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Emergencies

Emergencies

Sep 9, 2019 | Emergencies

Tuesdays with Tony

It’s 6 pm on Saturday night, you go to feed your horses and notice one of them isn’t interested in dinner. You realize he’s colicking.  You remember you have some Banamine on hand, so you give your horse a dose orally because you remember you’re NEVER supposed to give it in the muscle. Then you think you recall someone somewhere once said it is good to walk a colicky horse, so you walk you horse for an hour and he still isn’t better.  So now what do you? You call your regular vet. Maybe he/she doesn’t answer, so you wait for a call back all the while your horse becomes increasingly painful. Your regular vet doesn’t get back to you despite your numerous calls and multiple text messages.

Now you’re very scared, so you go to the Google and search for emergency equine veterinarians in your area. Your search reveals my clinic has an emergency line, so you call it.  Guess what, one of my docs answers! What a huge weight off your shoulders: someone to help you with your horse. You talk to one of my docs and they recommend your horse be seen as soon as possible. At this point it is already 9 pm and by the time my docs get to you and your horse it will be 10 pm and your horse has been colicking for 4 hours. My doc gets there and treats your horse, and luckily, this time, your horse is going to be ok. I am here to tell you that waiting that long to call my docs could have easily ended with your horse in the clinic, or worse.

You might be wondering, when is the right time to call Springhill Equine? The simple answer is, if you are concerned, DON’T WAIT, CALL US! The best thing about my clinic and my docs is that we have a phone line set up specifically for emergencies. That means you can call it 24/7/365 and always get one of my docs on the line.  They may not answer right away since they are often busy with other patients, but I assure you, if you call and leave them a message, they will call you back as soon as they are able.

 

When to call

 

Colic

As I so eloquently described in the above scenario, colic is always considered an emergency. Prior to giving your horse any medications, you should always call my docs. They will have you describe what your horse is doing to rule out any other possible problems. They may or may not recommend you administering bute or banamine to your horse if you have it. They will also instruct you to NOT walk you horse. For the love of cat, please listen to them and DO NOT WALK YOUR HORSE!  Can you imagine having an upset stomach and someone making you walk around in circles for hours? All it’s going to do is dehydrate you more, cause you to be more painful, and make you more upset.  Same is true for your poor horse.

If your horse wants to lay down, let him! It’s an old wive’s tale that if they roll, they will twist their gut. Listen to this old cat, I’ve seen my fair share of horses who have been walked for hours, and all it does is make for exhausted horses and exhausted owners. Let me tell you, exhausted owners are emotional roller coasters and have a difficult time making life or death decisions for their horse. Do your horse and yourself a favor and let him lay down.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Once my docs talk to you, they may feel it’s safe to allow the medication time to kick in before they come out. Just because you call them does not mean they will be able to rush right out though, so DON’T WAIT, CALL US! Nothing bad ever happened from calling too early. Calling too late, on the other paw… Enough said.

 

Eyes

I know that by now you have read my blog and seen my seminars. So, you know eyes are always considered an emergency. Let’s say you notice something is wrong with your horse’s eye. So, what do you do? DON’T WAIT, CALL US! The cool thing about technology is, when you call my docs and tell them you have a horse with an eye issue, they are going to tell you to send them a picture of the situation. Yes, my emergency line even receives text messages. I am such a hip cat; I have all the tech things. Anyway, this will allow my docs to assess the severity of the situation and decide if your horse needs to be seen on emergency or can wait for a normal weekday appointment. It also allows them to direct you in medication administration and how to properly secure you horse to protect him from further injury.

Let’s say you’ve been slacking and haven’t kept up with my blog or been to my seminars. You notice your horse is squinting, has some discharge, or has cut his eye lid. You think, eh no big deal, I have some old meds, I’ll just put this in his eye for a few days and he will be ok. Then, two days later, your horse can’t even open his eye. When you pry his eye lids apart you notice what looks like a giant booger in your horse’s eye, but it’s not his typical eye booger. No, this time it seems like it’s attached to his cornea, and wow, is he painful! You decide it’s finally time to have the docs out. They tell you that your horse has a melting corneal ulcer and it’s going to cost boo koo bucks to treat, or your horse is going to lose his eye.

If you ask the doc what you could have done differently, they are going to tell you: Next time, DON’T WAIT, CALL US!

 

Injury

As you all know, horses have little self-preservation instinct and try to injure themselves on a daily basis (unlike us cats, who avoid dangerous situations by sleeping all day). Typically, horses like to injure themselves on the weekends or holidays. Maybe your horse has a big laceration and is bleeding, or maybe he has come up very lame and cannot put his foot down. Maybe you’re not really sure if that scrape on his side is something that needs immediate attention or if it can wait. You know what? That’s ok! It’s okay to not know, that’s why you have my emergency number on speed dial. DON’T WAIT, CALL US! (Sensing a pattern here yet?)

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

One of the docs will assess the urgency of the situation and head your direction to help stop the bleeding, or come prepared with our x-ray equipment in tow to figure out exactly why your horse won’t put his foot down. Or maybe they’ll see the picture of the scrape you sent and tell you to wash it with mild soap, apply some topical ointment (I prefer KineticVet IBH or CK Salve) on the wound and monitor it. The good news is, if you call them, they will quickly assess the situation and help you make the best decision for you and your horse.

If you wait, and don’t call, everything gets harder and potentially more expensive. Your horse might have a broken bone and if you wait, he might be in severe pain for days before my docs see him. Worse, he might develop laminitis in his other legs since he can’t bear weight on all 4 limbs, or he might develop an infection in a wound that now has to be treated with oral antibiotics. All of which could have been prevented if you didn’t wait. Remember, DON’T WAIT, CALL US!

 

Emergencies happen all the time. Sometimes they are no big deal, and sometimes they are life threatening. The moral of the story is, if you think you have an emergency, even if you’ve been through it a million times, DON’T WAIT, CALL US!  My docs are here for you and will be there to answer your questions, talk you off the ledge, and help you and your horse get back on your feet in no time. Just because you call us, does not mean my docs will have to come out, so if you think you have an emergency, DON’T WAIT, CALL US! It can mean the difference between life and death for your wallet, or more importantly, life or death for your horse.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Since we’re talking about emergencies, there’s a book coming out this week that you should get. It’s called Adventures of the Horse Doctor’s Husband. You guessed it, it’s by Dr. Lacher’s husband, Justin B. Long. There’s a banner for it right down below here, so click on it. You can read all about horse emergencies, and more importantly, cats. I’m pretty sure he wrote all about me in the book. He better have. I haven’t had time to read it yet, what with my nap schedule, but I hear it’s a #1 best seller on Amazon. You can even get him to sign your copy at a seminar, or at my Annual Open House coming up on October 19th. That’s a solid tip; you can thank me later.

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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Sand Colic

Sand Colic

Sep 2, 2019 | Sand colic

Tuesdays with Tony

When you think of sand, what images come to mind? Probably pleasant visages of laying on a sandy beach getting a tan, or your kids playing outside in the sandbox as you enjoy a cold glass of lemonade, or feeling the sand squish beneath your toes as the waves tickle your ankles along the shore. Well, when veterinarians think of sand, they think of colic. Sand is not associated with happy times for those of us in the equine medical profession. And this cat is here to tell you why.

Why is sand bad?

      Here in Florida, we have no shortage of sand in our soil. When horses run out of grass to eat, or when the grass gets very short, they begin to accidentally ingest sand as they forage. Eventually, this sand settles in the large intestine and accumulates until it forms a partial or complete GI obstruction.
       You’ve seen kids build sandcastles. Have you noticed how remarkably well they stand up until the bully from the next umbrella over comes by and kicks them down? That’s because sand has an excellent ability to hold the shape of whatever vessel it is molded into. In the case of horses, that vessel is the large intestine.
       In some cases, if enough sand is ingested to block the whole diameter of the intestine, the sand will compact and become as hard as a rock. Again, a lesson in why sand makes a great building material. Unfortunately, it also makes a very uncomfortable and impacted horse.

How does my horse accumulate sand?

      Sand is usually picked up as horses graze, or as they search for food where there is no grass. Sand can also be ingested if they are fed on the ground, as they prehend their pellets of grain or stems of hay. If your horse is a messy eater, he may also drop a fair bit of grain onto the sand as he eats, and then scoop up mouthfuls of sand as he tries to pick up every last crumb.
      The esophagus, stomach, and small intestine generally have enough peristalsis (that’s a fancy medical term for muscle contractions) to move sand along. However, once the sand gets to the large intestine, it tends to just sit there. The large intestine is huge and actually kinda square. So, as sand enters the large intestine it generally settles flat on the bottom, taking the shape of the folds and turns of the colon, as all the other ingesta and intestinal content floats along above it, unawares.
      This location serves as a dumping ground for sand, and this sand accumulation can continue without any external signs for months to years. Eventually, however, there comes a point when your horse begins to notice something’s not right. Depending on how stoic your horse is, some time thereafter he will begin trying to tell you that something’s not right. Usually, this happens in the form of colic.

How can sand colic be treated?

    So, your horse is colicking. You can’t think of anything different in your feeding program or routine recently to explain why. He’s laying down, not interested in eating, but also not thrashing around in terrible pain. You call me at the office, and I send out my first available doctor to check him out.
     Doc assesses the situation, performs a physical exam, gives him some pain medication and sedation, and then begins her trans-rectal palpation. That’s where she finds the first clue: his manure is kinda gritty. She grabs a handful of manure, puts it in a rectal sleeve with some water, and hangs it up on a nail. That’s weird, you think to yourself. But then again, you humans do weird things all the time, so you’re probably used to it.
Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic
      Doc also mentions that she felt a soft but full large intestine on one side, with a lot of gas-distended intestine on the other side. She begins to ask you about what he eats, where he eats, and she takes a look at your pasture. She also asks you if you give your horses Sand Clear on a regular basis.
      Now, back to that rectal sleeve of poop. You glance over to it and notice that it has changed…the fingers of the glove are completely filled with sand! How could that much sand even exist in one small handful of manure?! The rest of the organic material from the fecal ball is floating on top of the water. It’s magic!
     At this point, doc is dumping a bag of some grey powder into a bucket and mixing it with ooey gooey mineral oil. You ask what it is, and she tells you the powder is called Psyllium, a pure form of fiber that is going to form a gel with the mineral oil and carry that sand out of the large intestine where it’s been hiding unbeknownst to you for quite some time. She will pass a nasogastric tube down to his stomach and pump in this magical goo once a day for the next 4 days. And just like that, sand problem gone. Ta-da!

How can sand colic be avoided?

     While colic is the most common way owners learn their horse has been accumulating sand, an emergency visit from your vet is not how you want to find out your horse has been snacking at the sandbar. Not to mention, several days of farm calls, tubing with psyllium, and worrying, is not much fun for your horse or your wallet. So instead, why not follow these couple of Tony Tips to nip sand in the bud?
    1. Focus on your pastures. Figure out a way to fertilize, rotate grazing, plant grass seed, irrigate your pastures, or otherwise work on getting some grass to grow! If your horses have long, healthy grass to eat, they are far less likely to pick up sand, because they won’t be grubbing for dead roots in the dirt.
     2. Feed your horses off the ground. Ideally, hay should be fed in a hanging hay net, hay manger, or hay feeder. Grain should be fed in elevated feed buckets with mats underneath for the crumbs that are dropped. This simple step can drastically decrease the amount of sand your horse ingests every day.
     3. Give your horses SandClear once a day for one week every month. If you know your property is sandy, or you don’t have the best pasture situation around, this is a great idea. SandClear is a pelleted form of psyllium that is designed as a feed-through. While it won’t fix a complete sand obstruction, it can help to carry small amounts of sand out of the intestine so it doesn’t build up and turn into a bigger problem.
   So now, thanks to the one and only Tony, you know everything you ever needed to know about sand and horses. I guess that’s one less thing to worry about!
Until next week,
     -Tony
P.S. If you need my Docs during Hurricane Dorian, call 352-474-5007. They’ll be on call 24/7, just like always.

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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Starvation, Breeding, and Microchips

Starvation, Breeding, and Microchips

Aug 26, 2019 | Breeding, Microchips

Tuesdays with Tony

 How, you ask, are starvation, breeding, and microchips related? What weird cat logic is this? Read on and find out. I’m dropping some serious cat wisdom this week.

Starvation

Recently Dr. Vurgason and Dr. Lacher had the daunting task of working with a group of 18 incredibly thin horses. Like, body condition score 1 out of 9 for a majority of these horses. Dr. Vurgason worked on one who was in such bad shape he was down for 24 hours because he didn’t have the muscle mass or energy reserves to stand. That’s bad! I hope to only be able to imagine how these horses felt. I’m the one starting to insist on dinner at 4:30 pm when it is never served before 5:30 pm. 

There were abrasions on hips because the skin couldn’t take the pressure of the bony points with absolutely no covering. Remember all that rain recently? Many of these horses have just about no hair thanks to horrible cases of rain rot. When I say this was a sad bunch of horses, I really, really mean it. Luckily they found their way to a great rescue (and, trust me, they aren’t all great). If these horses can handle the introduction of food over the next week or so, they’ll be ok.

 

Breeding

 

The rescue that has this herd pulls a lot of horses from very low level auctions. The kill pen kind of auctions. I asked what breeds they see most often. My guess was going to be thoroughbreds. Yvonne told me my fine feline instincts were wrong. At first I was horrified to be wrong, but then I listened, and learned. Most are Quarter Horses, followed by Standardbreds, and draft breeds. 

Why is it Quarter Horses? Because of the huge breeding operations that exist with little outlet for the ones that “don’t cut it.” Literally don’t cut it, since many of these are breeding for horses that work cows. I beg of you guys out there looking at pretty stallion pictures right now, anxiously awaiting the upcoming breeding season. THINK about whether this is something you really want and need to do. Could you find the horse you’re looking for without having to breed? Is your mare so special that it has to be her? 

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

I don’t mean to take away from your horse, I mean to have you think about breeding. There are tons of great horses in backyards starving, and in kill pen auctions. What would it mean to a horse to never have to end up there? How great would it be to check out the foals, weanlings, yearlings, or even two year olds at a great breeding program, and pick out the one that was the color and sex you wanted? Let me tell you, that never happens when you breed your own. Just ask Dr. Lacher, who prefers geldings, and got 4 fillies and 1 sweet but not-talented gelding.

 

Microchips

 

How the heck do microchips end up in this story? Simple. At one time, these horses were likely bred or owned by someone who hoped for the best for them. That’s not how their lives ended up. If those owners had microchipped these horses, they would at least have a way to be contacted. We talk about microchips most frequently when it comes to natural disasters, or downed fence lines, but what if you got a call about a horse you sold 10 years ago? I’m guessing most of you would want to know that horse would have a soft place to land. So microchip your horses. It can do way more than bring them back if they’re wandering lost after a hurricane. 

The unwanted horse is an incredibly complicated problem. They are big, expensive animals. If each and every person in the horse industry took a moment to be sure they were helping, and not contributing to the issue, we could reduce the suffering of horses. I have faith in you humans, even if I don’t usually come across that way.

Now be a good human and subscribe to my weekly drop of cat wisdom. 

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. I know I usually remind you about the podcast that the humans do, which is pretty popular. You should definitely check that out. However, this week is a special announcement! The humans, or Dr. Lacher’s husband, in particular, have published a book called Adventures of the Horse Doctor’s Husband. It’s pretty good, and I’m not just saying that because I have a cameo appearance in it. Speaking of rescuing horses in bad situations, remember Highway, the horse that fell out of the moving trailer last winter? You’ll recognize him on the cover, and if you buy the book, you’ll be making a contribution to him. It’s a win-win for everyone. Just click on the banner below to learn more about the book. 

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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Eastern Equine Encephalitis

Eastern Equine Encephalitis

Aug 19, 2019 | EEE Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Vaccines

Tuesdays with Tony

Eastern Equine Encephalitis  

 

So I was scrolling through Facebook the other day (I may have hacked one of the docs pages, one day maybe they will let me have my own page) but to my surprise I came across a post about horses and people in Florida becoming infected with Eastern Equine Encephalitis. I was shocked and frankly a little scared! I have heard everyone around here talk about the dreaded “triple E” before and I even think we had a few cases come through the clinic last year. Nonetheless, reading about it being so close to home yet again, made me realize just how lucky I am that cats don’t get EEE.

 

What is EEE?

 

Eastern Equine Encephalitis, sometimes referred to as “Sleeping Sickness”, is a viral disease that affects birds, horses and humans. It typically occurs on the eastern half of the United States and more specifically in the southeast. “Encephal” means head or brain, and “-itis” means inflammation, therefore, the virus that causes EEE results in inflammation of the brain in both humans and horses. Birds typically are not affected by the disease and just carry it, although the exception to this is Emus.

 

How is EEE Transmitted?

 

Mosquitoes, what are they even good for? All they do is buzz around, bite us, cause horrible itchy skin, and spread nasty diseases. These little suckers are the main transmitters of EEE. A mosquito bites a bird that is a carrier of the virus. The mosquito then bites your horse (or you) and transmits the virus. Don’t you just wish we could wash mosquitoes mouths out with soap? Lucky for most birds and mosquitoes, the virus typically does not affect them, they are just the carriers and transmitters of the disease. However, once an infected mosquito bites you or your horse, the whole story changes. A horse that is infected with EEE cannot, however, spread the disease to another horse, or to a human, and humans cannot spread the disease to horses. Basically, transmission of the virus is the fault of birds and pesky mosquitoes. 

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Clinical Signs

 

90% of horses and 35-50% of humans that become infected with EEE will die from the disease. Once a horse is bitten by an infected mosquito it takes 7-21 days before clinical signs appear. An infected horse may initially show signs of depression, fever, increased heart rate, decreased appetite, and drooping of the eyes and lips, hence the term “Sleeping Sickness”. Clinical signs can eventually progress to weakness, erratic behavior, and seizures which can lead to your horse laying down and not being able to get back up. 

 

Treatment

 

As an honorary doctor, my favorite thing about my job is the successful treatment of an ill patient. Sadly, EEE does not have a specific treatment, and supportive treatment is often unsuccessful. It hurts my kitty heart when I hear about a horse who has had to suffer through the effects of EEE. Of course, myself and the docs here will do all that we can for a horse who has contracted EEE. 

The goal of supportive care is to treat fevers associated with EEE, and this is usually accomplished with the use of NSAIDs. Often times, horses with EEE will be placed on intravenous fluids and may require nutritional support as they typically have a hard time drinking and eating on their own. 

Once a horse reaches the point of the disease where they lay down, it is unlikely they will stand back up. When they are down they can thrash and cause self-inflicted trauma. Slings have been used on occasion to assist a down horse back into the standing position, however, horses with EEE are typically in a comatose state and the use of a sling is widely unsuccessful. Since EEE is a virus, no kind or amount of antibiotics will be useful in treatment. Often, humane euthanasia is elected by owners to prevent their horse from further suffering. 

 

Prevention

 

Fortunately, there is an extremely effective vaccination against EEE. As you are all well aware by now, my docs here are sticklers for upholding the highest standard of care for your horses. This includes the EEE vaccination which is also considered a “Core Vaccine”. What is a “Core Vaccine” you ask? Well, it is a vaccination that is vital to keeping your horse healthy and protected from diseases they are at risk for. 

Here at the clinic we use a combination vaccine that will provide your horse protect from 4 or 5 of the common diseases they are exposed to. You may hear the docs or technicians refer to the vaccine being administered to your horse as the EWT/WN or EWTR/WN.  All these letters can get very confusing at times. EWT/WN stands for Eastern encephalitis, western encephalitis, tetanus, and west nile, where as EWTR/WN includes all of the above plus the rhinopneumonitis vaccine.  

These vaccines are given at least every 6 months. Horses that travel often or are in many competitions during the year may receive the EWTR/WN vaccine 3 times a year. The most important thing to remember is that mosquitoes are present in Florida all year long! Because of this, twice yearly vaccinations against the mosquito-borne illnesses including EEE and West nile are imperative to your horse’s health and frankly, their life. 

It is definitely mosquito season and there have been reports of EEE all around the area, so if you think you might be behind on getting your horse vaccinated, give me a call at the clinic and we will get you on the schedule and your horse up-to-date.  

 

Until next week,

~Tony

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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To Lunge or Not To Lunge

To Lunge or Not To Lunge

Aug 13, 2019 | Lunging

Tuesdays with Tony

Those crazy sticks that horses walk around on. It’s not a great design. Then you humans do crazy things like lunging. I mean, I get it. Horses worry about big cats, like me, attacking them out of nowhere, especially if they’re in a new environment like a horse show. A great way to get them to worry less about make-believe monsters is to make sure they’re a bit on the tired side. Lunging has become the preferred method for this. Let’s talk about why that’s not such a great idea for the long term soundness of your best friend. 

 

Circles. All the circles

 

Let’s begin with the obvious. Lunging involves horses going around in a circle on a long lead rope. Most of those lead ropes are in the 30 foot range. For a human, this would be like running around on about a 10 foot diameter circle. Try it for a while, and see how it feels. I’ll give you the answer: if you are going to the left, after about 5 minutes the inside of your right foot and the outside of your left foot are going to get sore. Keep going and your knees are going to get sore. Throw in a buck, and a rear while someone pulls on your head just to see how that goes. I think you probably get the idea. 

Lunging is really, really hard on the joints. It’s even harder on the joints when your horse is wild, and doing the gallop whilst leaning at a 45 degree angle to the ground, oh and adding some airs above the ground work. You can see where this could be really, really hard on those sticks they run around on. Add in a foot that’s off balance, and you have a real recipe for disaster. Shameless plug for my many foot blogs. It’s a very important topic, and that’s why I talk about it A LOT.

 

Options other than circles

 

I get it. I’ve seen what those crazy horses do when they decide the world is a scary place. I certainly wouldn’t want to ride them when they’re like that! This is a good time to evaluate options before it’s time to tame the wild beast. I hear trainers talk about the importance of transitions all the time. Asking your horse to walk, trot, walk, canter a few steps, walk, while on the lunge line is a great way to get their brain thinking. 

Teach them this before the horse show. Don’t just stand in one place while your horse runs around you. Move around. This will make the circle bigger, which will put less stress on your horse’s joints. If your horse is a real wild one at shows, you may want to consider teaching them how to lunge in a surcingle, and side reins. This will give you a whole new level of control. A surcingle and side reins also help your horse work while lunging, instead of running around in circles. 

Teaching Zen

 

My favorite option is the ‘not lunging’ option. There are lots of ways to do this. Finding the way that works best for you is key. My favorite is groundwork. There are approximately 8,432 natural horsemanship videos on YouTube. It’s a good place to start getting an understanding of what good groundwork can do for you, and your horse. I myself didn’t understand this whole groundwork thing for a very long time, but I now know it’s all about teaching your horse to stay calm when you say it’s ok. Yes, there can be lots of circles involved in that process, but these can be done at home, and in a controlled fashion. Once your horse understands the principles, there are very few circles, and you can “catch” the brain pretty quickly in even the craziest of horse show worlds. Hand walking for long periods of time around showgrounds is also great. It is low impact on your horse, but let’s them see all the sights and sounds. 

 

Better Living Through Chemistry

 

Now, I know there are two definite camps here. One is, you don’t need drugs, you can get it done with training. I agree with that camp, but I also agree with the other camp. That camp says I’m old, and it’s really going to hurt if I fall off. Both are the right answer. If you have all the time in the world, and you aren’t worried about falling off, go with the first one. Time will get you there. If you are scared, don’t make a bad situation worse. Talk to my Docs about options for a little sedation. The key is A LITTLE sedation, AND spending time helping your horse understand how calm they can be. To be clear, I’m not saying that you show your sedated horse, and I’m not saying sedate the snot out of them, then get on. I’m saying a little sedation and a training opportunity can go a very long way to teaching horses they can be calm. This should also only be tried under the supervision of my Docs, and a good trainer. 

 

Lunging is a great way to cause, and exacerbate, lameness. Make it your goal to do less of it, and work on horsemanship more. That’s really good advice from a very wise cat. You should follow it. Know what else you should do? Scroll down a little bit, and click on the subscribe button. All the cool humans subscribe to my blog. 

Until next week,

Tony

P.S. Have you listened to any of the podcast episodes my docs produce? It’s called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth, and it’s absolutely loaded with good information, much like my blogs. Oh, and it’s free! Check it out here: Podcast

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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