Kate Robinson DVM

06/04/2024

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍🤎

MPES has always been supportive of our employees bringing their true selves to work. Over the years our workforce has become more and more diverse, which has made us a better place to work and enhanced our relationships with clients and their horses. At the same time we are constantly learning in response to changes in society and our thinking has continuously evolved in order for us to continue to be an employer of choice.

While certain segments of the equestrian world have been very open and welcoming to the LGBTQIA2S+ community, sadly others are less tolerant and accepting.

Until our society in general and all places of work are welcoming to all, we as individuals and companies, need to keep pushing back against barriers until everyone is free to be who they are and express this without fear of judgement or hate.

Pride month is an opportunity for visibility and the celebration of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. It shows us how far we have come, but that there is still more to do. Throughout Pride month we will feature organizations and support groups who are working to help at risk LGBTQIA2S+ youth and others facing discrimination.

We encourage you to learn with us, as we push ourselves to continue to make our equine community, and also veterinary medicine on a larger scale, a more accepting place.❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

06/04/2024

UPDATES GUIDELINES AVAILABLE 📢

The AAEP has issued revised Internal Parasite Control Guidelines to help minimize the risk of parasitic disease and maintain the effectiveness of current drugs for as long as possible by delaying further development of anthelmintic resistance.

The updated guidelines account for recent advances in knowledge concerning increased anthelmintic resistance and optimization of parasite control management practices. They also address common misconceptions and offer parasite control program recommendations for senior horses (over 15 years old), mature horses (between 5 and 15 years old), and young horses (under 5 years old).

Read more at: https://aaep.org/post/aaep-publishes-updated-internal-parasite-control-guidelines/

The guidelines were reviewed and updated by the AAEP Internal Parasite Control Guidelines Task Force, chaired by Dr. Nielsen and comprised of 10 AAEP members predominantly board certified in veterinary internal medicine, veterinary parasitology and/or veterinary microbiology. We thank them for their incredibly important work!

05/10/2024

ISOLATION of horses with Strangles is key to stopping the spread of disease at the facility. There are many ways to ISOLATE a sick horse (see picture below) just make sure, amongst other things, that the selection is appropriate for the weather (e.g. shade and windbreaks are available if outside), there is no nose-to-nose contact with other horses, no shared water sources and infection control procedures are in place and followed.

Don't wait until you have Strangles or EHM (EHV-1) to think about how you will ISOLATE a horse at your farm or facility.

A cost-share program is available for horse/equid owners and equine facility owners through OMAFRA to help with biosecurity. https://www.ontario.ca/document/biosecurity-enhancement-initiative-guidelines

Here is a good resource from the Equine Disease Communication Center on Isolation and Quarantine https://equinediseasecc.org/biosecurity/isolation

04/30/2024

04/25/2024

Jade is the best! 🫶

It's Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Week and we want to showcase our amazing administrative team this week! 🎉

Next up we have Jade Payne, our customer service representative in Caledon and the Equine Performance Center.

Hi! I’m Jade and I work out of the Schomberg Performance Centre. I’ve been with McKee Pownall almost 3 years now. I have had a love for horses and been riding primarily English, since I was a little girl. I wanted to jumpstart building my career in the equine field ever since. My passion is western fashion and the rodeo industry but haven’t had the opportunity to train, just yet. Some may not know that I have a Merle mini dachshund named Nova who I spend most of my time afterhours hiking and adventuring all over Ontario with. 🐶🌻🌲

04/11/2024

Spring is finally here and you know what that means! 🌻🦋
It's time to book in your annual spring vaccines to protect your horse from diseases including rabies, EHV, influenza, EEE/WEE, West nile, and tetanus! 🐴

Horse show season is also just around the corner 📅 make sure your horse is up to date with Rhino/Flu vaccine for showing requirements! ☀️

Book today by calling:
☎️Uxbridge 905 898 0370
☎️Caledon 905 898 9010
☎️Campbellville 519 856 8225

03/19/2024

A great opportunity to learn about gastroscopy and see live demos!

03/19/2024

03/14/2024

FREE webinar for horse owners from AAEP!

03/09/2024

Don’t want to ride on this rainy day? Hit the gym! Your horse will appreciate a day off AND the effort you’re putting in to improve your strength, balance and flexibility in the saddle.

Your horse is not your private gym!

Activate Your Seat

03/08/2024

Here's to strong women
May we know them,
May we be them,
May we raise them 💪🏻

Today we celebrate all the amazing women in our lives and the amazing group of talented women we have at McKee Pownall Equine Services!

Happy International Women's Day!

02/25/2024

Up-to-date list with details and resources for equine diseases in Ontario.

01/30/2024

https://www.mckeepownall.ca/2024-webinars?fbclid=PAAaZYJr0dmz9aJEi3Px45DOhszWN0wmtxKCbXu0t0DG76M_mAl16YhqNK28g_aem_AQOmJpocaTXNkZJ37GAd4B-RmwCsEO8v9moIjA9cGUudxEz9t_5P8VF2LVHg7E8tLJA

Join equine veterinarians from McKee-Pownall Equine Services as they cover topics in equine health and care. Learn more about equine lameness, basic horse care, dealing with cuts and colic, and spring riding preparation.

01/21/2024

Couldn’t agree with this more! Rehab is KEY!

01/20/2024

FUN FACT FRIDAY! Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice, good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
•
Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

01/05/2024

Confirming thoughts most of us have had for years…

12/22/2023

Common is not the same as normal.

It is common for horses to be “girthy”. It is not normal. It is common for horses to be diagnosed with stomach ulcers. It is not normal.

It may be common for horses to show pain behaviors or to be “naughty” under saddle. It is not normal. It is common for horses to have back pain. It is not normal.

As a horse owner, you are your horse’s biggest advocate. As an equine professional, you are every horse’s advocate. It takes a team!

12/08/2023

11/29/2023

This is what the term "hoof rehab" means to me. What does it mean to you?

11/21/2023

Wow what a weekend! There is something so mesmerizing about seeing the parts of a horses body, and how they all work together in a real specimen instead of just pictures in a book. I’ll spare you the pictures, but trust me - your horses body is magical.

The cherry on top was exploring the body of a horse with these wonderful equine chiropractor colleagues!

Big thanks to Cody Gregory for sharing his wealth of knowledge with us, to for organizing this event, and for hosting!

11/06/2023

Not a new idea - the changes in airway pressure from severe asthma likely led to the upper airway problems in the horses studied. But, a good reminder that treating the underlying problem can resolve secondary problems. And that we can’t approach the treatment of organs in isolation.

Recent evidence suggests that disorders of the upper and lower airways occur concurrently and that treatment of one may improve the other.