Routine Preventative Care and Exams
Examinations
- Bi-annual examinations allow us to become familiar with you and your horse. We can then develop a wellness program aimed at optimizing the health and performance of your horse. General veterinary exams include the assessment of the heart, lungs, gastrointestinal system, eyes, skin, overall condition, soundness, and teeth.
Vaccinations
- Our vaccination protocol is customized to each horse’s personal exposure and risk. We educate our clients about the various vaccinations available and then determine if the benefits of inoculation outweigh the risks. Routine vaccines for horses include Rabies, Tetanus, Eastern/Western encephalitis, and West Nile virus. Risk-based vaccines may include Flu/Rhino, Potomac Horse Fever, or Strangles. Our recommendations are based on the core vaccination guidelines developed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP)
Deworming and Fecal Checks
- Intestinal parasites such as ascarids, strongyles, and tapeworms can cause significant damage to your horses intestinal tract and internal organs. This may lead to problems such as a dull hair coat, unthriftiness, poor growth, diarrhea, colic, or even death.
- In the past, veterinarians recommended a rotational deworming program as frequently as every 6 to 8 weeks. However, with recent developments of parasite resistance to current deworming medications, our recommendations are changing. Today, we recommend quantitative fecal exams to identify those horses that shed high numbers or parasites and treat them accordingly with the appropriate medication. Most horses may only need to be dewormed 2 or 3 times a year depending on their environment. Exceptionally high shedding animals may need to be dewormed more frequently.
Routine Blood work
- Routine blood work can help determine normal values for your horse, and detect early changes to systemic function. For older horses, we recommend yearly blood work including a complete blood count (CBC), and a chemistry screen. These tests help assess white cell, red cell, and platelet counts, as well as liver, and kidney enzymes, electrolytes, and other markers of normal function. This can be done during a yearly exam visit.
Nutritional Consultation
- Feeding the modern day equine isn’t as simple as providing hay, grain, and water. Today, horses are used in a variety of different disciplines, and depending on your horse’s workload, nutritional requirements can vary greatly. Most horses require supplemental feeding to provide essential vitamins, minerals, and additional calories that forage alone may lack. Feed producers have addressed this issue by offering many different products for horse owners to choose from. With all of the products available, it can be difficult to determine which one is right for your horse.