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Ringworm

Ringworm

Apr 10, 2023 | Ringworm

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Hey everybody, Whinny here. Tony is back from his first vacation, and he’s scratching up a storm and leaving cat dandruff everywhere. His skin breaks out every spring, poor fella. That got me thinking that you humans are probably due for a series of blogs on various forms of equine skin funk.

Skin diseases can be a common problem for horses in Florida. While we all love the hot and sunny weather down here, the warm environment, bugs and rain can make it more likely for our horses to contract one of these diseases. Some of the most common skin diseases that affect our horses in sub-tropical climes are ringworm, rain rot, scratches (pastern dermatitis) and summer sores (habronemiasis). You know, all the things that make me glad I’m a mouse! These diseases are common and important enough that we will be devoting several blog posts to them. In this first installment, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about ringworm.

Ringworm, also known as dermatophytosis, can be a frustrating condition for several reasons including its unsightly appearance, contagiousness, and the cost of its treatment. You may not know, but even the name ringworm itself is a misnomer. This skin infection is actually caused by a fungus, not a parasite or ‘worm’. Clinical signs of a ringworm infection include loss of hair in a circular pattern, crusting, and hive-like lesions. As is the case for many other medical conditions, young horses and immunocompromised horses are more susceptible to the disease.

Whinny Wisdom: Ringworm is a zoonotic disease, which means that it can be passed from animals to humans. Therefore, diligent handwashing along with the use of gloves is recommended to protect yourself from contracting the disease.

Luckily, testing is available to help us determine if a lesion is actually ringworm. The most reliable test my docs use is a fungal culture. A less reliable diagnostic measure involves plucking hair from the infected area and examining it under a microscope. However, this method may fail to catch the disease because the sample needs to contain spores from the ringworm organism in order to identify the disease. Even if spores are not found, my docs will usually make a presumptive diagnosis of ringworm and will initiate treatment without a definitive diagnosis.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

In some cases, ringworm can resolve spontaneously without treatment. However, deciding not to treat this disease is not the best approach, since the horse will still be contagious and spreading the disease during this time. The recommended treatment includes topical anti-fungals, such as dilute betadine baths, and topical creams. Griseofulvin is an oral paste that is also available and can be used in cases that do not resolve with diligent topical treatment. 

Ringworm can be a frustrating disease since it is extremely contagious. It is easily passed from horse to horse through direct contact or through shared equipment such as grooming tools, sheets, and tack. I know you humans like to share, but sometimes it’s a bad plan. When treating a horse with ringworm the best practice is to disinfect equipment and housing using bleach. In addition, the infected horse should be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease to other horses in the barn.

Ringworm can definitely be frustrating, but by following these best practices, you can cure your horse of this disease while preventing it from spreading to yourself or your other animals. Like me!

That’s it for this week!

~Whinny

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Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Pastern Dermatitis

Pastern Dermatitis

Apr 3, 2023 | Pasterns, Skin Funk

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Woohoo, this blog-writing stuff is fun! Tony, my amazing blog mentor, said it was tedious trying to get the humans to understand. I think he, like many cats, is a bit jaded. I, on the other hand, am a humble mouse who is excited to learn and share all the things I glean hanging around the Clinic. This week I learned that horses have a body part called a pastern, and that it is prone to skin infections. I also learned horse people love to call the same thing by a bunch of different names. Pastern dermatitis is the fancy name, but it has been known to go by Scratches, Mud Fever, Dew Poisoning, Greasy Heel, and the list goes on. Let’s learn all about it this week!

Location, Location, Location

Since I’m new to all this horse stuff, Tony and I started with a talk about anatomy. We also started with him informing me that it’s a pastern, not a pasture. I felt my confusion was understandable. As a field mouse, I’m well acquainted with pastures. Pasterns, not so much. Anywho, pasterns are the bit of the leg between the hoof and the ankle. It became apparent why they might be prone to skin infections once I understood the location. That area gets exposed to all that pastures, footing in an arena, and water running off the body has to offer. Listening to the Doctors talk about it further confirmed my suspicions. This location takes a beating!

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

What Is Pastern Dermatitis?

Pastern dermatitis is usually a collection of a bunch of different kinds of bacteria, and sometimes a bit of fungus. These critters just love all the moisture and dirt that collects at the pastern. If your horse lives outside for some or all of the day, that area may stay wet for a good portion of the day. Especially in Florida in the summer, the day starts with a heavy dew on the grass, then the heat and humidity really kick in, and the day ends with a lovely thunderstorm. The pastern never gets a chance to fully dry, and that’s a recipe bacteria and fungus love! Then the body makes crusts and scabs from the infection, which makes even better living conditions for microscopic things. The key point here is that pastern dermatitis is not just one kind of bacteria or fungus. It’s a collection. This means a broad spectrum approach is needed. 

Making it Go Away

Listening to the Doctors talk about pastern dermatitis, I learned that Equishield CK salve is their go-to treatment. This salve has an antibacterial and an antifungal component, so it takes care of all the potential causes of the problem. I heard them say the salve also does a great job repelling water from the skin. Based on what I learned about moisture and pastern dermatitis, this salve seems perfect! 

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

The Doctors said for most horses, this is all that’s needed. Daily application to get the infection under control, and then once or twice weekly application to make pastern dermatitis stay away. However, they also spoke about horses with really bad cases of pastern dermatitis. For these horses, systemic antibiotics might be necessary, along with pain medications, and a more aggressive topical therapy than CK salve. Luckily, this doesn’t happen very often! 

What you never, ever want to do with pastern dermatitis is scrub hard. The best way to get the crusts and scabs to go away is to soften them with topical salves, then rinse them off the next day. Do not pick them off, despite how much you humans love to do such things!

Prevention

Tony filled me in on the human saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That sure seems to apply here. Keeping those pasterns clean and dry makes it hard for bacteria and fungus to grow there. Applying products like CK Salve or diaper rash ointment to the pasterns keeps the moisture from sticking when your horse is outside. Diligent monitoring for any scabs lets you start treatment quickly before pastern dermatitis becomes a big deal. All that seems simple!

Sometimes it’s Different

Tony has also told me that horses are weird. He says that a lot. Pastern dermatitis has its own version of weirdness. If your horse’s leg is white or roan, it might have leukocytoclastic vasculitis instead of pastern dermatitis. Whoa, those are big words!!! The Doctors said this is an immune mediated problem that is set up by sunlight on white legs. It can look a lot like pastern dermatitis, but it doesn’t respond to the same treatments. So if you’ve got a horse with a white leg, and you’re doing all the right things and that pastern dermatitis isn’t responding, it’s time to call the Doctors for a visit!

Whew! Made it through another blog! As the newly appointed Official Clinic Mouse and Blog Writer, I was nervous, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. Pastern dermatitis was very interesting, and I can’t wait to learn even more about horses. Tony has been great, too. We go over my blogs before I send them to you guys, then he returns to driving his golf cart around, and yelling at kids to get off his lawn. You know, the stuff retired folks do. 

That’s it for this week!

~Whinny

P.S. Have you seen the new video series that the humans around here put on YouTube? It’s called, Horse Girl Goes to the Vet, and it’s a riot! If you have 3 minutes for a good laugh (and maybe a nugget of wisdom!),  click this link to check it out! And make sure you subscribe while you’re there so you don’t miss out on upcoming videos!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Hoof Abscesses

Hoof Abscesses

Mar 27, 2023 | Abscesses

Whinny’s Wisdoms

Springhill Equine Veterinary ClinicAs the Clinic Mouse, I’m pretty good at seeing things around the clinic (but not being seen–being a mouse has its advantages!). But I am best at seeing things closer to my eyeline… and I’m all about horse feet. The doctors here at Springhill Equine pay special attention to their patients’ hooves because they are so important and can cause oh so many things to go wrong if not cared for properly.

The most expert of all the experts on horse feet is Dr. Staples. She’s an equine podiatrist, which means she’s a veterinarian, and certified journeyman farrier. We’re very fortunate to have her in our corner of the world!

Whinny Wisdom: Podiatry is a branch of medicine dedicated to diagnosing and managing conditions affecting the foot.

Dr. Staples says that horses with abscesses are acutely lame on just a single foot. While there can be multiple causes for a single-leg lameness, abscess is always high on the list! Tony (the best kitty mentor a mouse could ask for) says that “abscesses usually make their presence very well known.” In fact, I hear it’s not unusual for a human to call in saying they think their horse has broken their leg, but when our team gets out there it’s just a foot abscess! I’ve used that word a lot, so I should define it, huh?

An abscess is basically just a pocket of pus. Pus is a collection of immune cells, dead tissue, and bacteria. Abscesses can form anywhere in the body, but they love to form when a bit of bacteria sneak their way in between the hard hoof wall and the soft inner tissues of the foot. They can also form if your horse steps on something and sustains a small puncture wound which allows bacteria in. It always amazes me how much you humans miss being up there–the ground around horses is often hiding little nails, metal pieces, or other things that can injure your horse (or mouse!).

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

When abscesses occur under the skin due to injury, there is usually room for the skin and surrounding tissues to expand and swell. The veterinarians and technicians here at Springhill all get very excited when they get to “pop” one of these big swellings! But in the hoof, there’s a hard outer covering preventing major swelling. Still, the way to make the pain go away is to establish drainage. When the horses are lucky, that drainage happens out the bottom of the foot, but sometimes it comes out the top, near the coronet band.

The best thing you as the human can do to help your horse once it’s been diagnosed with an abscess is help to promote drainage. The doctors like to use epsom salts as a drawing agent. They even have a video to show you how use a baby diaper and secure it to your horse’s foot. Alternatively, you can soak your horse’s foot in warm water with epsom salts a few times per day. Usually I see ground feeders or other small buckets used for this–just once I wish they’d fill one up for me to have a little mousey soak without a giant horse hoof in the way.

So, let’s say you call the clinic to send a doctor out for your horse’s acute, non-weight bearing lameness. Let me talk about what you’ll see happen. First, they’ll ask you all about when you first noticed it, if you’ve given your horse any medications (don’t do this without asking first!), and if he’s ever had any hoof issues before. They might ask about when the last time the farrier was there too. Then, they’ll likely take a look and a feel of the leg and the hoof.

You may see them examine more legs than the one you think is the problem, and there’s a few reasons for that. It’s always easiest to tell what abnormal is when it is compared to normal, so the doctors may do a lot of compare and contrast of the different legs to help determine the cause. You’ll likely see them bring a hoofpick and a big, barbaric looking tool called a hoof tester. Hoof testers are used to apply pressure to specific spots around the hoof to look for reaction or pain.

Depending on how obvious the lameness is, the doctor may need to see the horse walk or trot, or they may perform diagnostic local anesthesia to isolate the problem to the hoof. If your horse has a very obvious soft or painful spot, the doctor may take a hoof knife and gently and carefully remove some sole. It’s very easy to do more harm than good with this, so it’s a strictly DVM endeavor.

Often, our veterinarians will need to take radiographs–otherwise known as x-rays–of your horse’s foot to look for the abscess location.

Whinny Wisdom: X-rays involve taking a 2-D image of a 3-D structure, so at least two views are always needed. Often 3 or more views are needed to see the problem in all planes and get an exact location.

Sometimes the doctor needs to sedate or even block the foot just to take those x-rays because the horse is so painful. But once they can find the location, they can give you a better idea of how long you’ll need to treat. And as Tony says, the good news with abscesses is that, almost always, once they are opened and drained, your horse will return to being happy and comfortable. He may be a cat, but even I have to admit he’s right most of the time. In addition to the diaper and/or soaking treatments, our team will likely put your horse on pain medication. The pain medication not only helps them feel better, but also encourages them to put full weight on the problem hoof, thereby squishing out the abscess.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

So how do you prevent hoof abscesses? Well, you can’t prevent all of them, but regular trimming by an experienced farrier is a good start. In between trims, you should clean your horse’s feet every day with a hoof pick. And keep a close eye at mouse-level around your barn for nails, screws, or any other possible puncture risks. Any time your horse is lame, give the clinic a call and let us get you an appointment to figure out why.

That’s it for this week!

~Whinny

P.S. Are you subscribed to my blog? If not, there’s a big purple box just below where you can sign up! Don’t rely on Facebook to tell you when my newest blog is out, get it right in your email!

Whinny’s Wisdoms is the official blog of Whinny the Clinic Mouse at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Retired Horses

Retired Horses

Mar 20, 2023 | Retired

Tuesdays with Tony

There comes a time in every cat’s life where he hangs up his author hat and takes on a more… advisory role. While I very much enjoy imparting my cat wisdoms to you lowly humans, which I’ve been doing since 2011, I’m finding it more enjoyable to soak up sunshine out on the porch in my old age. So, it’s time to announce that this will be my last blog. Now don’t you worry, I wouldn’t leave you humans without continued teachings. I’d like to introduce Whinnifred—Whinny for short. And she is short. This little field mouse is a longtime friend of mine and I’ve been instructing her in the ways of communicating with the lesser species… you.

Before you start to question my feline ferocity, let me remind you that I could very well choose to catch my meals, but why would I, when my staff will do it for me? So, I can remain friends with the other animal brethren that frequent the grounds around Springhill Equine. Hence, Whinny. She’ll have a new blog title (it can’t very well stay Tuesdays with Tony when I’m not writing it). Her blog title will be Whinny’s Wisdoms. And as long as you’re subscribed to my blog, you’ll be subscribed to hers. You are subscribed, right?

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Retiring Horses

 I figured since I’ve announced my own retirement in this blog, it’s only appropriate to talk about equine retirement today. Lots of horses never have jobs. They’re what we call “pasture ornaments,” and there is no shame in that game, coming from a soon-to-be self-proclaimed clinic ornament. But many horses start out with a job where they run, or jump, or do ballet, all for their humans (do you realize what a gift that is?) and eventually retire to life in a pasture. Some horses even leave a job like that to start teaching small humans how to ride and be around horses. That’s probably the most prestigious horse job of all, if you ask me, but I’m still relieved that cats don’t do that stuff.

Let’s talk about the care and management of a retired horse. This could be an old or a young horse – many retire because of age, but some are forced to because of an injury or other issue that prevents them being an athlete. However, this doesn’t stop them being a wonderful companion.

I’ll make one point very clear at the start: retired horses still need regular vet care. They still need exams, vaccines, farrier work, and at least yearly (if not twice yearly) dentals. Many will need long term medication to manage arthritis, Cushings, or other ailments that you should talk to my docs about.

Many times, my docs will recommend additional yearly things for our retired horse population, things like yearly blood work, or screening radiographs of the feet to try to catch disease early. I hear them say over and over again: age is not a disease, but it can bring diseases with it.

Making the Transition

Retiring a horse usually means they go from being ridden regularly, whether that’s daily or a few times a week, to not really being ridden at all anymore, except for maybe the occasional trail ride or bareback hack. For some horses, this is easy and welcomed; for others, they take the lack of work as a lack of purpose and attention and can have some opinions about it. If your horse begins acting aggressive or nervous following retirement, that’s a good indication they need a part-time retirement gig.

What’s important, when going from riding a horse regularly to not riding, is that you humans don’t suddenly start ignoring them. Just because they’re no longer carrying you around doesn’t mean they’re any less important. Just ask my humans: they love me just as much whether I’m an author or a retiree, and they are still going to cater to my whims each day (mostly opening the door repeatedly and scratching under my chin on demand). My point here is you should try to spend time with your retired horses just like you do your working horses. This can still involve training—my docs love talking to people about clicker training!—or can involve simple things like grazing, baths, and grooming.

In or Out?

In general, retired horses do best if they can be turned out for as much time as possible. It goes without saying that if my docs give you a different plan for a specific horse, listen to them. But especially when horses are retired for arthritis or old age changes, gentle movement is really helpful in keeping their joints lubricated.

Most horses have a routine when they’re in work; retired horses would often like a set routine as well. So even if they’re out in the field, if you make a point to feed or bring them in at the same time every day, that will help keep them happy.

Diet

Remember that your horse likely doesn’t need the same diet as a retiree that they did while in active work. The specific changes you make are going to be very dependent on what ailments your horse is experiencing and why they were retired, but this is a conversation to have with my docs or an equine nutritionist.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

In general, a retired horse that’s not in work won’t need as much energy or simple carbohydrates (read: grain/concentrate) as they did while they were in work. And it’s a continued conversation. It may be that the initial changes you make to the diet don’t stay consistent after your horse is retired for 2-3 years. Remember, any diet changes should always be done gradually.

Location, Location, Location

Let’s briefly get on a litter box (I hate soap). My humans and I all understand that everyone’s lives are different and sometimes unexpected situations come up, but we’d all urge you to remember just how much work your horses put in for you before they were retired. Horses—and all animals—are lifelong commitments, and if there’s a way for you to ensure a really great retirement for your companions, you should do it.

Most often the surest way to ensure that is to maintain ownership of them and retire them on your property, but there are often also options to send them to a trusted friend or family member’s home where you can still be kept in the loop of their health and happiness. What this cat wants you to avoid is taking your retiring horses to a random auction or just selling them to the highest bidder on the Face Place. Those are really risky endeavors and more often than not they put your retired horses in bad places.

Creating New Habits

Mostly, your retired horse is still a horse. As far as general care, they need a lot of the same things they used to. You can try to prevent problems by staying on top of looking at them every day or as often as you can. This is especially true for eyes and underbellies. Both of these areas can get issues—things like eye ulcers or cancer—but when horses aren’t tacked up every day, they may not get attention in those spots. If your pasture ornament wears a fly mask or any blankets regularly, they must be removed, and the underlying skin or eyes inspected every single day.

Shifting Goals

My docs always preach about having a great relationship with your veterinarian, and when you have a retired horse, it’s even more important. The goals of their care adjust from performance-type elements to being solely focused on quality of life. Your veterinarian can help you determine how to objectively monitor quality of life so that you can plan for the future.

I can’t wait for my quality of life to improve as I no longer have to grind away on this keyboard. My toe beans are slowing down, and Whinny has become pretty adept at scurrying across the keys, so I know she’s ready to take on the job. I’ll admit it’s been a pleasure instructing you humans all these years. Remember, cats are always right, and this cat is going to continue to be right…. right over there laying in the sun!

Farewell,

Tony

P.S. Have you been keeping up with the new videos over on my YouTube Channel? There’s a new series called Horse Girl Goes to the Vet that is hilarious, and you don’t want to miss out on that. There have also been some really good seminars recently, including one on wound care that you definitely want to check out. If you’re subscribed to the YouTube Channel, you should get a notification when a new video comes out, so make sure you do that. Okay, now I’m done, off to my favorite nap spot.

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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Equine Biosecurity

Equine Biosecurity

Mar 13, 2023 | Biosecurity

Tuesdays with Tony

Biosecurity is the practice of decreasing the spread of contagious diseases. As the Clinic Cat, I feel like I’m above such things, though I’ll admit that my docs would argue that one. Whinny, who is the Clinic Mouse and my understudy (more on that soon) is an expert in the spread of disease, as mice carry a lot of responsibility in this area. But let’s focus on horses! From show horses to pleasure horses, biosecurity is important and can easily be implemented into your routine. Prevention is the best medicine, and it’s never too soon to consider how your farm will handle a contagious disease outbreak and what you can do to help decrease the spread of disease and contribute to the general wellbeing of horses in your community. It’s also your responsibility as a horse owner.

The reason to decrease the spread of the disease can be overly simple – no one likes to be sick! In the case of performance horses, illness can have long term effects on respiratory function, increasing the time it takes to bring them back to the fitness level they were at before becoming ill. Diseases can also spread further than you may think. For horses specifically, a sneeze or cough can travel about 150 feet. That’s about the width of a football field! So even if you’re at a trail ride or event and are not necessarily nose to nose with other horses, you may accidentally share a communicable disease.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Respiratory diseases are probably the largest culprit when thinking of highly contagious diseases in horses. Strangles is a common name we think of when considering contagious respiratory disease. Strangles is caused by the bacterial organism, Streptococcus equi subspecies equi and is characterized by a high fever, nasal discharge and enlarged lymph nodes around the throat of the horse that are often draining purulent discharge.

Other contagious respiratory diseases are of viral origin. There are two that we think of most commonly, equine influenza (aka flu) and equine herpes (aka ‘rhino’ or rhinopneumonitis) viruses, but there are lots of others. Common clinical signs of these diseases are coughing, fever, and nasal discharge. In the case of equine herpes virus, different strains can cause abortion in pregnant mares, or neurologic signs in addition to respiratory symptoms. Other contagious diseases in horses include ringworm and Salmonella. Ringworm is a fungal skin infection that can cause circular, itchy lesions with hair loss. Salmonella is a contagious bacterial disease that often presents with fever and severe diarrhea.

All of these diseases can be spread either from horse to horse, or through fomites. Fomites are objects or organisms that can transmit any disease. These can include commonly used equipment, like wheelbarrows, water hoses, pitch forks, bridles, brushes and many other objects. Fomites can also include people! Barn staff, volunteers, visitors, farriers, veterinarians, and you even have the potential for carrying contagious disease! It hurts my pride too much to mention cats or mice, but dogs are definitely a potential risk as well. Basically, anything that can step in, rub against, pet, lick, or sniff a drop of infected horse saliva, snot, or poop could become a Typhoid Mary.

How biosecurity is implemented may vary from barn to barn, but the main principles will remain the same. New horses, or ones that travel to competitions or routinely haul off the property, should be quarantined for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks when they return to the farm. This duration may vary based on your veterinarian’s recommendations for your farm and situation. In the case of a disease outbreak, this duration is determined based on the diagnosis of the disease and duration that it can be shed, which is often a minimum of 21 days for many diseases. For new horses that have recently traveled, taking daily temperatures is essential in catching a potentially contagious disease early. A horse that already has nasal discharge and is feeling down in the dumps has likely spiked a fever a few days prior and has already been spreading disease.

Be mindful of traffic through the barn. Horses that are sick or quarantined due to recent travel should be placed in an area where there is limited foot traffic. They should also be stabled away from common areas, such as the wash rack or grooming area, and should never share a fence with other horses. Keeping equipment clean and sanitizing stalls and common areas also helps decrease the spread of disease. Be mindful that disinfectants do not work when there is bulk dirt or manure on the surface you’re cleaning.

Of course, vaccination can play a major role in preventing the spread of disease. They are not able to provide 100% coverage, but they offer good protection and can decrease the amount and length of sickness. The timing of giving a vaccination is important since the body needs time in order to reach peak immunity and protection. This is often a minimum of two weeks. Vaccinating the day before a competition or travel unfortunately provides protection too late. Therefore, contact your veterinarian to create a schedule of vaccinations from some of our common contagious diseases that are available. 

Even the best managed barns can contract a contagious disease, or you may be at an event where a horse becomes ill. When this happens, do your best not to panic and definitely do not travel if your horse has the potential to have been around another sick horse! Talk to your veterinarian about testing for the suspected disease and what you can do to help mitigate the outbreak. In the case of respiratory diseases, which are the most common to occur while at a competition or traveling, testing often includes nasal swab paired with blood testing, since most respiratory diseases can present in an identical fashion. Repeat testing may have to occur, depending on the disease and situation.

There’s nothing worse than an infectious disease outbreak at your farm, but luckily there are ways that we can both prevent and manage these situations. As always, if you have questions, please reach out to your favorite veterinarian! My docs just released a YouTube video talking about how to look at your farm layout from a biosecurity perspective, so make sure you check that out. For more information, the Equine Disease Communication Center can give you up to date and accurate information regarding equine outbreaks and diseases in your area.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. While you’re on my YouTube Channel watching that video, make sure you check out my other videos. I just released the first 5 videos in a new series called Horse Girl Goes to the Vet, which are quite entertaining, if I do say so myself. There will be more coming soon, of course, so make sure you subscribe!

Tuesdays with Tony is the official blog of Tony the Clinic Cat at Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic in Newberry, Florida. If you liked this blog, please subscribe below, and share it with your friends on social media! For more information, please call us at (352) 472-1620, visit our website at SpringhillEquine.com, or follow us on Facebook!

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