Equine Medicines and the CMA Ruling: Your Right to a Written Prescription Explained
If you have ever stood at a practice reception desk, wormer in hand, wondering whether you could have bought the same thing cheaper elsewhere, you are not alone. The Competition and Markets Authority spent two years asking exactly that question about the UK veterinary sector. Its findings, published after an investigation that began with a review in September 2023 and escalated into a full market investigation in May 2024, have put written prescriptions firmly back on the agenda for horse owners.
The headline problem was simple. Owners were not getting enough information to make decisions, and many had no idea they could take a prescription and shop around.
What the CMA Actually Found
The regulator surveyed thousands of pet and animal owners and the results were blunt. Roughly four in five had not compared prices before choosing a practice. A significant chunk did not know that practice ownership had consolidated dramatically; six large groups now account for a huge share of the UK market, up from around 10 per cent of practices in 2013 to roughly 60 per cent of the sector by revenue a decade later.
On medicines specifically, the CMA concluded that prices charged over the counter were often well above what owners could pay through an online pharmacy. It also found that prescription fees and poor signposting were discouraging people from exercising a right they already had.
The remedies on the table
The CMA’s proposed package centres on transparency. Practices would be required to display prices clearly, including the cost of a written prescription. Owners should be told, upfront and without having to ask, that they can request one. There are also proposals around clearer ownership disclosure and better comparison tools.
For equine clients, that last point matters. Many yards use a practice because the vet has always come out to that yard, not because anyone compared costs.
Your Right to a Written Prescription
This right is not new and it does not depend on the CMA. Under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations, a vet who has animals under their care can prescribe a POM-V medicine, and you are entitled to ask for that prescription in writing so you can have it dispensed elsewhere. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code of Professional Conduct backs this up and expects vets to inform clients that the option exists.
What you need to know:
A practice can charge a reasonable fee for writing the prescription, typically somewhere between £15 and £30, though this varies considerably.
Prescriptions are usually valid for up to six months, and no longer than that from the date of issue.
Your vet must have examined the horse or have it genuinely under their care. No vet, no prescription.
Repeat prescriptions for long-term conditions often need a review consultation first.
Vets are not permitted to refuse a written prescription simply because they would rather sell you the medicine themselves. They can decline on clinical grounds, for instance if an emergency means the horse needs treating that day, but commercial preference is not a legitimate reason.
Where the savings add up
Horses are big animals and that shows in the bill. A year of Prascend for a PPID case, bute for an arthritic veteran, or regular Danilon sachets can run into hundreds of pounds annually. Ulcer treatment is the classic example; a full course of omeprazole paste for a 500kg horse is rarely cheap wherever you buy it, but the gap between counter price and online pharmacy price on a four week course can be substantial.
Registered online retailers such as Pet Drugs Online dispense against a written prescription in the same way a high street pharmacy handles a human one. You upload or post the prescription, they verify it, and the medicine arrives at your door. The product is identical and the dispensing is done by registered professionals.
How to Ask Without Awkwardness
Plenty of owners worry about offending their vet. Honestly, most vets are used to it and the good ones will talk you through the economics themselves.
Keep it straightforward. Ask what the prescription fee is, ask how long the prescription will be valid, and ask whether the dose or formulation might change in the near future. If your horse is on a stable long-term medication, ask for a six month prescription rather than monthly ones so you are not paying the fee repeatedly.
Do check that any retailer you use is accredited. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate runs an Accredited Internet Retailer Scheme, and anyone selling POM-V medicines must be registered.
What Happens Next
The CMA has been consulting on its remedies with implementation expected to roll out over the coming period, and some measures will take time to bed in. Practices will need new signage, new disclosures and new processes.
You do not need to wait for any of it. The right already exists. The only thing the ruling really changes is that nobody should have to find out about it by accident.