Maritime Equine Veterinary Services

02/07/2025

For Maritime Equine, Winter always seems to be Gastroscopy season‼️

🐴Have you ever wondered what the inside of a horse’s stomach looks like? Check out this short video where we are inside the horse’s stomach and first examining the pyloris (glandular portion of the stomach before it turns into small intestine) followed by the non-glandular or squamous part of the stomach. Ulcer symptoms can range in horses from weight loss, decreased appetite and colic, to behavioural issues on the ground and undersaddle (biting, kicking, rearing). 

🐴Did you know that the horse has two types of tissue in its stomach? The light pink region is non-glandular tissue, and the dark pink region on bottom is the glandular tissue which produces the stomach acid. The acid typically splashes up onto the more sensitive light pink tissue and can cause ulcers. 

🐴In the video attached, this horse was diagnosed with grades 3 and 4 ulcers throughout. Ulcers are graded on a scale from 1-4. You can see a part initially where we spray some water at the bleeding ulcers around the pyloris to make sure it is not feed debris. These ulcers around the pyloris that are almost black in colour have been bleeding which gives them that dark colour. In the main part part of this horse’s stomach (non-glandular or light pink region), you can see lots of small ulcers throughout the non-glandular tissue and some that have been actively bleeding.

🐴This horse received a treatment protocol including multiple medications to target the severity and types of ulcers seen on the gastroscope. The stomach looked significantly better after a month of treatment and you can see these after photos of what a healthy horse stomach should look like.

📞 If you think your horse could have gastric ulcers, feel free to contact us to discuss your concerns & set up a gastroscope!

02/03/2025

🔹It’s hard to believe that Spring is right around the corner with the weather we’ve been having lately! Weather aside, we are starting to schedule spring wellness appointments for March. This includes vaccines, dental floats, parasite prevention and soundness examinations.

🔹We are excited to introduce our new Appointment Request Form on our website so that clients are able to go online and request the appointment that they need as well as their preferred date. See the link attached to check it out!

https://www.maritimeequinevet.com/our-clients

❄️Stay warm everyone!❄️

Reach out to see if our customized care is the right fit for your horse. We are accepting new clients, please contact us via email or phone to set up an account or answer any inquiries.

01/13/2025

We see this often enough, and it is typically frustrating to treat!

11/26/2024

Maritime Equine is fortunate to be able to contribute to the Nova Scotia Equestrian community through sponsorship of both English and Western competitions.

🏆Congratulations to the 2024 Award Recipients 🏆

Please join us in congratulating the 2024 Sponsor of the Year - Maritime Equine Veterinary

Learn more about all our award winners here: https://conta.cc/4fSxj2c

Thank you to all our athletes, parents, volunteers and competitions managers that made the 2024 season so memorable!

10/08/2024

** Important notice regarding Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)**

As many people have heard there has been a confirmed case of EEE in Nova Scotia. It is important to note that the horse affected was unvaccinated.

EEE is an endemic disease in eastern Canada. Birds are the natural hosts for EEE, which is transmitted to horses by mosquitoes which have bitten an infected bird. EEE is not directly
transmissible from horse to horse. Most equine cases occur during the late summer/fall period August to October, and the risk period ends with the onset of frost.

Fortunately, there is a vaccine against EEE. Please contact us if you have questions regarding your horse's vaccine status or you think they require a booster against EEE. Once clinical signs appear, treatment options are limited and the mortality rate in unvaccinated horses is high.

If you have any questions please contact us at [email protected]

06/01/2024

Nothing like finishing a very busy month with a Friday night foaling and retained placenta! Fortunately for us this momma foaled early in the evening and after a few rounds of oxytocin was able to pass her placenta. Swipe to see this impatient filly waiting at the milk bar 🥰

04/30/2024

We are excited to be a sponsor for the Windsor Spring Horse Show which kicks off the Hunter/Jumper season in Nova Scotia!

Thank you to Maritime Equine Veterinary Services for your support of the Windsor Horse Show!

Maritime Equine Vet provides first class veterinary care for equine athletes and companions!

Maritime Equine Veterinary Services

03/20/2024

It’s that time if the year folks‼️
🌸 Spring has arrived and we are busy scheduling all of our spring equine wellness appointments, including vaccines, dental floats, parasite prevention and soundness examinations.

🔹Contact us to discuss a vaccination protocol tailored to your horse. You can see the recommended CORE vaccines for horses including Tetanus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus and Rabies, listed below. In addition to these core vaccines, we have many vaccines that are risk based, such as Equine Herpesvirus, Equine Influenza, Strangles, Botulism and Lyme disease.

🔹Be sure to have your horse’s teeth assessed and a routine dental float if necessary to ensure no discomfort while eating or being ridden.

🔹Fecal egg counts are helpful to determine parasite load and therefore develop an effective deworming protocol.

🔹Soundness exams include movement evaluation on different surfaces, flexion tests, palpation of the limbs and back and hoof assessment with hoof testers. Whether you have a competition horse looking to perform its best, or a retired pleasure horse seeking improved comfort in their day to day, the soundness exam helps us to identify potential causes of lameness before they become a serious problem for your horse.

➡️ Contact us to discuss spring care for your horse with a wellness plan tailored to them.

✉️ [email protected]
📞 902-580-2966

03/15/2024

Kick starting our spring marathon of dentals and vaccinations with the wonderful horses of Halifax Lancers!! Check out Frost in the video - he has a cute little moustache!

03/14/2024

Hi Everybody! Check out this free webinar for horse owners on Conquering Equine Emergencies!

This webinar is a valuable resource for horse owners of all experience levels so you can be better prepared to handle unexpected situations and make informed decisions under pressure.

In this informative session, Drs. Allie Catalino, Racquel Lindroth, and Nikki Scherrer will discuss how horse owners can prepare themselves for equine veterinary emergencies. They will also briefly discuss the most common equine emergencies that are seen.

Please note that this educational session is free but registration is required; attendees are also encouraged to submit their questions in advance through the registration form.

➡️ https://aaep.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=098934c9131c3fad1fa75df6c&id=0d17067238&e=d8fdddddaa

03/12/2024

Maritime Equine is excited to introduce you to our new Equine veterinarian, Dr. Emily Comstock. Dr. Emily joined us in October and we are so fortunate to have her!

Dr. Emily Comstock started riding horses at the age of 10 and grew up as an active member of her local equine 4-H club in Barre, Vermont. She completed her BS in Natural Science from Lyndon State College in 2010, and then attended the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island, where she received her DVM in 2015. Emily went on to complete an internship in equine medicine and surgery at the Vermont Large Animal Clinic in Milton, VT, from June 2015 - June 2016.
After completing her internship, Dr. Emily went into private practice and eventually started her own ambulatory large animal service based in central VT, called Maple Hill Veterinary Service. After 6 years in practice for herself, she decided to close that chapter, in order to be closer to the ocean and lifelong friends, once again.
Emily's main interests in equine practice include preventative care, internal medicine, dentistry, lameness, and neonatology. She is happy to be here and have the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Jordan.
In her free time, Dr. Emily enjoys being in nature, and spending quality time with family and friends.