Wellness
Horses are living and performing longer than ever before and an annual exam will help your horse to thrive as a performance or companion.
An annual exam consist of taking the history since the last time we saw your horse, perform a clinical examination, draw blood (if indicated) for a basic blood exam or any other test necessary.
The Wellness program include a brief exam, vaccinations, addressing the deworming protocol and checking the upper premolars teeth (or a full mouth exam, if needed).
Vaccinations
Vaccinations is an important part of the peace of mind for the horse owner. We understand that preventing medicine is a smart way to go. The core vaccines recommended by AAEP are:
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Tetanus
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West Nile
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Rabies
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EEE/WEE - Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis.
We also recommend:
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Influenza
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Rhinopneumonitis (usually done together with Influenza)
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Strangles
Other vaccines:
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Anthrax
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Botulism
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Equine Viral Arteritis
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Potomac Horse Fever
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Rotaviral Diarrhea
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Snake Bite
Deworming
A lot changed since the “every two months” deworming protocol. Scientific studies have shown that it is not the best protocol for today’s knowledge. The best approach (for the horse, concerning resistance of the worms and for the environment) is to have a fecal egg count - also called quantitative and if possible, also a qualitative exam.
The former will show the burden, in which category your horse falls, low, medium or high shedder. The latter, will show which worm your horse has. With those data in hand, we can prepare a protocol specific for your horse and/or farm.
Dental
The majority of horses requires once a year dental floating. At the moment we vaccinate them, we can check for sharp enamel points on the upper pre molars which will give a good indication if/when they need to have their teeth done. Horses with problems, can have this period shortened to every 6 months and other horses may do well every 1 1/2 years.
Please, go to Dentistry for more information.