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Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic Resistance

Jun 24, 2019 | Antibiotic resistance

Tuesdays with Tony

If I have learned nothing else about horses over the years, it is that they love to injure themselves. Most of the time we have no idea how they do it, but it’s usually late at night on a weekend or holiday.  You will call one of the docs here at Springhill on emergency and they will come out and assess your horse. They will likely prescribe your horse antibiotics. Injury is not the only reason one of my docs will prescribe antibiotics for your horse, antibiotics have their time and place in the treatment of different ailments. I have heard over and over again my docs discuss different methods for administering antibiotics, but boy was I surprised when I overheard them talking about all the wrong ways antibiotics are administered and all the problems that incorrect administration can cause. 

 

Mistake Number One

One of the most common mistakes many horse owners make is not finishing the entire course of antibiotic that their horse is prescribed. Your horse is prescribed an antibiotic by a veterinarian and you give it very diligently for several days. Then you start noticing that he is improving, and you think, GREAT, the antibiotic is working and my precious baby is all better. Here is where the mistakes begin.  

 

It is extremely common for owners to see their horse improving and decide to discontinue antibiotics before they have finished the full course. DO NOT do this, listen to the professionals! The problem with not finishing a full course of antibiotics is, it sets your horse up for antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are prescribed for a specific length of time. During this time the bugs are being killed, which is why  you usually see such an improvement so quickly.  

 

What happens when you stop antibiotics early is that some of the bugs have not died yet, but they have been exposed to the antibiotic. They start to reproduce again and the next thing you know your horse is showing signs of infection again. Bacteria bugs are super smart and stealthy, not quite cat-like, but pretty darn close. Once they are exposed to an antibiotic, they begin to recognize it. When you see the clinical signs return, you assume it is safe to start the antibiotic again. This time however, clinical signs do not improve.  You call one of my docs out and they recommend a culture and sensitivity which shows that the bugs are now resistant to the antibiotic that previously worked on your horse’s infection. 

 

By discontinuing antibiotics before the full course was administered, superbugs are formed, and now the superbugs are reproducing. The superbugs recognize the first antibiotic and laugh at it when it is restarted, as they have developed superpowers to prevent the antibiotics from killing them. Now we have a superbug that needs an even stronger antibiotic. Hopefully, this time, you have learned your lesson and give the entire course of prescribed medication. However, as I have come to notice, often it takes you humans more than once to learn your lessons. So, you repeat the above scenario with stronger antibiotics, and a super-superbug forms and a stronger antibiotic is required. It isn’t long before there are no antibiotics left that the bug is susceptible to, and now your horse has a resistant infection that cannot be treated. 

 

Mistake Number Two

Mistake number two may be even more common than mistake number one. Everyone knows that you have old antibiotic lying around in your feed/tack room somewhere. Even the vets here do, believe me, I have catscanned all of their farms when they weren’t looking. I can guarantee that most of you have been a part of mistake number one which means you definitely have leftover antibiotics floating around.  

 

As we have already determined, horses get hurt and sick at the most inopportune times. You notice your horse has an infection and think, well, I have some of that old antibiotic in the tack room, I’m sure that it would be totally fine to treat my horse with that. That, my friends, is where I get to take off my sweet, innocent, lovable kitty face and put on my stern, mad, disappointed kitty face and tell you you are wrong. Never, and I mean NEVER,  administer a previously prescribed antibiotic to your horse, even if it was prescribed for him. ALWAYS call me at the clinic first, and let me get you in touch with my docs so they can better assess the situation.  

 

They may very well tell you to use the antibiotic you have on hand, but unless you want antibiotic resistance as described in mistake number one, don’t just do it on your own! Trust me, you will make my docs very happy when you call them and have not given your horse antibiotics, which in turn will make me happy, and you know the saying, Happy Tony, Happy Life.  

 

Mistake Number Three

All too often I will hear the office staff talking to people on the phone. From what I have heard as I drift in and out of dream land, is that sometimes people call asking for antibiotics to treat their horse and yet my docs have never even seen the horse. Not only is this illegal for my docs to do, it is also very dangerous for your horse. If my docs prescribe your horse an antibiotic for an ailment that they have not been seen for, they are risking their veterinary license. Not to mention you are putting your horse at risk for developing antibiotic resistance. 

 

A common misconception is that all infections are treated the same. This could not be further from the truth.  Some bacteria thrive in an environment without oxygen, some thrive in an environment with oxygen, others have super strong cell walls that require stronger antibiotics, and others are more easily treated. Even further, some infections are a mixed bag of multiple different bacteria. The only way for one of my docs to have any idea of what kind of infection your horse has is for them to see your horse. And did you know that viruses NEVER require antibiotics? 

 

Let’s say you suspect your horse has a bacterial infection. He has a fever, he isn’t eating well, and he’s lethargic. So you call the clinic and ask for an antibiotic from one of my docs even though the horse hasn’t been seen for this problem.  If my docs were to prescribe your horse an antibiotic without seeing him, you could be giving your horse an antibiotic that is not necessary, thus leading to antibiotic resistance (are you sensing a theme here?) not to mention spending money on an antibiotic that your horse doesn’t need.  

 

In contrast, you might think your horse has a bacterial infection. You do the right thing and call me at the clinic to have one of my docs out, and they find your horse has a very high fever and that his infection is not actually bacterial, but viral. They recommend supportive care and the next thing you know, you and your horse are back riding again, and you have saved money by not paying for unneeded antibiotics.  

 

I know it’s only Tuesday and it’s summer time, so the heat is getting to us all, but antibiotic resistance is a big concern. Luckily, it is easily avoidable simply by making sure you have a veterinarian examine your horse prior to treatment, following your veterinarians orders, and calling me if you are having trouble with the prescribed treatment.  Remember, I LOVE phone calls, it makes me feel even more important than I already am. So, call me, tell me you can’t administer the antibiotics that were prescribed, or that your horse refuses to eat them. That is totally ok, my docs are basically miracle workers and will find you another way to treat your horse and avoid antibiotic resistance. The future of equine healthcare is depending on it.

 

Until next week,

~Tony

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

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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Trailer Shopping

Trailer Shopping

Jun 17, 2019 | Trailer Safety, trailering

Tuesdays with Tony

You may have noticed Dr. Vurgason and her horse Smokey galavanting around town in their new horse trailer. Now who do you think Dr. V asked for advice about which horse trailer to get? That’s right- the one and only Tony! After all, I spend most of my day every day watching various makes and models of horse trailer pull around this office building. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the very ugly! As a result, I consider myself quite the expert.

As a vet clinic cat, you shouldn’t be surprised that the first thing I’m going to tell you to consider in a horse trailer is safety. Now I’m all for buying a used trailer—that’s definitely how you’re going to find the best deal—however, you do need to make sure it’s safe. Look at and ask about the floors. Pull up any mats and check the condition of the boards or metal underneath. You also want to check out the tires and see if they are ready to be replaced. If your tire were to go flat during a haul, it could cause a serious accident. In addition, be sure to look and feel inside every square inch of that trailer for sharp things—because we all know how good horses are at seeking those out!

I would strongly recommend having a used trailer professionally inspected before purchase. Heck even if you’re not buying a new trailer it’s not a bad idea to get your Old Faithful checked out about once a year. After all, you’re going to be hauling a live animal in that thing, not just a sofa or something! The pros will make sure all your welds are strong, your hinges aren’t too rusty, and your floors are in good condition. One more word on safety, then I’ll get off my cat box: you should never have any loose items in the trailer when you are hauling a horse. So if you are planning on hauling anything in addition to your horse (hay bales, tack trunks, jump poles, barrels, buckets, etc.) consider a trailer with a separate tack room or floor-to-ceiling dividers between stalls.

The next most important thing for us Floridians to consider in a horse trailer is air flow. There are several different options horse trailer manufacturers use to achieve some air movement inside those hot metal boxes. These range from sliding windows, to open slats (especially in stock trailers), to drop-down windows. The air flow inside a trailer can be further supplemented by front or ceiling air vents, built-in fans, or even air conditioning! Now even the coolest, most open stock trailer is going to get pretty toasty if you pack enough horses in there. So, remember to consider your packing density and the climate when selecting a trailer.

Now as long as the trailer is safe and cool enough that your horse isn’t going to overheat, the rest just comes down to personal preference—of both you and your horse. I’ll tell you from my observations at the clinic, horses are a bit claustrophobic; they don’t like walking into small, narrow, dark spaces. So if you have a young horse or one who might not be the best at loading, you may want a trailer that opens completely in the back, and is very bright and inviting. There is much debate on whether horses prefer to load on a ramp or a step-up; my cat conclusion is that horses like what they are used to. With the right combination of patience, treats, and training, any horse will load on any trailer.

There are a couple more items to consider when selecting your dream trailer. Perhaps most importantly, how much can your vehicle tow? Remember that you need to add the weights of each horse plus the weight of the trailer, and that weight should be well below the maximum towing capacity for your vehicle. Almost all new trailers are aluminum, which is much lighter than the older models. However, some people report the aluminum trailers are less robust and less sturdy than their older counterparts.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

In general with horse trailers, the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true. If one brand is less expensive than another, it is probably more cheaply made, and thus may not hold up as well or last as long as a more expensive trailer of a more reputable brand. Also keep in mind if you are ever planning on selling your trailer that the more expensive big-name brand trailers tend to hold their value better.

Hopefully I’ve given you some things to consider before your next major trailer purchase. Now all you need is another horse to haul in it, right?

Don’t forget to come out to my annual Piggy Ice Cream Social this Saturday from 10:00-noon. Whether you own a pet pig or not, believe me you don’t want to miss this entertaining event!

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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Sand Colic

Sand Colic

Jun 10, 2019 | Colic, Sand colic

Tuesdays with Tony

Ahh, Florida. The rest of the world is sure it’s all sun, surf, and sand. They’ve got 2 out 3 right, and according to Meatloaf that ain’t bad. Where am I going with this? To the sand. For reasons I don’t understand, horses feel it’s appropriate to eat sand. This can, obviously, lead to problems. This week, we’re going to talk about those problems. More importantly, we’re going to talk about how to be smarter than your horse so that you can avoid these problems. I have faith you humans can do it. I’m not asking you to be smarter than a cat. That would be impossible.

 

How do I know they have sand?

 

Many of you have likely heard of the Ziploc bag test. I’m sure this is a use Ziploc did not envision for their handy plastic bags. This test involves grabbing a few fecal balls from a fresh, clean pile, adding water, sealing the bag (very, very important step), and shaking. Let the bag sit for a few minutes, and see if there’s sand in the bottom. There will be sand. After all, we do live in Florida. The question is how much sand is there? If there’s ¼ sand or less to ¾ poop in your sand-to-poop ratio, congratulations your horse is moving sand out of the gut. That word ‘moving’ is important. That’s the limitation of this test. It is moderately useful, but it only tells us that sand is moving out of the gut. You see, horses are sneaky. They also like to have a gut full of sand that’s just sitting there doing nothing! That sand won’t show up on the Ziploc test.

 

Behold! The awesomeness of x-rays and ultrasound! If my Docs have a sand suspicion, but no sand on the baggie test, they pull out the big guns. They will start with the ultrasound. My Docs will put an ultrasound probe right on the middle of the bottom of the abdomen. If there’s sand, they will see a colon with no ridges. Those ridges are what they call sacculations of the large colon. These sacculations are what allow the colon to expand with gas and food, then shrink down as it empties. Sand, however, fills all that up. Sometimes, it can be a little tough to decide on ultrasound thanks to gas. Ultrasound can’t see through gas, so if your horse has a lot of it, and horses often do have a lot of gas, the Docs will switch to x-ray. They shoot an x-ray through the bottom of the abdomen, and get an image that looks like this:

Getting Rid of Sand

 

Great, you’ve now identified that your horse has sand in the belly. How do you get rid of it? If there’s lots of it, my Docs will tube your horse with a combination of psyllium (basically Metamucil), Epsom salts, and mineral oil. The psyllium and Epsom salts work to grab the sand, pick it up, and move it out of the gi tract. The mineral oil works to protect the walls of the GI tract from all that abrasion as the sand moves. You can just imagine how abrasive that can be…..go ahead, imagine. Usually one treatment clears the sand, but sometimes it takes more than one. Rarely, my Docs have to bring one of these guys into the clinic for IV fluids along with the Epsom salts, and psyllium. I will say it is very impressive when they start passing sand. There’s nothing like sand, psyllium, Espom salt diarrhea to really make a mess out of stall!

Springhill Equine

Even better, keep sand out

 

“On ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure” was never more true than sand and horses. The number one key is hay. Yep, hay, and lots of it. As far as horses are concerned, this is the key to preventing lots of things. For sand, hay acts like a vacuum. As all that roughage travels through the GI tract, it sucks up the sand, and sends it out the back end safely. If you’ve paid any attention to my blogs, or the awesome seminars my minions have, you know that the minimum amount of hay a horse should eat is 1-2% of their body weight daily. That’s 12-24 pounds for the average horse every day. Live on a sand hill? Stay closer to that 24 pound number!

 

Minimizing the amount of sand that goes in will also help. Feeding hay from slow feed hay nets, or off clean rubber mats can help reduce sand consumption. Keeping your fields from being overgrazed can also help. When horses are seeking out the small amounts of grass in an otherwise sandy field, they will eat way, way more sand. Bringing horses into a stall for grain meals can also reduce the amount of time they spend snuffling through sand to get that very last pellet they dropped. (Total shameless plug for our ‘How To Handle Your S#!t Seminar’ this Thursday at the Clinic, to help you keep those fields in good shape.)

 

With a little strategy, you can avoid those pesky unscheduled calls with my Docs for a sand colic. And I know how much you humans enjoy a good unscheduled visit. Think your horse might have sand? Call the Clinic to schedule an x-ray or ultrasound to see what’s inside!

 

Now be a good human and subscribe to my blog. That way you can get all my awesomeness a day before everyone else.

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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Hurricane Prep

Hurricane Prep

Jun 3, 2019 | Disaster Preparedness, Hurricanes

Tuesdays with Tony

Yes I know I do this every year around June 1st, but it’s because you humans are very bad at listening. Hurricane season has officially begun. It’s time to play “Let’s get prepared for a disaster!” The Farm Version.

 

Dump Run

 

Hurricanes love to pick stuff up and throw it around. Look around the farm for those items. Make a burn pile for the stuff can get burned, and a dump pile for the stuff that can’t. Once in piles, actually remove them. Wait until we get some rain, but then burn that burn pile. No need to wait for anything for the dump run. Bonus: Dump runs can usually be counted on for some entertainment from other humans making dump runs as well. Most important: do something with the debris. Don’t let it sit around until the next Hurricane Michael is at Cedar Key. At that point everyone in your county will be at the dump trying to get rid of their debris. Be a smart human!

 

Identify your stuff

 

Microchip your horse. It’s easy. It’s cost effective. It’s permanent. Do it now.  Also works for your dogs and cats. I say it works for humans too, but some frown upon that.

 

Identify more than just your pets and relatives, though. Take a few minutes to shoot a video or take pictures of your truck and trailer, vehicles, tack room, and barn. Anything you think you would claim on insurance should be documented. Those phones you humans carry around to take pictures of yourself and your horse can be used for this, too. Upload it to that place called the cloud so it’s safe. A few moments now can save you a ton of hassles with insurance later.

 

Stockpile a few things

 

Think about what you will need if power is out. Take advantage of the Tax Holiday in Florida on some things. Common stuff you can stockpile now include batteries, flashlights, tarps, duct tape (can you ever have enough?), and gas cans. Horses drink a LOT of water. Think now about how you are going to provide that water. Plastic trash cans with lids work great! Large water troughs work well, too. Whatever you are going to use, now is the time to make sure you have it, and it doesn’t leak. If you are going to evacuate (more on that in a sec), be sure you have enough water and feed buckets for everyone.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Should I stay or should I go?

 

There’s a different answer for everyone, but the important thing now is to make a plan. Even if you intend on staying, you should still make an evacuation plan. It’s just a good idea. The tricky part about evacuating with horses is the timing. You need to leave the area 4-5 days before the projected hit. Traffic is way too bad if you wait until the last minute. Now is the time to call places you may evacuate to and find out what they require. The Agriculture Inspection Station will often waive the Health Certificate requirement during evacuations. However, your destination will likely require a Coggins at a minimum, and may require certain vaccines as well. Check your Coggins now on ALL the horses you might evacuate. Getting them done as a routine appointment is so, so much easier than doing them as an emergency. Bonus: my Docs can microchip your horses at the same time! Easy peasey.

 

We all like to pretend hurricanes are no big deal, but this cat has been around long enough to know you humans don’t really believe that. Spend some time now getting ready, and then you can enjoy that hurricane party as you watch for Jim Cantore’s latest location.

 

All well trained humans will now scroll down to the subscribe button. Press the button, enter your email, and get my blog a day before everyone else. If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is!

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. Want more? Check out the podcast my docs do called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. They just released an episode on Disaster Preparedness, and it’s chock full of good information.

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 Asthma

Equine Asthma

May 27, 2019 | Equine Asthma, Heaves

Tuesdays with Tony

Wowza!! It has been a hot one this weekend. Hopefully you all made it through the long weekend. Who am I kidding? Of course you made it through the weekend, you had to in order to read my blog this week.  Luckily, my staff knew just what a scorcher it was going to be and left me and Teeny in the lovely air-conditioned office for the weekend. I spent my weekend getting caught up on my sleep and refreshing my memory about equine asthma.

 

Equine Asthma, COPD, Recurrent Airway Obstruction, Heaves, Inflammatory Airway Disease, which is it? Why can’t these humans pick a term and stick with it? Well, as I found out this weekend, there is a reason why it has so many different names. The current accepted term for equine airway disfunction is Equine Asthma. Subcategories of equine asthma include Inflammatory Airway Disease and Heaves/RAO. To break it down even further, Heaves/RAO can be divided into Pasture-associated and Barn-associated. So, how do we determine if your horse has Equine Asthma, and if they do, which form they have? That’s where my docs and I come in. I’m going to give you a brief overview of the different forms of Equine Asthma and if you have a concern about one of your horses, you’re going to call the clinic and schedule an appointment with one of my docs.

 

Inflammatory Airway Disease

 

IAD is a respiratory disease that typically affects younger horses. It is characterized by a lingering cough, poor performance, increased breathing efforts, and prolonged recovery after exercise. Some horses may have watery-to-white nasal discharge but will never develop a fever. What sets these horses apart from horses with Heaves is that they are normal at rest with no increased respiratory effort or rate. Their appetite and attitude remain unchanged at rest.

 

What do you do if you notice your horse showing any of these symptoms? First, you call my clinic and my docs will come out and perform a thorough physical examination. This may include a rebreathing exam where they place a bag over your horse’s nose and mouth. While your horse is staring at you like, “what the heck are they doing to me, mom?” my docs will be listening closely to your horse breathe. Once the bag is removed, they will continue to listen while monitoring how long it takes your horse to breathe normally again, as well as note any change in lung sounds or coughing. Depending on what is seen and heard on the physical exam, my docs may recommend you bring your horse to the clinic for further diagnostics.

 Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

When you bring your horse to the clinic there are a couple diagnostic tests we will perform. First, my docs will perform a Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) where they will obtain samples from your horse’s airway to send to the lab and look for inflammatory cells. They will also perform an endoscope exam to the upper airway. A small camera is passed up your horse’s nose and into their trachea where they will look for excessive mucous buildup.  I sure hope my docs don’t ever try and stick anything up my nose. I can’t promise I won’t scratch anyone if they do!

 

Based on the diagnostic results, my docs will recommend certain treatments, including environmental changes. The goal of environmental changes is to reduce dust allergens. This can be accomplished by soaking hay and grain, and bedding horses on paper or wood shavings. Your horse should be out of the barn during cleaning and remain out for an hour after chores are complete. This will prevent them from breathing in excessive dust particles that may be floating about after cleaning is complete.

 

My docs may also recommend a course of systemic steroids to reduce inflammation in the airways. It has been shown that Omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce inflammation as well. I’m not convinced that horses will readily eat fish oil, but it sure sounds delicious to me! There are commercially-developed Omega-3 fatty acids that are more palatable to horses than straight fish oil. My docs may also recommend bronchodilators such as clenbuterol or albuterol which may come in oral or inhaled forms.

 

Luckily, if your horse is diagnosed with IAD, the prognosis of a full recovery if treated is excellent. If cats got IAD, I would just take it as my sign that I should never exercise again. Oh wait, I don’t currently exercise. I guess we will never know if cats get IAD.

 

Heaves/Recurrent Airway Obstruction

 

Unlike IAD, a horse with Heaves/RAO is not normal at rest. You may notice your horse breathing rapidly or with more effort. You may even hear them coughing more frequently. You may also notice nasal discharge along with exercise intolerance. Horses with Heaves will have the classic “heave line” at the bottom of their ribs due to increase in abdominal muscle mass from excess work performed in order to breathe. Some horses with Heaves may become in appetent, although why horses decide to stop eating is beyond me. The horses usually experience weight loss due to decreased feed intake. Similar to IAD, horses with Heaves will not typically have a fever.

 

You may recall I mentioned early on that there are two different types of Heaves, Barn-associated and Pasture-associated. Horses with Barn-associated Heaves spend the majority of their time kept in a stall where they are exposed to typical molds, dust and endotoxins in hay and straw. Horses with Pasture-associated Heaves typically reside in the Southeast and spend the majority of their time on pasture where they are exposed to inhaled allergens. Both types of Heaves result in lower airway inflammation, but exact factors causing the airway dysfunction is unknown.

 

Heaves is diagnosed by BAL and endoscopic examination. Radiographs and thoracic ultrasound are also useful diagnostic tools used to further characterize the inflammation in your horse’s lungs.

 

Treatment for heaves is similar to that of IAD. At the forefront of treatment is to reduce allergens by soaking hay and grain. It is also important to keep horses with heaves off of round bales as they are very high in endotoxic and organic dust. Horses with Barn-associated Heaves should be kept on pasture and horses with Pasture-associated Heaves should be kept stalled except in the winter months when allergens are low. Systemic steroids and bronchodilators are also recommended for horses with Heaves.

 

Now that you are an expert on Equine Asthma, if you are concerned that your horse may be showing any of these signs, be sure to contact me at the clinic and I will get you in touch with one of my docs.  We will get out to check on your horse as soon as possible.

 

Now it’s time for me to go back to enjoying the remainder of this holiday weekend in the cool AC. Take a moment to remember all those who have served our country and provided us with the freedom to nap all day.

 

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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When It’s Time

When It’s Time

May 20, 2019 | End of Life

Tuesdays with Tony

We’re going to talk about a tough subject today, so I’m going to be on my best behavior. It’s an important topic, one my Docs face all the time with owners. How do you know when it’s time to euthanize your horse? Let me help you with what I’ve learned from years hanging out on the front counter here at Springhill Equine.

 

Guidelines

 

Let me start by saying this entire blog is full of guidelines. Sometimes it’s crystal clear that euthanasia is the only option: badly broken legs, some very bad lacerations in very bad locations, and the older horse who is down and can’t get up. Most of the time it isn’t so clear. It’s muddy like a limerock road after rain in Florida. My very best cat advice is to talk through your concerns and fears with my Docs. They have helped people make this decision many times, and can help you find the right option for you and your horse.

 

What does pain look like?

 

We all know that some horses, just like some humans, (and some cats) take pain better than others. However, horses as a species are really, really good at hiding pain in general. When you live and die on the grasslands based on who is the easy-to-pick-off weak one, you hide your pain. Horses do give us clues to look for, though. The biggest clue that your horse is painful is weight loss. These are horses who continue to eat everything in sight, but continue to lose weight. And I don’t mean a little bit of weight loss. These horses are often in the 2 to 3 body condition score range, despite a ton of effort by their owners to manage the weight loss. I recommend weekly or every-other-week pictures of your horse. This way you can swipe back and see what your horse looked like over the past few months.

 

A change in routine is another sign of pain for horses. Has Flicka always been under the oak tree at the far end of the pasture at 3pm? Now she isn’t even going to the far end of the pasture? This can be a sign of pain. As the person who knows your horse best, you are in the best position to notice these often subtle changes. Especially as horses age, the change in routine can come on slowly. Take a moment every month or so to evaluate your horse’s patterns.

 

Get out the Magic 8 Ball

 

Next up is the future life problem. For this one, there are two different categories: young vs. older. Why are there two different categories, you ask? Time is the biggest reason, and capacity for healing is the second reason. Let’s take a bad laceration to the back of the lower leg as an example. These injuries can take years to recover from. They make an athletic career unlikely, and they put a lot of stress on the other three legs. A young horse has a much better chance of being able to heal one of these wounds without one of the other legs giving out. It is very realistic to ask yourself if you want your older horse to go through the years of work that will be necessary, and if they can handle it. The answer is often yes, but it’s important, on young and old, to think about.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Money

 

I’m going to be very brief on this part. Have a plan for how much you can, and are willing to spend on your horse ahead of time. I promise my Docs aren’t going to judge you for this. The reality is some of the things horses do to themselves are very, very expensive to fix. If that’s not right for you, we understand! Some quick guidelines: colic surgery-$10,000, infected joint-$5-6,000, bad, bad wound repair-$2500-3000. Insurance and programs like SmartPak’s ColiCare can help with these expenses, but you have to look into them early.

 

Most important thing I’ve ever said

 

The absolute single most important thing to consider when considering euthanasia for your horse: what is their every day like? We animals live for today. We aren’t trying to make it to our kids graduation, or the end of the Game of Thrones season. We live day by day. If those days aren’t good, we aren’t happy. Consider what the day to day looks like for your horse. Please be honest with yourself, and if it isn’t good, let them go.

 

I know this week was tough, but it’s really important stuff! My Docs are always, always, always available to talk with you about your horse, and help you make decisions.

 

Now be a good human and subscribe to my blog. It’s a simple button push after scrolling down a wee, tiny bit further.

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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Talk To The Foot

Talk To The Foot

May 13, 2019 | Farriers, Feet, Hoof, Lameness

Tuesdays with Tony

With the amount I talk about horse feet, you all must think I’m obsessed with them. Well, you kind of have to be when you run an equine vet clinic like I do. Horse feet are kinda important. It’s not like a dog, where they can get along just fine on 3 legs. Horses need all 4 of their feet to be in good working order just to survive. So today I’m going to teach you a few things you can look for to make sure your horse’s feet are going in the right direction instead of the wrong one.

 

Lameness

   Did you know that over 85% of lameness in horses originates in the foot? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen humans bring their horse in for “soreness in the stifles”, “hock injections”, or even a “broken shoulder” and the problem ends up being in the foot. The silver lining in this is the fact that foot problems can often be easily corrected by trimming and shoeing, which is an easy and inexpensive fix, relatively speaking. Believe me, you WANT your horse’s lameness to be in the foot. That’s a much better scenario than a bone cyst, severe arthritis, or a torn suspensory ligament.

    This should go without saying, but recurring foot lameness is usually an indicator that your horse isn’t happy with how he’s being trimmed or shod. Now, I’m not telling you to pick up the phone and call a new farrier. A great place to start is with X-rays of your horse’s feet. There is only so much a farrier can tell from the outside of the foot. Many times, the bony column within the foot doesn’t match what the hoof would lead you to believe.

    There is so much we can learn from just a single side-view of the foot. My docs can tell you if your horse has any signs of laminitis, such as rotation or sinking of the coffin bone (the bone inside the hoof). They can even tell you if these changes are acute (new) or chronic (old). They can determine your horse’s palmar angle, or the angle between the ground and the bottom of the coffin bone.

white line disease horse hoof

They can tell you if your horse has signs of coffin joint arthritis, or navicular disease (note: to get a full evaluation of the navicular bone, a few more views would be necessary). They can tell you how good the bony alignment is from the fetlock joint down to the tip of the toe. This hoof-pastern-axis should be a straight line, neither “broken-forward” nor “broken back.”  Your farrier may be surprised to see how much excess toe or how little sole your horse has. Additionally, he can get an idea of the side-to-side symmetry and balance of the foot from one more front-to-back view.

 

A Good Trim

 

Everything about horse feet starts with a good trim. You can see my Everything You Need To Know About Horse Feet blogs for tons of information and pictures. Here’s the basics: the heels should be brought down to the widest point of the frog. Yes, brought down. Do not leave bad-quality heel on. You can’t “grow better heels” on a horse. They’ve got what the good Lord gave ‘em and you can’t fix it, you just have to manage it.

Alignment side equine hoof demo at equine hoof care semina

From there, your farrier should trim the foot as they normally would. When finished, the widest part of the hoof should be halfway between the toe and the heel. If it isn’t, the trim is adjusted until it fits this ideal. If it can’t be….well, that takes me to the next section of this blog

 

Shoes or no shoes

 

I hear it all the time: “My farrier just wants to charge me more so they said my horse needs shoes.” Nope, not true. Farrier myth busted. Every farrier I met doesn’t want to put shoes on a horse until they absolutely need it. However, when the hoof has been trimmed to the best of your farrier’s ability, and the mechanics are still all messed up, a shoe is needed to fix what’s messed up.

If your horse has really weird feet, your farrier is definitely going to want an appointment with our Docs and the x-ray at the same time. This will get your horse the best possible shoeing job. Heck, your farrier and my Docs get so much information from foot x-rays that we recommend them for every performance horse, every year.

No hoof, no horse, is the truest thing ever said about a horse. Be sure to use my Docs as the great resource they are to help your horse have the very best feet they possibly can!

 

Now be a good human. Scroll down a teenie, tiny bit further and subscribe to my blog. All the cool humans do it. And if you listen to the podcast my Docs do, which is another cool human trait, you can listen to more about horse feet. The more you know, the better care you can provide for your horse.

 

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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Electrolytes and Horses

Electrolytes and Horses

May 6, 2019 | electrolytes, Sweating/ Not sweating

Tuesdays with Tony

As I was lying in the middle of the driveway yesterday, I realized it was a bit warm. Humidity wasn’t too bad though, but that can only mean one thing: Summer is coming. With summer comes sweat, for horses and humans. Cats simply will not lower themselves to something as banal as sweating. Sweating is tough on a critter! I found out just how tough while researching electrolytes and horses.

 

That’s a lot of water!

 

At full exertion, horses can produce close to 4 gallons of sweat per hour! Yeah, I’m never going to exercise that much. That means they have to replace all that water when they’re done exercising. More importantly, it means a horse exercising gets dehydrated really, really quickly. That horse losing 4 gallons of water is at critical dehydration levels at the end of the hour. Let’s be honest, most of your horses (and humans) don’t exercise to max levels, but even sub-max is a decent amount of fluid loss. Why are we discussing this? Make sure your horse has access to PLENTY of water before, and after exercise. If you’re exercising for longer than 30-45 minutes you should even have water available during exercise. Another fun fact, horses (and humans) sweat even more in hot, humid weather. It’s never hot and humid in Florida, right? (should be read in an extreme level of cat-sarcasm tone).

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

More than just water

 

That sweat is more than just sweat. It contains a bunch (and I do mean a bunch) of electrolytes. For horses, they lose electrolytes in this order: Chloride> Sodium> Potassium> Calcium> Magnesium. Why does that matter? It means any electrolyte supplement should replace them in that order. In other words, check the label on your supplement. It also matters because those electrolytes are really important for things to happen the way they should in the body. One thing they do is make sure the gut moves the way it’s supposed to. You horse people don’t like colics, right? Electrolyte levels get whacked, you’ve got a colic. Electrolytes make sure all kinds of muscle contractions happen correctly, besides just the gut ones. The heart beat and muscles depend on proper electrolytes, as well. Basically, they’re pretty darn important to life.

 

I see sugar

 

Know what else horses use a lot of when they exercise? Sugar. That has to get replaced back into the muscles. This is what horses are surprisingly not great at. If you run a marathon (I don’t know why you would, but if you did), you could replace the energy stores in your muscles in about 12-24 hours. A horse doing equivalent exercise takes 48-72 hours to do the same thing! Crazy! Most of this energy is replaced by the normal process of eating hay and grain, but some of it is replaced by the sugar you see in electrolyte supplements. That sugar also helps the GI tract absorb the electrolytes. I think we can all agree a lot of sugar is bad, but a little bit is critical for exercise recovery.

 

What does all this really mean?

 

It means, if your horse is a pasture potato, having a salt block available and feeding a good quality hay and concentrate will meet all their needs. If your horse has to work for a living (this means physical labor as opposed to being in a supervisory role like myself), you will need an electrolyte plan.

 

On a day-to-day basis, a salt block along with a good diet is probably adequate, unless your horse is in hardcore training. When work gets stepped up though, it’s time to add in additional electrolytes about an hour before the hard work starts. Even better, but this can be nearly impossible with horses, add electrolytes to about a gallon of water, and have your horse drink them. Yeah, I know, you can lead them to water, and all that, but a bit of training before big events will help your horse learn this valuable skill. Make sure your horse has plain water available as well.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

After work, be sure to offer electrolyte water again, or add to the next concentrate meal. This will help your horse replenish those valuable electrolytes as fast as they can.

 

The Perfect Electrolyte

 

There are approximately 1 bajillion different ones on the market. Look for ingredients in the order horses lose electrolytes, with one exception: chloride. Chloride tags along for the ride with all the others, so sort of by default, you’ll get lots of that.

 

Bottom line: look for Sodium (often listed as salt), potassium, calcium, and magnesium in the ingredients. There will be sugar in there too, and that’s okay! A little bit of sugar helps the gut absorb those electrolytes. BUT (and it’s a big BUT) sugar should NOT be the first ingredient on the list. It should be around 3-4 down on the list, and will likely come before magnesium. Once you have the right ingredients in the right order, pick the one your horse likes. That’s the really hard part.

 

Electrolytes are way more complicated than I ever dreamed! Speaking of dreaming, I’m going back to holding the chair in the back office down. You be a good human and scroll down a little further to subscribe to my blog. You’ll get it a day earlier than everyone else, and that will make your Monday a little cheerier.

 

Until next week,

~Tony

 

P.S. I know that I’m the resident celebrity around here, but my docs are starting to get worldwide attention with the podcast they do. Horse people all over Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia are listening, as well as people in all 50 states here in the US. Have you checked it out yet? It’s called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. You can click on that link and find out for yourself what all the fuss is about!

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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Horse Eye Problems

Horse Eye Problems

Apr 29, 2019 | Eyes

Tuesdays with Tony

By now you already have it marked on your calendar to attend this month’s meet and greet with yours truly. Of course, if you don’t, here is your friendly reminder that this Thursday, May 2nd, 2019 at 6:30pm I will be hosting the world-famous ophthalmologist, Dr. Dennis Brooks. So when you come, you not only get to meet the world’s most famous cat, me, you also get to meet him and ask him all your burning questions about eyes. And I’m here to prep you with a quick tidbit about all the eye problems your horse may, and likely will, encounter during his lifetime.

 

Superficial Corneal Ulcers

 

Probably the most common eye condition my docs see in horses is superficial corneal ulcers. What does that mean, you ask? Well, that means that your horse probably did a silly horse thing like scratch his face in a bush, or roll in dirt and then rub his eye on his leg. When he did that, he caused damage to the epithelium (thin tissue layer) of the cornea leaving the layers below exposed to the elements. Luckily, most horses are giant wimps and will let you know right away that they have hurt their eye. You may notice your horse squinting more, tearing, or even some swelling of the eye lids.

 

Once you call my docs and they come out, they will perform a full ophthalmologic examination of your horse’s eye. This will likely include sedation as well as nerve blocks to make the eyelid less difficult to open. They will then use an ophthalmoscope to examine the surface of the eye as well as the back of the eye.  Then they will stain the surface of the eye with fluorescein stain and that is when you will see it, the dreaded yellow spot on the surface of the eye indicating that there is a defect in the corneal epithelium and thus a superficial corneal ulcer has formed.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

Once my docs see this, they will prescribe certain topical medications as well as systemic NSAIDs. That’s where your job begins. You’re going to be very diligent and apply medications twice a day, if not more, depending on what my docs tell you. If you are lucky, the ulcer will be healed within a week and your job will be done. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and some ulcers just do not heal no matter how diligent owners are. That is where I come in. The docs are going to recommend you bring your horse into me at the clinic where I will oversee the docs placing a subpalpebral lavage system in your horse’s eyelid which will allow for more frequent application of topical medications without having to manipulate your horse’s eyelid. I will also ensure that my staff is administering medications to your horse every 2 hours while he is hospitalized. This is great for me, as I get treats and pets every time someone comes in to treat your horse.

 

On occasion, even with increased medications and the SPL, ulcers may not heal and my docs will have to deride the cornea.  I am a bit of a squeamish cat so I usually find a nice warm place to nap when this happens, but from what I have heard around the clinic, this is when the docs take cotton swabs and try to remove corneal epithelium that is not healing and preventing the ulcer from healing.

 

If, after debridement the cornea has not healed, my docs will probably call in the experts like Dr. Brooks or Dr. Mangan. Everyone at the clinic always gets so excited when the ophthalmologists are coming, though I have yet to figure out why. When the experts come, they will assess the eye and tweak my doc’s plans. They may perform other diagnostics and adjust your horse’s medications. I even heard that horses may sometimes require contacts. I have perfect 20-20 cat vision so I wouldn’t know what it is like to have contacts. My docs tell me a horse having a contact is not the same as humans, but instead the contact acts as a protective barrier on the cornea to encourage ulcer healing. As you can see thus far, eyes can be a giant pain in my kitty rear-end, so remember, if you notice your horse showing signs of eye problems, call the clinic ASAP and get my docs on the job.

 

Stromal Abscess

We all live in Florida for a reason, the warmth! There is nothing better than laying on the hood of the doc’s trucks and taking a warm sun bath, ahhhhh I love Florida! Unfortunately, horse eyes do not have the same love for Florida that I do.  The heat and humidity here make for an excellent breeding ground of fungi and bacteria, which also means that your horse’s eyes are at an increased risk for developing stromal abscesses. This is when the fungi or bacteria find a tiny little defect in the cornea and work themselves into the deeper layers of the cornea. The defect heals without you even noticing any problems and then a few days later you come out and see that your horse is squinting, has a lot of tearing from his eye and is very, very painful.

 

You’ll call my docs out and they will perform their usual ophthalmologic examination. Except this time they will not find an ulcer. Instead, they will see a white dot somewhere below the corneal surface. This is the result of the body trying to combat the fungi or bacteria that has gotten into a place it shouldn’t be. Stromal abscesses are even more difficult to treat, and my docs will almost certainly place an SPL and start your horse on multiple medications including anti-fungal medications. You will probably decide that you want to bring your horse in to me for treatment so that you are not having to get up at all hours of the night to treat your horse. Of course, I will always oblige and love to have the company, the more the merrier, right?

 

Stromal abscesses take what seems like forever to heal and sometimes even require surgical intervention. My docs do not perform corneal surgery; that’s when they call in the experts again. Even after surgery, stromal abscesses take a lot of care and time, but in the end they are rewarding when all your hard work has paid off and you horse’s eye has been saved.

 

Equine Recurrent Uveitis

Equine Recurrent Uveitis an immune mediated disease. I have diabetes, but that’s not an immune mediated disease, that’s just because I used to be a fat cat.  Immune mediated means that the horse’s body is attacking its own cells, in the case of ERU, the horse’s body is attacking its eyes. Eeek!

 

ERU is a common cause of blindness in horses and is a painful disease. You will notice that your horse’s pupil is very small at all times, even in the dark, they will likely be squinting, and may have tearing. You may also notice that your horse’s eye appears to be smaller. ERU can affect one or both eyes and is most common in Appaloosas but can occur in any breed of horse. If ERU is left untreated, your horse’s retina may become detached or a cataract may form in the lens of the eye.

 

My docs will assess your horse’s eye and usually will see that his eye is smaller, they may notice that there are blood vessels surrounding the cornea and the eye may be cloudy.  They will recommend treatment that will include immunosuppressants topically and sometimes systemically. They will also put your horse on systemic NSAIDs for pain control. Some horses require lifelong treatment and may require surgery to place an implant that releases immunosuppressants slowly over time. The goal with treatment is to decrease the number of times medications are administered to the fewest times possible while maintaining your horse’s comfort.

 

By now, you’ve listened to me, and you’ve listened to my docs and you know that if you notice any of these signs or symptoms, you will call the clinic or emergency line because, remember, eye problems are always an emergency!

 

These are by no means the only eye problems that horses have. In fact, I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of problems. But I have been up for more than 5 minutes now and must nap before I prepare for my next nap. So, if you want to hear more about eyes from the expert, come out to see me on Thursday night. Remember you can always watch the seminar on Facebook live or later on my YouTube channel.

Until next week,

~Tony

P.S. If you want to know more about equine eyes, make sure you check out the podcast my docs put out. It’s called Straight from the Horse Doctor’s Mouth. The episode on eyes is ah-mazing 😉

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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Summer Sores

Summer Sores

Apr 22, 2019 | Summer Sores

Tuesdays with Tony

Warmer weather is moving in, and along with it are some familiar visitors: flies! And in Florida, flies mean summer sores. Read along to learn everything you never wanted to have to know about summer sores, including how to prevent, identify, and treat these unwelcome, unpleasant, and unsightly buggers.

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic

What are summer sores?

     The short version, because I’m a very busy cat and I haven’t got all day. Summer sores, technically termed Habronemiasis, happen when insect larvae end up in the wrong place: namely either in a wound or in your horse’s mucous membranes such as eyes, lips, or genitalia.
      Habronema is actually the horse stomach worm, and rarely causes any problems when it stays in the digestive tract where it belongs. However, when the larval stage is deposited in a wound or elsewhere on the skin, instead of being ingested by the horse, it causes a major inflammatory reaction.
       I guess it’s kind of a bummer if you’re a habronema larva…it would be like getting dropped off at the wrong house by your Uber driver. (The Uber driver in this scenario would be a house fly, face fly, or stable fly; and your pick-up location would be a steaming pile of manure.)

Habronema in Wounds

      Summer sores that develop in wounds are actually the easiest to prevent. Here’s the secret: cover them up!! For wounds on the legs, this means bandaging. For the face, it means a fly mask. For elsewhere on the body…time to get creative! Summer sores are definitely one of those places where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
     Even the tiniest break in the skin can offer an opportunity for habronema larvae to be deposited and set up shop. Be wary of summer sores anytime you are dealing with Scratches on the back of the pasterns, nicks from walking or riding through thick brush, and of course any time you have a wound big enough to require stitches.
Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic    In fact, preventing summer sores is one of the best reasons to have those borderline lacerations stitched up. The less space flies have to land, the less opportunity they have to drop a little habronema larva in there too. And believe me, flies LOVE wounds! Yummy, weeping serum, blood droplets, maybe some pus…it’s a fly dreamland! For those wounds on the lower limbs, we love Sox for Horses Silver Whinnys. They provide a good combination of skin coverage and breathability, while the silver-impregnated threads help the wound to heal.

Habronema in Eyes

    If I were a fly, the choice between landing in a weepy eye or a bleeding wound would be a real toss-up. Decisions, decisions. I guess I’d have to say the eyes have it, because horses always (well, usually) have 2 of those, whereas the wounds are more of a hit-or-miss thing.
    I guess what I’m really trying to say here is, keep a fly mask on your horse. Especially in the summer. And especially during the day. If your horse has allergies, uveitis, or otherwise tends to have runny eyes, then he probably should have a fly mask on 24/7/365. No, it doesn’t hurt to do that, as long as you are peeking under the fly mask at least once a day to make sure there are no  hidden injuries. Yes, they can see through a fly mask, even at night.
    Ocular habronemiasis, or habronema in the eye, is probably the most common location where my docs find these parasites. The larvae are deposited and then migrate into the conjunctiva, the third eyelid, or the nasolacrimal duct which runs from the inside corner of the eye to the nose.
    Once these larvae realize they are in the wrong place (i.e. not the stomach), they die. But THEN their little bodies calcify into this hard, yellow granular material, the consistency of which is not unlike concrete. Imagine several of these rock-hard dead larvae carcasses imbedded in your horse’s eyelid and I bet you can guess what comes next: a corneal ulcer.
    Now, you know from reading my blog and coming to my seminars that corneal ulcers are always an emergency, and often a bad deal because they can become infected so easily. With corneal ulcers caused by habronema, you have the added disadvantage of a jagged calcified granule rubbing up against the cornea and not allowing it to heal. So, not surprisingly, my vets will do their best to remove these dead larvae before they can cause any more damage. This involves squeezing them out like a pimple, pulling them out with tweezers, or flushing them out through the nose with saline. Spoiler alert: this is not a fun procedure for your horse. So, again, FLY MASK!

Habronema anywhere else

Springhill Equine Veterinary Clinic    The tough summer sores to treat are the ones that occur somewhere that is impossible to wrap and too deep to dig out. Common locations for these include the corners of the mouth and the sheath on males. These summer sores usually need to be treated aggressively and repeatedly by a veterinarian. My docs have a special cocktail of a dewormer, a steroid, and DMSO that they will inject directly into the summer sore. This combination is aimed at killing the larvae while also treating the severe secondary inflammation associated with habronemiasis.
    In addition to local injection, my docs will also instruct you to deworm your horse with Quest. Why Quest, you ask? Because Quest contains Moxidectin. Similar to Ivermectin, the active ingredient in most dewormer, Moxidectin is the strongest drug in its class. This is probably the ONLY time you will hear me recommend Quest, as we try to reserve it for treating summer sores and not use it on deworming for internal parasites.
    The silver lining, if there is one, is that summer sores are not life-threatening, and they will heal eventually. As the name implies, summer sores are almost exclusively seen during periods of warm weather. As such, winter in itself cures most summer sores.
    So, now you know all the secrets. If you would like to pick an expert’s brain on Ocular  habronemiasis as well as all other eye things, don’t miss my next seminar, All About Eyes, on May 2nd at 6:30pm, featuring Dr. Dennis Brooks!
   Until next Tuesday,
           -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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