Terms of Business
How we work, what things cost, and what we need from you.
Last updated: 23/08/2026
These are the terms you're agreeing to when you register with us. We've written them the way we'd explain them standing in your yard, because terms nobody reads protect nobody. If something here doesn't suit your situation, ring us on 01825 700909 — most things can be talked about.
By registering with Atticus Equine, or by asking us to attend your horse, you're accepting these terms.
Coming to you
Visit fees. Every visit carries a visit fee on top of the cost of the examination, treatment and any medicines. It covers the vet's travel and time on the road. Our pricing is very transparent and available at any time from our pricing page.
Sharing a visit. If several horses at the same yard are seen on the same trip, the visit fee is shared between them. It's worth talking to your yard about coordinating routine work — it saves everybody money.
Routine and urgent visits. We'll always try to give you a time window rather than a vague half-day. Horses being horses, an emergency elsewhere can delay us; if that happens we'll ring you rather than leave you waiting
Finding you. Yards are famously hard to find. When you register, please give us your yard's what3words location as well as its postcode, plus any gate codes, and tell us if the approach is unsuitable for a car in bad weather. In an emergency, minutes matter.
What we need at the yard
We can only work safely and well if a few things are in place. Please make sure that:
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Someone competent is holding the horse. That means a capable adult (16 or over) who knows the horse, not a passer-by. We can't examine and restrain a horse at the same time, and we won't ask you to hold a horse in a way we think is unsafe.
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The horse is caught, and somewhere sensible. A stable or a small enclosed area with reasonable light and a level, non-slip surface. A dark stable at 4pm in December makes for poor medicine.
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We can get clean water and, ideally, power for anything that needs them.
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You've told us if the horse is difficult — to catch, to handle, to inject, around clippers, whatever it may be. This isn't a judgement on your horse. It's how we keep everyone safe and how we plan sedation properly.
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Dogs are shut away and the yard is otherwise as calm as it can be.
If we arrive and it isn't safe to proceed, we'll talk it through and find another way — but we may have to reschedule, and the visit fee will still apply.
Who can agree to treatment
Whoever asks us to attend is responsible for the bill, and confirms to us that they have the owner's authority to consent to treatment. If you loan, share, or keep the horse for someone else, please sort this out with the owner before we're needed, and tell us who is authorised to make decisions — including the big ones. Deciding who can consent to euthanasia in the middle of a colic is nobody's idea of a good moment for a phone call.
If your horse is insured, please also tell us at the time, not after the event.
Costs and Estimates
We'll always give you an estimate before significant work, and we're happy to put it in writing. An estimate is our honest expectation, not a fixed quote: until we've examined a horse we can't always know what we'll find, and complications happen. If it becomes clear the cost is heading well beyond the estimate, we'll stop and ring you before going further, unless the horse's welfare means we can't wait.
All fees include VAT [where applicable]. Our current fee list is available on request and on our website.
Paying us
[Payment is due on the day of the visit, by card or bank transfer.] [Once you're established with us, we may offer [14]-day account terms at our discretion.]
If an account falls overdue we'll chase it politely, then less politely, and ultimately we may pass it to a debt recovery agency and charge the reasonable costs of doing so, plus interest at [8% above the Bank of England base rate]. We'd much rather talk: if money is tight, ring us early and we'll try to work something out. That conversation is never as awkward as you think it will be, and it's a far better outcome for your horse than delayed treatment.
Insurance
We strongly recommend insuring your horse for veterinary fees, and separately for third-party liability.
Please understand one thing clearly: your insurance is a contract between you and your insurer, not between us and your insurer. You are responsible for our fees regardless of whether, when, or how much your insurer pays. [We charge a small administration fee of £[X] for completing claim forms.] We'll complete forms honestly and promptly, and we'll happily discuss a claim with your insurer — but we can't guarantee what they'll decide, and an unsuccessful claim doesn't cancel the bill.
Emergencies and out-of-hours
Our office hours are [8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday]. Outside those hours we provide 24-hour emergency cover for our registered clients, as our professional obligations require: ring 01825 700909 and you'll be put through to the duty vet. [Out-of-hours attendance is charged at a higher rate — ask us for current figures, and we'd rather you knew them before you need them.]
Emergency means emergency: colic, serious wounds, a horse that's cast or down, foaling difficulties, sudden severe lameness, eye injuries. If you're unsure whether it's urgent, ring anyway — that judgement is our job, not yours.
If your horse needs care beyond what we can provide in the field, we'll recommend referral to a hospital, discuss the options with you, and pass on the clinical history. The choice of where to go is yours.
Medicines and Prescriptions
Life with horses is unpredictable and we're not precious about this — but please give us [24 hours'] notice if you need to cancel a routine visit. If we arrive and the horse isn't there, isn't caught, or can't be seen for reasons that could have been avoided, we may charge the visit fee.
Cancellations and Missed visits
We can only prescribe prescription-only medicines (POM-V) for animals genuinely under our care, which in practice means we've examined the horse recently enough to prescribe responsibly. For ongoing medication we'll normally need to re-examine your horse [every six months], and that examination is chargeable.
You're entitled to ask for a written prescription to buy medicines elsewhere; [we charge £[X] for writing one]. We'll always tell you if that's likely to save you money on a long-term medicine.
Passports. UK law requires us to see your horse's passport before administering certain medicines, and to record treatments in it. Please have it available at the visit. If the passport isn't signed to say the horse is not intended for human consumption, some medicines simply cannot be used — which can genuinely limit our options in an emergency, so it's worth sorting out in advance.
Please tell us about anything else your horse is being given, including supplements and anything prescribed by another vet or practitioner.
Pre-purchase examinations (Vettings)
If we've treated a horse, we can't also vet it for a prospective buyer — the conflict of interest is obvious and the RCVS is clear about it. We'll tell you honestly if we're conflicted and help you find someone independent. A vetting is an opinion on a horse's suitability on the day, not a guarantee of soundness or a warranty, and we'll explain the limits before we start.
Clinical records
We keep full clinical records for every horse we treat, as we're required to. The records, radiographs, scans and other images belong to the practice, but you're entitled to a copy or summary at any time, and if you move to another vet we'll send everything they need promptly and without fuss.
We may use anonymised cases for teaching or professional presentations. Nothing identifying you or your horse is used without asking you first.
How we handle your personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy.
Safety, and how we treat each other
Horses are large and unpredictable, and yards can be hazardous places. Our vets may decline to proceed if they judge a situation unsafe for themselves, for you, or for the horse. That judgement is theirs to make and we will always back it.
We treat our clients with courtesy and we ask for the same in return. Aggression, abuse or intimidation towards our team — in person, on the phone, or online — will end the professional relationship.
Ending the relationship
You can leave us at any time, and we'll transfer records to your new vet without making it difficult. We may, rarely, decline to continue treating a horse — because of unpaid accounts, an unsafe environment, or a breakdown in trust. If that happens we'll tell you in writing, and we'll continue to provide emergency first aid and pain relief for [14 days] while you find another practice, as our professional duties require.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. The current version is always on our website with the date it was last changed, and material changes will be brought to your attention rather than slipped in quietly.
Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.
If things go wrong
Tell us. Ring 01825 700909 or email [EMAIL], and we'll investigate properly and respond in writing within [21 days]. Our full complaints procedure is [here].
If we can't resolve it between us, you can raise concerns about professional conduct with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons at rcvs.org.uk.
Our liability. We carry full professional indemnity insurance, and we accept responsibility where we've got something wrong. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for anything else that can't lawfully be limited. Beyond that, we aren't liable for losses that weren't reasonably foreseeable, or for matters outside our control — including the inherent risks of veterinary treatment and sedation in a horse, which we'll always discuss with you beforehand. Your horse and your property remain your responsibility to insure.