Operating and Appointment Protocol

The BEH office is attended during our business hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday. The clinic is closed on weekends.  A veterinarian is available for emergencies on the after hours number 0418 520 533 outside of these business hours. Please be mindful that the on call veterinarian may already be attending to a patient if they are unable to answer straight away. Leave a message with your name and call back details and they will return the call as soon as possible. Do not text the clinic mobile outside of normal office hours, unless specifically requested to do so, or your message may not be received. The after hours phone is not carried by the on call veterinarian, its calls are diverted to them.

We would appreciate it if you bear the following in mind when booking consultations with BEH:

  • Please book all routine work 7 days in advance when possible (e.g. vaccinations, castrations, microchips). Be aware emergencies may have to take priority over other examinations.
  • When scheduling appointments for procedures, please keep in mind that these may be weather dependent eg. castration.
  • If you are seeking medication for your horse, please seek approval over the phone prior to arriving at the clinic. By law, our veterinarians can only dispense medication to bona fide clients and only in specific circumstances.
  • If there are multiple horses to look at, please let the clinic know prior to arrival so that adequate time can be allocated.
  • Prior to the veterinarian’s arrival, please have the horse restrained in an appropriate halter with a lead attached. Remove rugs and clean off excessive mud/dirt. Ensure there is someone fit and healthy to assist the veterinarian, particularly for lameness examinations and pre-purchase examinations where repeated ‘trotting up’ is required. If this is not possible, please let the clinic know at the time of booking so that we can arrange for a nurse to accompany the veterinarian.
  • If running water and electricity are not available, please notify the clinic at the time of booking. If an ultrasound or x-ray is being performed on your property, a dark or shaded area will enhance our ability to provide you with high quality acquisition and interpretation of images.
  • For safety reasons, we prefer to perform reproductive scans on mares in our crush at the clinic. Exceptions only exist where appropriate, safe, pre-approved facilities are available on farm.
  • We endeavour to arrive within 15 minutes of the scheduled appointment time, however emergencies do occur and we would appreciate your flexibility and patience. In the event that veterinarians are delayed, we will contact you as soon as possible with an updated arrival time.
  • If you know you are going to be arriving late for your appointment at the clinic or will not be at your home/facility at the scheduled time of your appointment, a phone call would be appreciated as this enables us to accommodate these unforeseen changes.
  • Where possible, we prefer to submit invoices electronically via email. Prompt payment is appreciated. New clients will be asked to provide up-front payment for a consultation and travel prior to attendance by a veterinarian. For our regular and loyal clients, our terms are strictly 30 days, with an account fee of $11.00 accruing each month thereafter, should the account remain unpaid.
  • VetPay is a company that offers a payment plan service that is specifically designed to help you pay for veterinary expenses. Pre-approval is required prior to treatment. There are also many pet insurance companies offering good quality cover for veterinary expenses in addition to mortality insurance, please consider taking out insurance for your horse.
  • For any questions regarding your invoice, please email Alison at horsevet@beh.com.au or call the office on (03) 52 488 899. Should you wish to speak directly with our accounts manager Norm, he is in the office on Wednesday and Thursday each week.