Lori Berardinucci, Certified Animal Chiropractor

11/21/2025

We’ve been receiving questions about Equine Herpesvirus (EHV-1) and the neurologic form, EHM, so here’s an update for our Rhythm community. 💙🐴

🔍 What’s happening?
There is an EHM outbreak linked to an event in Texas, with a few secondary cases in nearby states. One isolated case was also reported in Red Deer County, AB.
👉 As of Nov 20, 2025, no cases have been reported in Saskatchewan.

🦠 What is EHV-1?
EHV-1 is a common herpesvirus in horses worldwide. Many infections look like a mild cold, but it can occasionally cause abortion or, rarely, neurologic disease (EHM). Most horses are exposed when young and carry the virus quietly for life.

💉 Vaccines
• Yes — vaccines exist for EHV-1/4.
• No — they cannot fully prevent the neurologic form.
• But — they can reduce respiratory disease and viral shedding, helping limit spread.

Our recommendations:
• At-risk horses (travelling, showing, boarding barns): every 6 months
• Home-based horses with low exposure: annually
• Vaccination can be done any time of year
• Owners may self-administer after purchasing through the clinic

Not sure if your horse needs a booster? Reach out — we’re happy to guide you based on lifestyle and travel.

🏡 Keeping your herd safe
• Don’t share buckets, tubs, tack, or grooming tools
• Take temps for 10–14 days after travel (>38.5°C = fever)
• Separate any horse with fever or nasal discharge
• Limit nose-to-nose contact between unfamiliar horses
• Call early if your horse is off, febrile, or even mildly wobbly

🏥 What we’re doing at Rhythm
• Monitoring official updates daily
• Screening for recent travel when booking
• Enhanced disinfection & isolation for sick horses
• Supporting barns with practical, compassionate biosecurity planning

No panic needed — just thoughtful hygiene and smart decision-making. If you have questions about your horse’s risk, vaccination timing, or upcoming events, we’re here to help. 💙🐴

11/05/2025

Treating your animals is truly a privilege 💕

05/21/2025

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ48MoAJFpe/?igsh=MWlmOWN4NG1zNjhieg==

04/13/2025

03/16/2025

Cloudy, rainy Sunday. I might as well do some learning. Thanks to Dr Haussler for another very interesting presentation

01/14/2025

Module 4 of the VCLC animal chiropractic series is done. There is one more module left and everyone has worked so hard, including our four legged assistants. We’ve got this!!

12/04/2024

Animals are incredibly resilient even with the loss of a limb. Maintaining core strength and watching that compensatory patterns dont get out of hand are key. It’s a delicate balancing act ( no pun intended) with regards to conditioning and treating. Chiropractic is great for helping these dogs lead a long and active life

11/15/2024

I will be away all weekend learning, learning. Apologies if I miss your messages but will try to respond Monday morning. Have a great weekend everyone

10/22/2024

The layers of compensation can run deep. The more chronic it is, the more difficult it is to find the true source
I like the analogy of peeling layers off of an onion. It takes time and patience

“The horse just has a little arthritis in his left hock, it doesn’t seem to bother him too much, he just gets a bit stiff!”

Horses are great compensators, and they will create alternative locomotive patterns to continue movement.

So, say this little bit of osteoarthritis causes a reduced range of motion of the tarsal (hock) joint. In an attempt to maintain stride length and hide this dysfunction to potential predators (because you never know when a lion could be waiting around the corner... or a flapping plastic bag!), the tarsal joint is rotated medially (inwards) during the swing phase of the stride. This results in asymmetrical & medial weight bearing through the digit. This places additional stress through medial hamstring muscles, resulting in muscle tension and trigger points. And this is all something that is potentially going on in the affected hindlimb.

A hip hike/drop can occur at corresponding phases of the stride, placing the sacroiliac joint under stress, resulting in paraspinal and asymmetrical gluteal tone/pain.

Decreased impulsion from the left hindlimb leads to increased weight bearing through the right forelimb diagonal. This can create tension and hypertrophy to the right pectoral muscles and related fascial planes.

The spiral of compensation could continue on further, affecting cervical muscles that become hypertonic as a result of weight shifting, digit shape and size, TMJ pain, head tiling, hyoid dysfunction, asymmetric tail holding...

Often it can be the case where I see a horse that is a chronic stage of compensation and it can be difficult to find the true cause especially when the horse may appear just overall “stiff”.

I liken the rehabilitation of chronic cases to peeling the layers off an onion; one layer at a time and piece by piece to unravel and rewind the compensation spiral. It is important to identify and manage the root cause, rather than just accepting it🐴