PARASITES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FECAL TEST

photo by Allan Kasof

Wage War on Equine Parasites

Internal parasites are silent killers.  They can cause extensive internal damage, and you may not even realize your horses are heavily infected.  At the very least, parasites can lower resistance, rob the horse of valuable nutrients, and cause gastrointestinal irritation and unthriftiness.  At their worst, they can lead to colic, intestinal ruptures, and death.

Using deworming agents on a regular schedule in combination with good management procedures is critical to relieving your horse of most parasites.

DON'T SKIP THE PRE-PURCHASE EXAM

photo by Carrie Kitley, Ghost Dance Photography

Owning a horse can be a big investment in time, money and emotion.  Unfortunately, horses seldom come with a money-back guarantee.  That’s why it is so important to investigate the horse’s overall health and condition through a purchase exam conducted by an equine veterinarian.  Whether you want a horse as a family pet, a pleasure mount, a breeding animal, or a high performance athlete, you stand the best chance of getting one that meets your needs by investing in a purchase exam.

LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF LAMINITIS

Radiograph with EponaTech evaluation overlay

Every day veterinarians across the country see hundreds of cases of laminitis, a painful disease that affects the feet of horses.  Laminitis results from the disruption of blood flow to the sensitive and insensitive laminae within the foot, which secure the coffin bone to the hoof wall.  While the exact mechanisms by which the feet are damaged remain a mystery, certain precipitating events can produce laminitis.  Although laminitis occurs in the feet, the underlying cause is often a disturbance elsewhere in the horse’s body.