’t handle! I am leaving only because I want to take a medical residency. I can definitely say that Connaught House Vets has made me a better vet and maybe even a better person.” Chiara MRCVS

We are also extremely lucky to have Lucy, a wonderful REVN who is interested in behaviour and is amazing at handling tricky horses. She delivers laser therapy and does RVN ambulatory work.

If you ever fancy a ‘day at the races’ from a different perspective, we do a lot of racecourse duty work, and we are more than happy for you to get involved. We are also happy to fund the Casualty Management Course, which will be needed to participate. Sue has been one of the racecourse vets at Wolverhampton and Uttoxeter since the 1980s and is now part of the team at Haydock and Aintree for the bigger race days, such as the Grand National.

The Rota

We work a 4-day week, generally around 9-6 pm, but the start time is flexible depending on the first and last visit, and it’s not unusual to finish before 6 pm. OOH is one night a week, and weekends are 1:4. Weekends are for emergencies only and are often quiet, and the weekend following the on-call is a long weekend off! OOH phone calls are triaged by the clinical team at the hospital, and backup is always available for less experienced vets.

We are really flexible with the rota, so whether you are looking for a full or part-time role or have other commitments to work around, please do get in touch, and we can chat about all the options. We appreciate that everyone has their own skill set and areas of interest. This is usually a pure equine role, but we could also accommodate combining the role with some small animal work if that interests you.

A bit about us

We are a sociable team who enjoy spending time togetherinside and outside work. Whether it's a practice meeting with pizza or a more ambitious challenge like cycling 100 km to raise money for Hounds for Heroes, we're always up for an adventure; our next planned trip is to walk the Three Peaks. We're also big supporters of various charities, hosting events like coffee and cake mornings to support the Air Ambulance.

Situated near the beautiful countryside of Shropshire and Staffordshire, our location has the best of both worlds. It is just 20 minutes from Birmingham but a short ride to the amazing Shropshire hills. It also has great transport links and is just 15 minutes from the motorway network, which takes you all over the UK.

What’s on offer

• Salary of £35,000 to £55,000, FTE depending on experience
• Flat available, plus the possibility of a relocation bonus
• Van and mobile phone provided
• Stabling for your horse is available on-site
• 5 weeks holidays plus bank holidays, or a day off in lieu if worked
• Partners cover the Christmas bank holidays
• Flexible CPD allowance, certificates funded and supported
• RCVS and VDS BEVA membership paid
• Visas sponsored

If you would like to enjoy working with our close-knit, supportive team, please call us for an informal chat or apply now!