Countryside Large Animal Veterinary Services

12/24/2025

UPDATE: We are closed on Christmas Eve too. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

12/19/2025

UPDATE: We will be closed on Christmas Eve too. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

12/07/2025

The Countryside Christmas party!!! Wonderful food and wonderful company.

12/04/2025

We have 2 awesome kids competeing in the Mike and Sherrylynn Johnson's Vegas Tuffest Jr World Championship. Can't wait to watch them go!! Good luck Geesens!!!

12/04/2025

National Western Stock Show is right around the corner!! Be sure to check requirements for your show animals. https://nationalwestern.com/livestock-shows/livestock-exhibitors/premium-book/
ALL Cattle require BVD testing. ALL Animals require an official ID.

2026 Livestock Premium Book and Entry Links. Welcome back to Denver! To elevate the exhibitor experience and hospitality, we continue to use an online entry system. The premium book pages are available online for easy printing and to ensure mobile compatibility. For more information, please review t...

11/27/2025

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? 🦃

11/21/2025

We never get sick of watching this man do his thing. Great rides on 2 great horses Kenny Platt Cutting Horses!!!

11/21/2025

Good information about how the EDCC gets their numbers.

Message to our horse community- As we review our Facebook posts and comments, we’d like to address two of the most common questions posed in our feed:

-1- Why is there lag time between cases reported by the EDCC and sick horses that I know about from my own experience/a friend’s experience/a Facebook friend’s experience?
· The EDCC’s mission is to improve the health and welfare of horses by communicating real time alerts and information to help prevent and mitigate equine infectious diseases. We take this mission- and your trust in us- very seriously, and hold ourselves to the highest possible standard for reporting. This means that we only report cases submitted by a veterinarian or state animal health official. All alerts that are posted are reviewed by our veterinary team to confirm accuracy.
· EHM is a reportable disease. This means that the disease must be reported to the state animal health official once it is confirmed. The state animal health officials then have the task of performing contact tracing and quarantining facilities to prevent spread. In many cases, state veterinarians choose to do contact tracing first before reporting to the EDCC or the public that a case has been confirmed so that a quarantine is in place first, and affected horse owners are the first to know.
· Testing takes time. Sample collection, shipping to a lab, and PCR testing can require hours to days before results are delivered. During large outbreaks, laboratory times can be slower than usual.
· Finally, some horse owners may decline testing- these cases are recorded as suspects if a veterinarian chooses to report them.

-2- What is the difference between EHV-1 and EHM?
· Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is a neurologic manifestation of Equine Herpesvirus infection. The majority of EHM cases are caused by EHV-1.
· While EHV-1 most commonly causes respiratory disease, some strains cause outbreaks of neurologic disease. EHV-1 causes neurologic signs as a result of inflammation of the blood vessels and activation of blood coagulation within the brain and spinal cord. Neurologic signs occur as a result of a lack of blood flow and resulting damage to the brain or spinal cord; this disease manifestation is known as Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM).
· Classic clinical signs of EHM include fever, swelling/stocking up of the limbs, hindlimb weakness, and urine dribbling. Some horses are more severely affected and display behavior changes, signs of cranial nerve dysfunction, seizures, and inability to stand. While EHM is a serious disease, the majority of cases are not fatal. In most outbreaks of EHM, 60-70% of affected horses recover with treatment and supportive care. Veterinary evaluation and isolation of exposed or affected horses is crucial.

11/21/2025

Submit your questions on the EHV-1 and EHM outbreak that has now entered Colorado.

As we continue to monitor the current outbreak of the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus (EHM) infection, let's take this opportunity to discuss once more the importance of biosecurity measures to stop disease spread. We recommend the following biosecurity precautions for horse owners, particularly if their horses have recently traveled to horse shows or were exposed to horses that have traveled:

1) Monitor horses for clinical signs (including fever, discharge from the nostrils, toe-dragging or a lack of balance) and take the temperature twice daily. Temperature greater than 101.5 F is considered a fever.

2) Immediately isolate any horse(s) showing clinical signs. Equine herpesvirus is an aerosolized virus and is spread through shared airspace, direct contact, and contaminated caretakers or equipment. A good isolation area is a separate barn or shelter that does not share airspace with healthy horses.

3) Implement movement restrictions until the situation is evaluated.

4) Contact your veterinarian to evaluate your horse and to propose a comprehensive biosecurity protocol.

5) Increase biosecurity measures that include extensive cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and equipment that come in contact with affected horses: wash or sanitize your hands between interacting with horses; take time while filling water buckets and feed tubs, do not cross contaminate; minimize the use of shared equipment and tack.

6) Make sure your horse is up to date on vaccinations.

7) Establish communication with all parties involved (owners, boarders, trainers, etc.).

More resources and information regarding biosecurity are available on the Equine Disease Communication Center's website at https://equinediseasecc.org/biosecurity

To learn more Equine Herpesvirus (EHV), visit: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/equine-herpesvirus

11/21/2025

What questions do you have on EHV-1/EHM? Biosecurity? We will have Dr. Shoemaker answer on Saturday. Post in the comments or send private messages.

Send a message to learn more

11/21/2025

Who's ready to eat all the Turkey... and then some? 🦃