About Us
Your established equine practice in Stocksfield, Northumberland
Bearl Equine Clinic is a fully equipped, dedicated equine clinic, recognised as an outlier in equine veterinary care in the North East region.
We are easily located just of the A69 – we also have abundant parking and an easy “turning” space.
We continually invest in our practice and team, and as such have the capacity and capability to deal with major equine incidents and ailments, while providing first class routine care.
Our team of vets are known for their careful attention, lateral thinking and pragmatic approach, and are supported by a team of professional nursing and support team members.
Together, we ensure that each client and horse is cared for from the moment that first contact is made.
Delivering quality first-opinion and referral services
We pride ourselves on offering good value for money, while maintaining high standards of care.
Alongside routine visits and services, we also offer standing MRI and bone scintigraphy.
Our full surgical facilities mean we are well equipped to support both our clients and referring vets throughout the region.
Meet The Team
Isabella De Santis
Equine Nurse
RVN
Izzy is a qualified RVN and joined the team at Bearl in 2017. She is passionate about medical nursing and thrives in an emergency, managing to always keep a cool head in a crisis. She has excellent handling skills and is our first port of call when a patient is reluctant to cooperate. She is also an experienced outdoor and mental health first aider. Away from work, she enjoys leading World Challenge expeditions, riding her horse, Jelly Bean, and walking her rescue dogs, Pixie and Lhotse. She also has a cat called Aslan and a flock of rare Soay Sheep.
Kayleigh Stoneman
Nursing Care Assistant
Kayleigh came to Bearl through the college work experience route and became an integral part of the nursing team after completing a foundation degree in equestrian performance and coaching. She enjoys caring for inpatients and has developed a particular soft spot for emergency sheep c-sections. She understands how awful it is when you are separated from your horse and she always go the extra mile to keep clients updated about their horse, sending messages and photos whenever she can. In her spare time, she likes to run in the countryside with her dog, Finley. She is also a keen paddleboarder, although she is yet to convince Finley to leave his creature comforts and join her.
Laura Morris
Head Nurse
RVN
Laura joined Bearl in 2014 after years of postgraduate study in behavioural ecology. She completed her training as an RVN in 2020 and loves the diversity and unexpected challenges that come with practice life. She has a particular interest in diagnostic imaging, and as an MRI technical assistant carries out many of the MRI and scintigraphy scans undertaken at the clinic. Outside of work, she loves hiking in the hills and along the coast with her dog, Breeze, looking after her rescue pony Splodge, rock climbing and reading.
Maddy Bailey
Nursing Care Assistant
Maddy holds a level three distinction in small animal management and joined us after completing her apprenticeship as an equine senior groom prior. She especially enjoys the hands-on nursing of our patients and is amazing at keeping the big barn spick and span. Outside of work, she is kept busy with her two horses, Bailey and Kitty, who she regularly competes at British Dressage, her rescue dog, Pongo, and her cats, Toffee, Minstrel and Yorkie.
Julie O’Hagan
Head Receptionist
Julie was tempted out of early retirement in 2017 to cover a temporary maternity contract, but we just could not let her go. She has been an active horse rider throughout her adult life and although she no longer keeps a horse of her own, she knows everyone across the region. She is great at keeping all the plates spinning and loves all chatting to our clients. You may have spotted her dog, Denzel, under her desk in reception wearing his official Bearl neckerchief. In her own time, she enjoys keeping fit, weekends away in her campervan and taking Denzel on long walks.
Sam Anderson
Receptionist
Sam joined us in 2021 and helps to organise and manage our diary. She had previously worked in the veterinary profession with our friends over at Scott Mitchell Associates, so she knew she would enjoy the variety of the job, with every day bringing its own challenges. In her free time, she and her horse Jacob compete at medium level with British Dressage, with high hopes of PSG in the near future. The rest of the time, she enjoys walking around the Otterburn countryside and the beach with her dogs, Ollie, Nellie and Otto.
Mornè Van Niekerk
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVS
Mornè graduated from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2005, before moving to the UK with his wife, Michelle, in 2012. He joined Bearl in 2015 after a spell in equine practice over the border in the Highlands, and holds certificates in Advanced Veterinary Practice, equine orthopaedic surgery and equine soft tissue surgery. He is a skilful surgeon and likes nothing better than a day in theatre in his scrubs. In his spare time, he is a keen walker and mountain biker, often He often heading to the hills at the weekend with his dog, Cruz.
Michelle Van Niekerk
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVS
After graduating from the University of Pretoria in 2012, Michelle moved to the UK with her husband, Mornè, and joined our team as an ambulatory vet. She spends a lot of her time on the yards in the region, where she has developed the dentistry side of the practice. During the spring and summer, she in heavily involved in breeding and stud work and is responsible for lots of the foals born in Northumberland in the last few years. In her spare time, she enjoys training her future event horse, Alice and going on walks or tandem bike ride adventures with Mornè.
Suzanne Sharp
Practice Manager
Suzanne has worked at the clinic for many years in a variety of roles, currently overseeing the commercial aspects of veterinary practice. Although she has less contact with our four- legged patients these days, she can still scrub a stable within an inch of its life, unblock drains, fight the odd fire and put on a pretty amazing picnic lunch! In her own time, she loves a good bike-packing adventure and is building up courage to endure a solo night in a hedge.
Alex Font
Veterinary Surgeon
Alex is our diagnostic imaging vet who spends a lot of his time examining complex images on his computer and writing reports for our referring colleagues across the region. He has a discerning eye for lameness and is meticulous about detail. He wears his Catalan heart on his sleeve and will never give up on a patient without doing everything possible. He joined the practice as a partner in 2008 after working here for over 10 years as an assistant, during which time he has built a reputation for accuracy and diligence. Despite the cooler waters of the North East, he is a keen open water swimmer.
Jonathan Wainwright
Veterinary Surgeon
Jonathan joined us shortly after graduating in 1987, going on to carve a reputation as a surgeon with consistent success with exploratory laparotomies, arthrodesis and arthroscopic surgery. Over the years, he has performed colic surgery in the small hours more often than he cares to remember, and his team has huge respect for his ability to feel his way round several metres of intestine to the source of the complaint. The experience of 30 years in harness means he is in much demand on the road and his pragmatic approach to cases is appreciated by clients and colleagues alike. In his own time, he is a reluctant golfer who does not practice as often as he should, but is quite good when he does!
Routine Hours
Monday to Friday
8.30am – 5.00pm
Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays
Emergencies Only
In An Emergency
For emergency arrangements during evenings and week-ends, please call:
01209 823198