Hawk's Ridge Veterinary Services

05/26/2024

Dan Patch (April 29, 1896 – July 11, 1916) was a noted American Standardbred pacer. At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity. He was undefeated in open competition, and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him. Instead, he ended his racing career performing time trials, and traveled extensively on exhibition, earning millions of dollars in purses.

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving 🍁 🍁🦃 🍽 🦃 to all our friends and family and clients!!!

11/09/2023

The term "fat leg" is pretty self-explanatory, but do you know the difference between stocking up and cellulitis?

Many horses will "stock up" with subcutaneous edema (fluid swelling) in two or more legs (usually the hind limbs). Stocking up generally results from a significant decrease in exercise and usually resolves as the horse starts exercising again.

Lymphangitis (or vasculitis, big leg disease, staph infection, or cellulitis), however, is a bacterial infection and a dramatically different condition. While its causes may vary, it’s easy to spot once it sets in: the swelling will be extreme, hot and very painful to the touch, and the horse will be depressed due to the fever and discomfort.

If you think your equine friend has cellulitis or even if you're not sure, we encourage you to seek professional help promptly. Your horse doctor will make the best treatment recommendations, both to reduce swelling and to address any sort of bacterial infection that might be active or that could occur due to the edema in the soft tissue.

Read more on our website at https://aaep.org/horsehealth/lymphangitis-frustrating-condition

05/17/2023

As of June 11, 2023 all medically important antibiotics approved for use in animals (both companion and food-producing) will only be available from a veterinarian or with a prescription. The intent of this legislation is to ensure that these drugs are used under veterinary supervision (appropriate uses, dosages, and duration of treatment) to reduce the chance for development of antimicrobial resistance to these drugs in **both animals and humans.**

To obtain these drugs, you will need a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) with a licensed veterinarian. In most states, this means that a veterinarian has examined your animal or herd within the past year.

Drug access is just one of MANY reasons to have a valid VCPR. Having a proactive relationship with your veterinarian may reduce the overall need for emergency visits and increase the veterinarian’s ability to treat and prescribe medications for your animal over the phone if/when an in-person visit isn't possible.

We encourage you to establish a good relationship with a veterinarian now, before an emergency occurs or before you need access to drugs that are no longer available over the counter.

04/23/2023

Good story! Just a tip of the iceberg for all the horses and people who work so hard!

03/23/2023

Here is some very timely and important information courtesy of the horse doctors at Pine Ridge Equine Hospital :

As we are in the midst of foaling season, let’s talk about what is normal and abnormal. The placenta is made up of two major parts: the red bag (chorioallantois) and the white bag (amnion). The red bag attaches to the uterine wall, which allows the exchange of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. In a normal delivery the amnion is visible and characterized by a white appearance. A red bag delivery is characterized by a red velvety appearance.

A red bag delivery is considered an EMERGENCY as it signifies premature separation of the placenta leading to a lack of oxygen to the fetus so **you need to intervene immediately.** The red placental membrane should be opened carefully to release fluid, the foal should be delivered/pulled with your assistance and then stimulated to breathe. Foals may develop problems associated with lack of oxygen even though they appear normal at birth.

If your mare is having or had a red bag delivery, you need to call your horse doctor ASAP!

02/13/2023

: Being able to assess your equine friend's weight and body condition is a valuable skill, especially during the winter months when horses (particularly older horses) need to generate more heat to stay warm and may hide their weight loss under a fluffy coat.

The Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart is an important tool that provides a standard scoring system by rating the horse's physical condition on visual appraisal and palpation (feel) of six key conformation points: the amount of flesh or fat covering along the neck; the withers; down the crease of the back; at the tailhead; ribs: and behind the shoulder at the girth.

A body condition score of somewhere between 4 and 6 is ideal for most horses. However, keep in mind that in some disciplines (like racing, polo and eventing) and some life stages (like pregnancy) a higher or lower body score might be more appropriate.

If you think your horse is too fat or too thin (or even if you can't quite decide), be sure to have a chat with your veterinarian to discuss the appropriate condition and feeding program for your equine friend!

02/13/2023

Score!!!

01/23/2023

On average horses drink 7-10 gallons of water a day and this remains as important in cold weather as it is in the summer because reduced water intake can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as the dreaded impaction colic.

Studies demonstrate that horses will drink more if provided access to heated water and that most water consumption happens within three hours of feeding. How can you use this information to your advantage? Refill buckets at feed time with warm water to maximize your horse’s water intake—especially in the winter when water is more likely to be freezing or close to freezing.

As always, if you have any questions or would like to learn more about preventing colic in your horse, your equine veterinarian remains your best source of information!
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Brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

01/07/2023

We are excited to announce our Annual Horsemen's Social. Mark your calendars, and come join us for a great night filled with our community's finest Horsemen.

01/06/2023

Foaling season is upon us! Is your foaling kit stocked and ready to go?

If this is your first foaling or you don’t know where to start, the graphic below lists a few essentials for you to include. Having these items ready several weeks before your mare’s due date will mean less stress and scrambling at the last minute trying to acquire what you need.

As always, your veterinarian is your best source of information. Consult your horse doctor for additional recommendations and for training on how to properly use these tools to assist your mare during and after delivery!

08/24/2022

We continue the discussion on the grading of a sales yearling’s airway and why a consistent scoring system is needed. The grading of airways is to a large d...

04/23/2022

Happy !

Our planet is certainly blessed with lots of incredible species, but let’s not forget that not all of them mix successfully. For example, did you know that the plants listed below (many of which are extremely common) are toxic to horses?

The good news is that a 1,000-pound horse has to consume significantly higher quantities of a toxic plant than a smaller animal to be affected clinically. However, some plants are cause for concern since even a curious nibble or repeated browsing over several weeks or months can lead to serious illness or even death. Therefore, it’s in your horse’s best interest that you learn to recognize poisonous plants so they can be promptly removed from your horse-keeping areas.

If you suspect your horse has ingested a poisonous plant:
• Remove the horse from the source.
• Contact your veterinarian immediately.
• Attempt to determine how much of the toxic plant was eaten and when it was eaten.

Pro tip: another commonly overlooked reason a horse may become poisoned, is allowing horses to graze a pasture after it has been sprayed with herbicide but before the weeds have died and disappeared.

As always, contact your veterinarian for more information and guidance!

03/27/2022

Equine Practice faces a shortage of veterinarians in the coming years as current veterinarians approach retirement and less veterinary graduates enter and stay in the field of practice.

****EDIT: Now that our stories are gone and this post is still being shared, we figured we should update the post and share the background information.

While there is a larger number of veterinary students graduating each year, fewer are entering and staying in equine or large animal practice. Of graduating veterinarians, 1-3% will enter equine practice and of those 30% will leave equine practice within 5 years of graduation. The reasons are multifactorial but the biggest issues specific to equine and large animal practice are the salary disparity and debt:income ratio compared to small animal practice, particularly relative to lifestyle. The long hours, afterhours on call, and 24/7 access by text and cell are just a few of the factors that make small animal more appealing. If your veterinarian is sticking around in equine or large animal -- know that it's because they're passionate about the profession, love what they do, and enjoy working with the horses. Help them enjoy a full life by supporting their efforts to take time away from work. ❤️

As clients, you can help promote a healthy lifestyle fo veterinarians and veterinary staff in equine practice. How?
1. Recognize the industry must change with respect to expectations of your veterinarians time and availability. Think about it, do you have 24/7/365 direct phone access to your family doctor? Understand that you may not always see your veterinarian on emergency but another vet whom they work with.
2. Respect the boundaries that your veterinarian establishes to having time outside of being a veterinarian and value that time. Veterinarians having private time to rest and recharge means they're a better vet when you really need them! Consider whether that text is really necessary or if it can wait until business hours or better yet, be an email.
3. Utilize your veterinarians for routine preventative healthcare. Preventative healthcare and routine examinations by your veterinarian can go a long way to avoiding emergencies AND having an established relationship with your veterinarian can make it much easier to get emergency care when you really need it.

What other ideas do you have in how clients can help encourage retention of veterinarians in equine practice? What questions do you have regarding the crisis in veterinary medicine?

02/02/2022

Itty Bitty Camp Ages 4-6. Monday to Friday 9:00 am-Noon. Cost: $275/week. Week 1: July 5-8 Week 2: August 1-5
The focus of this camp is to help the younger crew become comfortable around horses while learning how to ride using balance and posture drills and eventually, steering through obstacles on their own. This is a great booster to self-esteem and building confidence! EACH HORSE WILL HAVE A WALKER BESIDE IT!!

10/03/2021

Well said😍

A thought-provoking read.
By Jane Smiley
Most horses pass from one human to another - some horsemen and women are patient and forgiving, others are rigorous and demanding, others are cruel, others are ignorant.
Horses have to learn how to, at the minimum, walk, trot, canter, gallop, go on trails and maybe jump, to be treated by the vet, all with sense and good manners.
Talented Thoroughbreds must learn how to win races, and if they can't do that, they must learn how to negotiate courses and jump over strange obstacles without touching them, or do complicated dance
like movements or control cattle or accommodate severely handicapped children and adults in therapy work.
Many horses learn all of these things in the course of a single lifetime. Besides this, they learn to understand and fit into the successive social systems of other horses they meet along the way.
A horse's life is rather like twenty years in foster care, or in and out of prison, while at the same time changing schools over and over and discovering that not only do the other students already have their own social groups, but that what you learned at the old school hasn't much application at the new one.
We do not require as much of any other species, including humans.
That horses frequently excel, that they exceed the expectations of their owners and trainers in such circumstances, is as much a testament to their intelligence and adaptability as to their relationship skills or their natural generosity or their inborn nature. That they sometimes manifest the same symptoms as abandoned orphans - distress, strange behaviors, anger, fear - is less surprising than that they usually don't.
No one expects a child, or even a dog to develop its intellectual capacities living in a box 23 hours a day and then doing controlled exercises the remaining one.
Mammal minds develop through social interaction and stimulation.
A horse that seems "stupid", "slow", "stubborn", etc. might just have not gotten the chance to learn!
Take care of your horses and treasure them.

08/24/2021

This tick has been hanging around for us to show people for a while. After months in a sealed container with no additional feeding she laid eggs. This gives you an idea of how long a tick can be dormant and how many eggs one female can lay. Remember ticks bloom again in the fall so keep up with prevention.

08/04/2021

08/01/2021

From https://everythinghorseuk.co.uk/

Thelwell Movie Sets To Bring Cartoon To Life
A Thelwell movie sets to bring the cartoon to life, and the franchise are now on the hunt for the starring roles!

Norman Thelwell is best known for his hilarious cartoons of little girls on plump ponies. First featured in Punch Magazine in the 1960’s, the cartoon is now making its way to the silver screen.

Striking a deal to transform the cartoon into a live-action feature film, the Thelwell family hope that the deal will breathe life into the beloved cartoon and attract a new generation of Thelwell lovers.

So, the search has been launched for a girl to play the enthusiastic rider, Penelope. Meanwhile, a cheeky pony is also being headhunted for the movie to play the rebellious, Merrylegs.

The casting team are looking out for Shetlands and Welsh Mountain ponies to be cast as Merrylegs. It is encouraged that anyone who thinks they have a pony that would make the perfect Merrylegs should contact the production company, Blenheim Films.

The film will be called Merrylegs: The Movie and will be set in the foothills of Snowdonia, North Wales. Filming will begin later this year.

Recently speaking to the Telegraph, Penny, Thelwell’s daughter and inspiration for the main character of his cartoons, explained the shift from paper to screen;

There are a lot of fans who say, ‘My grandmother gave the book to my mother, they’re in the attic somewhere.’ And there are a lot of people who like to follow his work, and they know the ponies, but they don’t know the name ‘Thelwell’.”

“They know the designs but the name has become a bit of a thing of the past so it’s a wonderful way to bring it back to a new generation while being very nostalgic for the people who grew up with it.”

06/26/2021

10 TIPS FOR PREVENTING COLIC!

Colic is not a disease, but rather a combination of signs that alert us to abdominal pain in the horse. Colic can range from mild to severe, but it should never be ignored. Many of the conditions that cause colic can become life threatening in a relatively short period of time. Only by quickly and accurately recognizing colic – and seeking qualified veterinary help – can the chance for recovery be maximized.

Virtually any horse is susceptible to colic; while equines seem predisposed to colic due to the anatomy and function of their digestive tracts, management still plays a key role in prevention. And although not every case is avoidable, the guidelines listed in the graphic can maximize your horse’s health and reduce the risk of colic.

For more information about colic prevention and treatment, consult your equine veterinarian. Additional colic information is available on our website at aaep.org

03/30/2021

We had to send in reinforcements.