Safeguard Your Horse's Health
A regular schedule of preventive care is vital for protecting the health of your horse. Essential equine preventive care includes annual physical examinations, vaccinations, deworming, dental exams and diagnostics.
Our dedicated team works closely with you to create a preventive care plan tailored to your horse's individual needs, lifestyle, and risk factors.
The ultimate goal of preventive care is a healthy, happy horse. Contact us today to get set up with a preventive care schedule that includes a yearly exam, routine dental care, and vaccinations.
The Importance of Dental Care for Horses
Horses' teeth continually erupt throughout their life. If regular maintenance is not provided, their teeth can cause them to experience a number of issues such as improper chewing, poor digestion, and limited nutrient absorption. Your horse’s teeth can also develop sharp points that lead to cheek ulceration and discomfort. If unattended, this can cause behavioral and performance issues.
Vaccinations for Horses
By providing your horse with routine vaccinations, you are giving them the best chance at living a long and healthy life. Vaccines not only help keep your horse healthy but also the rest of their herd or barn-mates. Preventing the spread of disease and illness ultimately leads to fewer medical appointments and emergency visits.
Types of Vaccinations
Vaccinations for horses fall into two standard categories. Below, you can find a breakdown of common core and risk-based vaccines:
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Core Vaccinations
The five core diseases that all have significant fatality rates in horses are:
- Rabies
- West Nile virus
- Eastern equine encephalomyelitis
- Western equine encephalomyelitis
- Tetanus
All horses are at risk of exposure to these potentially fatal diseases. Because of this, the American Association of Equine Practitioners recommends that all horses be vaccinated against these diseases annually.
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Risk Based Vaccinations
The vaccinations listed below are given if your horse's lifestyle puts them at risk:
- Equine influenza virus
- Herpesvirus
- Strangles
- Equine viral arteritis
- Leptospirosis
- Rotaviral diarrhea
- Potomac horse fever
- Botulism
The vaccinations your veterinarian recommends will vary depending on your horse’s unique lifestyle and environment.
Deworming Your Horse
Internal parasites pose a serious risk to your horse's health. For example, a high parasite load in the gut can negatively affect nutrient absorption and even result in colic. Whether you have just one horse or a large herd, it is important to maintain a strict deworming protocol.
Deworming Strategies
Your veterinarian can recommend the deworming strategy that is best for your horse. The two common deworming strategies include:
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Fecal Egg Count
A fecal egg count (FEC) should be performed every spring (March to April) to determine a horse's parasite load. These FEC results will allow our veterinarians to determine each horse's level of shedding (low, moderate, or high) and create a deworming schedule specifically for each horse. Once this is complete, your veterinarian can identify which horses are high-shedders responsible for the majority of parasite transmission.
Every horse in a herd should be tested to identify them as low, moderate, or high shedders to provide the appropriate treatment.
The goal is not to eliminate all parasites from every horse but to maintain the health of horses and reduce the environmental contamination of parasite eggs and larvae. With this approach, we can effectively reduce the parasite burden in your horse while preventing parasite resistance.
This targeted approach is designed to improve your horse's overall health and body condition, reduce complications that arise from parasitic infections such as colic, and eliminate unnecessary deworming treatments.
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Traditional Rotational Deworming
Traditional rotational deworming centers around the process of using different deworming medications at regular intervals to control parasites. This strategy assumes that all horses carry a similar parasite burden and equally contribute to environmental contamination.
This approach to equine parasite control is convenient for many large barns and boarding facilities as it does not require fecal egg counts of every horse to identify high and low shedders.
The downside of this strategy is that it may contribute to parasite resistance to current deworming medications. Contact your veterinarian to determine which parasite control program best fits your horse’s needs.