Central Florida Equine

11/29/2024

Savings alert!

Trot into the new year with December tune up services to prepare for the Florida winter riding season.

Central Florida Equine is offering for the month of December:

10% off routine dentistry
10% off chiropractic services
10% off Farrier balance hoof radiographs

These discounts are applied per horse and some restrictions apply. Space is limited.

Give the office a call to rein in the savings! 407-322-3864

11/27/2024

The Central Florida Equine Team wishes you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Our office is now closed until Monday, December 2nd but will continue to provide emergency services over the holiday.

11/22/2024

Dr. Lane Torres at Central Florida Equine is accepting new equine and canine patients for chiropractic care!

Almost any horse can benefit from a chiropractic assessment or adjustment, whether for an ongoing medical issue or for general well being.

Give the office a call to set your appointment! Discounts are given to multiple horses seen at 1 location. 407-322-3864

She will be posting information about Chiropractic Medicine in the future so keep an eye out!

10/18/2024

Happy Vet Tech Appreciation Week to Richard, Sarah and Erin! We appreciate all that you do!

10/07/2024

Due to Hurricane Milton, our office will be closed Wednesday Oct 9th and Thursday Oct 10th. Emergency services will continue to be available for established clients. We will return to normal hours Friday Oct 11th. Stay safe everyone!

09/03/2024

Disease alert!!

Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has been reported throughout the state of Florida including Marion, Volusia, Seminole and Lake counties. Is your horse vaccinated??

All Florida equids should be vaccinated for Encephalitis Viruses and West Nile Virus every 6 months due to the high mosquito population and high disease prevalence in this state. This includes horses, miniature horses, donkeys, mules and even zebras! The exceptional amount of rain we have every summer leads to an overabundance of mosquitoes.

The mosquito acquires EEE after it has fed on a bird that is carrying the virus. In the horse, the virus incubates for roughly 1 week before symptoms are seen. Early symptoms are subtle and include fever, depression, stiffness and lack of appetite. Neurological symptoms follow quickly after; such as circling, head pressing, a "sawhorse" stance, irritability toward handlers, acute blindness, abnormal chewing and head tilting. However, some horses may fail to show any signs before suddenly dying.

Because Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a virus, there is no cure for the disease, only prevention. Thankfully the vaccine is highly effective. If a horse does become ill with the virus, supportive care is the only option. However, mortality rates in an unvaccinated horse despite supportive care are 70-90%. Please make sure your horse is immunologically prepared for this disease! If you aren’t sure, please call us and we can check your horse’s records for you.

Dr. Becca Adkins

08/27/2024

Hello everyone!

We hope you are all having a great week so far. As a reminder, our office will be closed on Labor Day, which is September 2nd. We will resume normal office operating hours on September 3rd. Emergency services are still available 24/7 for our established clients.

Have a safe, and great Labor Day weekend!

08/07/2024

Central Florida Equine is excited to introduce our newest team member!

Dr. Rachel Benfield is a Florida native from Brooksville, Fl. She is a “Double Gator” from University of Florida where she earned her Bachelor degree in Animal Sciences and her DVM at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation she practiced in Madison, Ga at an Equine specialty referral hospital before making to migration closer to home. She has a long history of owning and showing Paint horses. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her Corgi, Penny.

Please help us make Dr Benfield welcome!

CFE provides farm call services for dentistry, surgery, and lameness evaluation for all equids.

06/26/2024

Hey y'all, and happy Wednesday!

We hope everyone and their horses are staying cool and hydrated during this crazy weather! I just wanted to let our clients know that our office will be closed July 4th and July 5th for the holiday. Emergency services will still be available.

We will be in office the rest of this week, and until Wednesday of next week, if you need any sedatives, please give me a call or shoot me a text at 407-322-3864, and we will arrange pick up for you! 😀

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!

--Tabitha Marsden

06/07/2024

Happy Tuesday y'all! With the rising temperatures, we wanted to provide an educational post on Anhidrosis. Knowledge is power!

Anhidrosis, or the lack of sweating, is a common problem encountered in the horse population of Florida. Just like humans, horses rely heavily on their body's ability to sweat in order to keep cool. However, the perpetual and excessive heat in Florida can play a damaging role on the horse's ability to sweat.

For a normal horse, the brain senses when the body's temperature is rising and via an intricate hormonal signaling system, causes the skin to release sweat which carries heat to the surface of the skin and then evaporates, taking the heat with it.

When the sweat glands can not respond to the brain, the heat continues to build up in the body. The horses then attempt to "pant" or "blow" in order to cool themselves. Horses are unable to breathe through their mouths normally so they flare their nostrils out and breathe shallowly at a very quick rate. Some owner's report that their horse's appear like they just ran a marathon but haven't left their stall!

The persistent heat in Florida wears out the body's ability to respond to the stimulus to sweat. Researchers are still working on the exact source of where things go wrong but we believe that it is based on the hormones and sweat glands. Some horses can become non-sweaters it seems like overnight. While others gradually reduce their amount of sweating slowly until they completely stop. Some horses can be considered partial non-sweaters if they sweat a bit under their saddle pads but not as much as should be expected. Elderly horse's are prone to anhidrosis, even if they have sweat well all of their lives.

In Florida's extreme heat, a horse's body temperature can climb quickly just by standing in the sun or a warm barn without sufficient airflow. A horse suffering from anhidrosis typically appears dull and uninterested in their surroundings, blowing or painting with flared nostrils, some may develop poor hair coats or lose some areas of hair. Horse's that fail to sweat are at severe risk of heat stress and stroke if their temperature climbs too high. Frequently these horses have a re**al temperature of 103-105 deg F and if their temperatures continue to climb they are at risk for brain and multi-organ damage.

The only known cure for anhidrosis is to relocate the horse to a cooler region. However, even if that horse lives in a cold region for 1 year and experiences cool/cold temperatures during the winter but returns to Florida, those horses frequently stop sweating within 6 months.

Many owner's have attempted a variety of treatments for non-sweaters. This includes Stout beer daily and a variety of supplements. Many owners report favorable results with the One AC supplement. All other treatments are aimed at controlling the horse's body temperature. Keep all non-sweaters in a stall or shade during the day with fans to provide air flow. Frequent cold-water baths to help bring down their temperatures. Sweat scraping after the baths will help remove the water that has heated up on their skin. Body clipping to remove as much hair as possible from the horse's coat can also help. In severe cases, diluting rubbing alcohol in a bucket of water and sponging the mixture over their necks and backs can help dissipate the heat even faster (do not use on their face). Every horse should have clean and inviting water available to them at all times and should have a salt block or given electrolytes.

Once a non-sweating horse has been given a cold water bath, his temperature should begin to return to normal. If it does not, call Central Florida Equine Hospital to make sure that your horse does not have a fever for other reasons!

Dr. Becca Adkins, DVM

03/15/2024

Central Florida Equine is proud to support Silver Sands Bridle Club!

Check out their page to see upcoming events. There is a Dressage show this weekend, March 16-17 and a Jumper show next weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/silversandsbridleclub?mibextid=LQQJ4d

02/22/2024

*** Our phone is back up and running!

Good morning and Happy Friday Eve!

We are currently experiencing loss of service with our phone provider. It is believed to be affecting individuals nationwide.

I have Facebook open, if you have an emergency, please send a message directly to our page and I will get in touch with the doctors.

I will update this post as soon as I know we have our phone back! We apologize for any inconvenience.

--Tabitha Marsden

12/21/2023

Good morning!

We will be closed Friday December 22nd through Monday December 25th. We will re-open on Tuesday, December 26th with normal operating hours. We will be closed Monday, January 1st and will re-open on Tuesday, January 2nd. If anyone needs any medications, please call or text me at the office so we can arrange pick up. Check your stock for sedatives you may need for the New Year holiday.

Emergency services will still be available 24/7 for our established clients.

We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!