Spring Vaccines and Wellness Exams

It appears as if that the only time I ever get a chance to write these days is the month before spring vaccinations and wellness exams begin.  I am not one to make new years resolutions, at least consciously or openly; however, I would like to make a concerted effort to contribute more to the blog in 2011, especially if anyone is reading...

A new horse owner contacted me last week and wanted to learn more about the importance of vaccinations, and more importantly, why she should have a veterinarian administer the vaccines.  She explained that her friend at the barn had informed her that she could easily purchase and administer the vaccines to her horse on her own.

This is a frequently asked question, and one I sincerely continue to enjoy answering.  As each year passes and our world continues to speed along, it is one that I find more and more great examples of the importance of veterinarians' roles in the wellness aspects of horses and their caretaker owners. 

Each spring and fall I enjoy the opportunity to visit clients and their horses for examinations and vaccinations. It is an important meeting for a variety of reasons.  Many horses I may only see twice each year, so these visits allow me time to exam the horse, and address any concerns that the owner may have.  These exams may also reveal other issues that may not be visible to the owner at that time.  It is also a chance to re-visit management strategies including pastures, feeding, and deworming protocols.

In addition to physical examination, I also use these visits to evaluate the horse's teeth.  While this exam is brief, it does allow me the opportunity to discuss concerns related to the teeth.  Many of the horses I look at during these visits do not necessarily need any dental care at that time; however, many could benefit from power dental flotation at some point in a future appointment.

Vaccines are not all created the same.

Vaccines are not all handled the same.

Vaccines may have different results upon administration into the horse, and although rare, some horses may have adverse reactions.  I work very hard to make vaccinating horse a consistent and positive experience.  The vaccines that I administer are available only through licensed veterinarians. They are manufactured to very rigorous testing and purification standards that help to reduce reactions both systemically, and at the injection site.  While reactions do happen, using a vaccine that has been properly manufactured and handled, aids in reducing these issues.  If your horse does have an adverse reaction, the veterinarian is there and able to provide immediate care to your horse. 

I know economics affect all of us, and finding ways to save anywhere we can is important.  I have many great clients that enjoy vaccinating their own horses, and I support owners providing care they feel comfortable administering.  Veterinarians are professionals trained in caring for your horse, and there is tremendous value in allowing your veterinarian the opportunity to assist you in your horse's care. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me, or your veterinarian, with questions regarding vaccinations and wellness examinations.  Take care.

Spring Cleaning Your Horse!

Spring is here and I know I speak for all of you when I say, "Whooopeeeeee"!

Yes, I am pretty excited to see warmer temperatures, longer days, and fewer layers of coats, coveralls, gloves...

Getting our equine athletes ready for the summer starts with spring vaccinations and deworming.  The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has published vaccination protocols depending on the age and gender of your horse.  You can visit the AAEP's website through a link at www.suitvet.com.

The majority of horses I vaccinate are adult horses and are boostered annually.  AAEP's core vaccine recommendations include:

• Tetanus
• Eastern/Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE/WEE)
• West Nile Virus (WNV)
• Rabies

Although not included in the core vaccines, I highly recommend vaccinating show/performance horses and horses in boarding facilities for Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) and Influenza. These vaccines should be boostered at least twice a year to help in reducing the risk of your horse being infected.

In addition to properly vaccinating your horse it is important to consider changes in the realm of equine deworming.  As our understanding and concerns of parasite resistance continue to increase, new studies have revealed that horses may not actually be protected from certain parasites, and other horses may be over-dewormed...

Now, I went to veterinary school to work on horses and the thought of being a small animal veterinarian was never on my professional radar,......wait for it......BUT, the truth is, fecal evaluation, similar to your dog's, is exactly where the science has gone.  Talk about resistance, I was less than thrilled about trying to convince clients that we needed to submit a stool from their horse, but the microsope doesn't lie.

What literally became so revealing was that farms and ranches where I thought parasites would not be a problem, were.  The old saying, "20% of the horses are causing 80% of the problem," seems to hold true in many circumstances when sampled.

Fecal evaluation has allowed me to help design deworming protocols that fit the farm or ranch. This has allowed owner's to better protect their horses, their property, and their wallets!

Well enough rambling for today, but if you want me to confuse you more, please feel free to email me or call.  Enjoy the weather and enjoy the saddle.  Take care.

Great "Foaling" Expectations

Pregnant mares seem to be few and far between these days with the economy on a rocky road. With all of the doom and gloom, several fillies and a couple of colts have arrived in 2009.  One in particular was quite an event, so of course I had to vent!

I received a call last week with a new horse owner who had recently purchased a pregnant mare. The clients had been casually anxious in anticipation of the newborn's arrival and had contacted me several times in the past regarding what to do when the baby was born.   I assured them I would be available when they called, and so we waited, and waited, and waited some more.  Honestly, I waited long enough that I forgot.  Weeks went by until I received the call.  

"Good news! The baby was born yesterday," said the client.  "Our only concern is that she is not moving around a whole lot." After a brief discussion I made a few phone calls to other understanding clients and was on my way to the new little filly.

The client was right, the filly was not moving around if at all when I arrived.  (Not to worry for those of you who are getting worried at this point. It's all going to work out, trust me.) The filly was hanging in there, but mom was less than thrilled about allowing her new little one to nurse.  I was concerned that the baby had not received the all important colostrum (aka "liquid gold") that is necessary for happy and healthy fillies to live strong and prosper.  A SNAP IgG foal test confirmed that she had not.  The next step was to begin quiet negotiations with mom on the nursing angle, and then place a nasogastric tube into the filly in order to pass the much needed colostrum and IgG serum.  

As I set to work I noticed a small crowd of family members and neighbors gathering outside the stall door, and I thought I was nervous when I tried out for the musical, "South Pacific" in high school!  I placed the tube, transferred the fluids, and then, wait for it... YES, baby stood and nursed.  Okay, so I was pretty proud of myself.  With a big smile on my face I turned back to the crowd at the stall door and scanned for a response.  A few smiles, good... smiles are good, more smiles, and then... a scowl on a young woman's face.  A scowl? The client introduced me to her daughter, the actual owner of the mare and filly.  I introduced myself and attempted to say something, anything, that would decrease the frown on this woman's face.  I explained the work I had performed in order to care for her filly and explained that we would need to perform another IgG SNAP test to ensure that the baby had received an adequate level.

She continued to stare at me, finally uttering a few words she asked,

        "How will all of this affect her imprinting?

Wow...  There it is.  For all the talking with clients that I do, this question left me speechless... I took a deep breath and smiled, and smiled some more.  I had two very different versions of what I wanted to say, but I went with the better one.  I explained that unfortunately sometimes care needed to be given in order to preserve the health of the animal.  My hope to her was that the filly would not hold the nasogastric tube up the nose against me, especially the next time I see her. What I really wanted to say was that if it weren't for the tube, there would not be a next time.  

I just checked in with mom and baby, both are doing well.  The client's are happy and excited, and the "imprinting" is underway... Take care.

 

The Castrating Catastrophe!

So...Have you ever had one of those days?  The day that begins with, "Hey Doc, I have a few colts for you to castrate. Can you give me a deal?" Let's just say that this has been a huge learning experience, and for the record, don't ever negotiate in the middle of the road.  

Let me start at the beginning.

The other morning I was sitting at a red light when I turned my head to see a gentleman waving me to roll my window down.  "Hey Doc, how much to cut a colt?"  About that time the light turned green. The next light stopped us again.  "Hey Doc, how much to cut 3 colts?"  I jumped out of the truck and handed the fella my card. The light turned green and my phone rang.  

I agreed to a multiple horse discount and the deal was done.

A few days later I found my way to his place.  It was conveniently located on the Moon up a 6 mile switchback gravel road at a 45 degree grade.  My truck asked me several times why were we doing this?  As I pulled up three horses were anxiously tied to the hitch rail.   The gentleman explained that one had been handled some, good to know.  

The problem was that none of them were interested in being touched, must less castrated!  

I will "cut" to the chase, but needless to say, one castration went fine, one went okay, and one was a complete disaster, complete with a thorough stomping of me, and my equipment.  

My steel bucket will never be the same...

In the end I survived, and so far, so have the "three gelded amigos."  My body is still a little achy, but that too will pass, at some point...

The moral of the story is to never make deals in the middle of a busy intersection, and always ask more questions.

Life on the Road

The life of a veterinarian has been extensively illustrated in countless autobiographies, magazine articles, and interviews.  Each one sharing the personal and many times humorous aspects of what we do.  As a student I read them all, and more.  James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small was the veterinarian to be with his wonderful adventures of barnyard antics.  

What many of these tales failed to mention is that the life of a mobile or ambulatory veterinarian is about life in a truck.  Don't misunderstand, I enjoy driving, well most days.  The summer drives up the Big Thompson canyon toward Estes Park, the scenic rolling hills of the Pawnee Grasslands are all beautiful, but sometimes the weather is less than desirable.  

The sun is not always shining.  The snowpacked and icy interstate in the middle of the night when your truck's lights only illuminate the next ten feet in front of you, and the white knuckles and the stress in your shoulder blades for fear that you may be the next vehicle off the road are all too often the reality.  Thank goodness for GPS when the daylight is gone and the address of the house is difficult to find.  

Okay, so maybe that is the reality for everyone on the roads these days.  Maybe I am spending too much time over analyzing as I drive, or even too much time talking to myself!  The other side of this is that I do it for a reason.  Yes, I need to make a living, but I could find other occupations, I could even find other veterinary opportunities that would allow me to work within a temperature controlled environment.  The reason I drive 40,000 miles a year is because I want to.  I enjoy what I do.  I enjoy the clients and the animals.  

The life of a large animal veterinarian is not exactly what I envisioned it would be when I read all those books and articles. It's even better... 

Christmas Cold

I love this job, but no one ever told me that it meant living in Carhartts and long underwear!  When the temperature is this cold, a nice cozy desk job sounds very inviting... 

Through all of the wind and cold, the owner's gratification and the care you provide to their animals makes this all worthwhile, although some hand warmers and something hot to drink is always welcome.