Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services

09/09/2024

Help us wish Allie a Happy Belated Birthday! 🎉⭐

If you've ever had the pleasure of meeting Allie, you know she is a beaming ray of sunshine! Allie loves critters of all shapes and sizes, is an amazing asset to our team, and is always willing to help out. We hope you had a great birthday Allie!

09/09/2024

⏰Time takes a toll on all of us, but how should we care for our senior equine?

Fiddler (pictured below) is thriving at 34 years young! Dr. Hood is proactive in her dental care and nutritional needs in her older years. Diagnosing and managing her PPID was an important factor to make sure she receives the proper medications (Prascend) to thrive through her thirties!

🥕Good nutrition is vital for horses of all ages, but as they age their dentition and digestive systems become less efficient. Hormonal and metabolic changes affect their ability to digest and absorb essential nutrients in the feed. Many older horses do great with complete feeds with built-in forage that are specially formulated for senior horse needs. Easy-to-chew forage such as chopped hay or soaked cubes are also a great choice.

🦷When your horse’s mouth is comfortable and they are able to chew their feed properly, they will not only get more nutrients from their feed, but will also be less likely to choke or colic. Regular dentistry is especially important for our senior friends, since dental disease is common (periodontal disease, fractured teeth, etc.). Your veterinarian can identify things before they cause significant weight loss that is difficult to reverse in an elderly patient.

📋 Annual wellness exams are essential for your veterinarian to assess your senior horses condition. Bloodwork can also be done to detect any underlying conditions or metabolic disease.

09/06/2024

The fall season will be here before we know it!🍂That means it's time to schedule your horses’ fall vaccines!🍁

Consider adding the botulism vaccine to your fall vaccine schedule this year!

Botulism is a disease of muscle paralysis that is often fatal, caused by the consumption of a toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Treatment requires intensive hospitalization at the first signs of intoxication. Clostridium botulinum can be found in decomposing animals found in the hay, but it can also be found in decomposing plant material or just in the environment, so horses can still be at risk even if they aren't fed round bales.

09/04/2024

If your donkey is small enough to snuggle... Dr. Nickels is going to snuggle it😝💙

09/02/2024

Happy Labor Day💙

Miamitown Equine is closed today, September 2nd, 2024. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 3rd with normal business hours.

As always, there is a doctor on call covering emergencies for our current patients (wellness exam within the last 12 months).

08/30/2024

Haul-ins make us happy😃

Many clients are loving the convenience, and saving on the farm call fee! We are loving helping more horses and getting them fit into the schedule sooner due to the increased efficiency- having patients haul in saves us on average 1-2 HOURS of driving per day, sometimes more! During this equine vet shortage, efficiency is key so that we can continue to provide top-notch care. Having a climate controlled exam room with stocks is a great bonus too 😎

Don’t worry, if you are an active client of our practice and you are within our farm call radius, we are still happy to see your horses at your farm for both routine and emergency care. But if you would like to save the farm call fee, come on down and see us at one of our new haul-in clinics! We are accepting new patients as well.

Main Office:
10995 State Route 128 Harrison, OH 45030
Haul-In appointments available Mon-Fri and after hours emergencies for current patients

Satellite Location in Milan, IN:
Based out of a private farm located ~8 min between the intersections of 48 & 101 and 101 & 350
Haul-In appointments on Wednesdays

08/28/2024

Do you know what’s better than 1 donkey?… 3 donkeys of course!!
Did you know donkeys need regular dentistry just like our horses? They actually often have dental disease, so make sure they aren't left out! 🫏 🐴

🦷 Routine examination by a veterinarian will help detect dental disease and other health problems early - before they threaten the well-being of your equine. Veterinarians consider oral care as part of the overall "big picture" of your equine's health. We recommend a complete assessment that is performed with the use of sedation, mouth speculum, bright light, and mirror/picks/probe similar to what human dentists use (just bigger!). This allows us to thoroughly inspect every single tooth and the surrounding soft tissues of the oral cavity.

📞Give our office a call to help you schedule all of your equine dentistry needs!

08/26/2024

Happy Birthday Abby!

The Miamitown Equine team would not be complete without our Registered Vet Tech Abby! She is dedicated, hardworking, strong, caring and we are so lucky to have her on our team! Everyone help us show Abby some love today on her special day🩵

08/23/2024

Happy Fact Friday! Have you ever experienced a horse choke?

⭐️Choke is when feed forms a blockage in a horse's esophagus. The most common sign of choke is feed material coming from the nostrils after a grain meal. Horses may also hypersalivate, gag/retch, not want to eat, act colicky, or cough.
❓What causes choke? The leading cause of choke is when horses eat their grain meal too quickly, not allowing the grain time to be softened with saliva. Unsoaked beet pulp, hay cubes and hay pellets are also guilty in causing chokes in our equine friends!
❗️What do I do if my horse is choking? Call your veterinarian- choke is an emergency! It is important to take away food and water, keep your horse in a quiet area without stimulation and encourage your horse to relax and lower its head- do not do anything to stimulate your horse and cause them to raise their head.

❌‼️DO NOT stick a hose or any other liquid in your horse's mouth to try to clear the choke yourself! This can cause life-threatening aspiration pneumonia!

08/22/2024

PSA- Don’t forget to fully pat the doctor down before they leave incase they are hiding treats in their tote!🧐

08/20/2024

Cute new patient alert!! 😍

This adorable guy became established as a new patient with our practice today. 🌟 🎉

Wondering what to expect at a new patient appointment? First, your horse will receive a wellness examination to assess their general health and identify any health issues. The doctor will ask questions and discuss health history, diet, and preventative care such as vaccinations and dentistry. Then, any other services or consultations can be performed.

This annual exam will establish your horse as a current patient of our practice, which means they will also be covered by our emergency services. An annual exam is required within the last 12 months to be considered a current patient, so it's important to remember to keep your horse's veterinary relationship up-to-date.

08/20/2024

Team Tuesday!💙
If you haven’t had the chance to meet our newest team member Kaylee, you’re missing out😉 Kaylee is not only Lara’s right hand woman in the office but she also helps the doctors out on farm calls! She’s a woman of many talents⭐️

08/16/2024

☔️On rainy Fridays, it only seems necessary to roll in all the mud puddles!
Is anyone else’s horses enjoying the rain today?🌧️

08/15/2024

We want to hear from you!📣

Is there a horse health topic you would like us to answer and share on our social media? Let us know!

Comment your topics below!

08/13/2024

📣The next Vet-Farrier Day, in partnership with the A5A Farm and Mark Franks Farrier Service, is on Tuesday September 10th!🐴
Vet-Farrier Day combines the knowledge and experience of Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services and Mark Franks BWFA Certified Farrier who apply their expertise to your horse's specific podiatry needs.
Real time digital radiographs, veterinarian guided recommendations & expert farrier work all provided at one appointment!
We host these clinics on a 6 week rotation, so even if you cant make it this time but want more information for our next Vet-Farrier Day, call 513-715-2600 to be added to our emailing list.

08/07/2024

Join us in wishing Dr. Nickels a very Happy Birthday!!

If you've had the pleasure of working with Dr. Nickels, you know that she is a hard working, dedicated, compassionate woman who deserves to have an awesome (& relaxing) day! Happy Birthday Dr. Nickels! 🥳🎉

08/05/2024

⭐️Did you know that Miamitown Equine offers Shock Wave Therapy?

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) uses high-energy sound waves to stimulate cells and release healing growth factors. This reduces inflammation and swelling, increases blood flow, and helps bones and soft tissues heal.

This minimally invasive, low risk therapy can treat:
-Tendon & Ligament Injuries: improves speed of healing and quality of tissue repair
-Bone fractures: accelerates cellular bone production at the injury site for faster & more complete healing
-Osteoarthritis/Joint Disease: reduces inflammation & help manage chronic pain
-Navicular Disease: reduces inflammation, decreasing lameness & pain
-Back Pain/Kissing Spine: can be used as a maintenance therapy for long-term relief and improved mobility

Call or text 513-715-2600 to schedule!

08/01/2024

Miamitown Equine is now offering gastroscopy (scoping for stomach ulcers)! This service can be performed as a haul-in appointment or farm call.

Signs that your horse may have ulcers:
-Irritability, such as ear pinning when grooming or girth tightening
-Kicking out or resistance to go forward under saddle
-Cribbing, weaving, pawing or other stress related habits
-Intermittent colic
-Loss of appetite, changes in body condition
-Poor performance or just "not quite right"

Stomach ulcers are a very common source of underlying pain in the horse. At our recent gastroscopy clinic, all 11 of the horses attending were diagnosed with ulcers, ranging from mild to severe. Accurate diagnosis with a scope is critical, because there are different treatments needed for different types of ulcers. With treatment and management changes, horses are happier and healthier!

To schedule an appointment, call or text 513-715-2600.

07/29/2024

Our clinic was sent this unsigned letter today.

Do you wonder why equine vets are leaving the profession at staggering rates, and there is an extreme shortage? This. Right. Here.

$150,000-$200,000 of veterinary school student debt is common. Equine vets have lower salaries and longer, less predictable work hours compared to small animal colleagues. We love horses so much that we have dedicated our lives to helping them. Yes, we absolutely do need to have that "almighty dollar" to pay our student loans, stock our truck with meds and equipment to help the horses that horse who colics at 11pm (right when we are climbing into bed!), and to pay our wonderful, dedicated employees who deserve to be compensated for their hard work.

Wellness/preventative care services (annual exams, vaccinations, dentistry) are the bread and butter of an equine general practice. The revenue from those services is the reason that we are able to financially support having 3 trucks stocked and ready to go, with one of our three veterinarians always on call 24/7/365 to help our current patients in an emergency. If everyone ordered vaccines from a magazine and never involved their vet in preventative care, only calling in an emergency, vets would need to charge 10x as much for emergency services just to keep their practice afloat. (Not to mention that the annual exam is so important, and always saves money in the long run when we can catch problems early.) Please use your vet for routine care if you expect them to be available for emergencies.

Do you wonder why veterinarians end their own lives at 4 times the rate of the general population?

After dedicating our lives to helping horses, spending 8 years studying in college and vet school, sacrificing family time to be out on cold rainy nights tending to emergencies after already long, hard days, and then being told we don't have a heart and don't really want to help animals....THAT is the problem.

I considered just throwing this letter in the trash without giving it much thought. Our clients are wonderful, appreciative, and I know that we make a difference in their horses' lives, so I can shrug it off. But what if the person who received this letter was in mental distress after losing a patient that they tried everything to save, and this letter pushed them over the edge to quit, or worse? The reason I decided to post this is because this is not an isolated incident. Reviews like this are posted every single day directed at all types of vet practices, or it's an off-handed comment at the barn about vets just being in it for the money. If you hear those comments, please don't let it go- speak up for your vet's sake. This has GOT to stop. Or there will be none of us left.

07/26/2024

We have the best clients! Keeping our sweet tooth alive on a farm call packed Friday is what keeps us going🍪💙

07/22/2024

Did you know overuse of dewormers can actually make dewormers less effective? This is called parasite resistance and it's become a real and growing concern in recent years.
🦠Fecal egg counts are essential in order to reveal the type and number of parasites present in your horse.
If you’re still doing rotational deworming every 2-3 months, your farm likely has dewormer resistance. Strategic deworming is key in the battle against parasite resistance, so we encourage you to consult your veterinarian to develop a deworming and testing plan and ensure dewormers remain effective for future generations of horses🐴

07/17/2024

Miamitown Equine is now offering gastroscopy (scoping for stomach ulcers)! This service can be performed as a haul-in appointment or farm call.

Signs that your horse may have ulcers:
-Irritability, such as ear pinning when grooming or girth tightening
-Kicking out or resistance to go forward under saddle
-Cribbing, weaving, pawing or other stress related habits
-Intermittent colic
-Loss of appetite, changes in body condition
-Poor performance or just "not quite right"

Stomach ulcers are a very common source of underlying pain in the horse. At our recent gastroscopy clinic, all 11 of the horses attending were diagnosed with ulcers, ranging from mild to severe. Accurate diagnosis with a scope is critical, because there are different treatments needed for different types of ulcers. With treatment and management changes, horses are happier and healthier!

To schedule an appointment, call or text 513-715-2600.

07/15/2024

It’s Potomac Horse Fever season—consider a summer booster this month for optimal protection. This is an optional booster for increased protection during the peak transmission season of summer/early fall. It is recommended for horses who have not received the Potomac Horse Fever vaccine within the past 2 months (horses who get their spring vaccines early in the year).

🐴 PHF is a serious (potentially fatal) disease that is diagnosed in this area every year, affecting horses of all ages, breeds, and lifestyles - even those who never leave the farm.
💧 Horses can contract PHF by ingesting mayflies and/or caddisflies, which are infected with Neorickettsia risticii. These aquatic insects are abundant in the natural environment near creeks and ponds, but can also be attracted to stable lights and accumulate in water troughs/buckets or feed.
🌡️ Clinical signs include fever, diarrhea, lethargy, and laminitis.
🏥 PHF is treatable, but often requires hospitalization for intensive treatment. Severe cases have a poor prognosis.
☀️ Cases are most common in the summer and early fall.
💉 Vaccination will usually prevent disease, and if they do contract it they typically get a milder case. However, this vaccine does not produce high immunity like the West Nile, EEE, WEE, Tetanus, and Rabies vaccines do - the immunity is not as strong and doesn't last as long. For this reason, we recommend an additional summer booster for better protection.
💉 Annual spring vaccination is recommended for all equines in this area. For extra protection, a booster vaccine can be given 3-4 months after the spring vaccine, typically around July.

📞 To schedule a Potomac Horse Fever booster, please schedule online at miamitownequine.com or call/text 513-715-2600.

07/13/2024

It’s time to schedule summer vaccine boosters for Potomac Horse Fever!

IMPORTANT!!

Potomac Horse Fever is here, and is in full swing. As with a variety of other diseases, due to the continual change in climate, we are seeing it hit hard this year.

We have had multiple VACCINATED horses (single dose) become severely affected and crash quickly, despite aggressive intervention.

PLEASE:
1. We strongly recommend 3x per year vaccination to provide as much immunity as possible. If your horses have not been vaccinated for PHF within the last 3 months, please contact us or your regular veterinarian.

2. PHF often shows up as a "fever of unknown origin" that comes and then goes away before other clinical signs are noted. The time of that fever is the time to start treating. Please do not ignore a fever, or think that since it was gone the next day your horse is fine. All horses with fevers should be evaluated by a veterinarian, with bloodwork done if deemed necessary.

3. ALL horses in NE Indiana are at risk. Especially with the changing climate, there are a lot more places for these bugs to survive and reproduce. Even if you don't have a natural water source on your property, please consider standing puddles, water troughs, and buckets as potential sources and get your animals vaccinated.

If you have any questions about PHF, or any concerns about your horse, please do not hesitate to contact us or your regular veterinarian.

07/12/2024

We have been busy at both of our haul-in clinics! Many clients are loving the convenience, and saving on the farm call fee.

These outpatient facilities, equipped with an examination area and stocks, allow us to see patients more efficiently (and safely) and increase appointment availability. It also enables us to care for patients from areas outside of our farm call radius that may not have a local equine vet due to the shortage. (To read more about the equine vet shortage, click here: https://thehorse.com/features/where-have-all-the-horse-vets-gone/ )

Don’t worry, if you are an active client of our practice and you are within our farm call radius, we are still happy to see your horses at your farm for both routine and emergency care. But if you would like to save the farm call fee, come on down and see us at one of our new haul-in clinics! We are accepting new patients as well.

Main Office:
10995 State Route 128 Harrison, OH 45030
Haul-In appointments available Mon-Fri and after hours emergencies for current patients

Satellite Location in Milan, IN:
Based out of a private farm located ~8 min between the intersections of 48 & 101 and 101 & 350
Haul-In appointments on Wednesdays

Check out the services we offer on our website: miamitownequine.com

07/12/2024

📣The next Vet-Farrier Day, in partnership with the A5A Farm and Mark Franks Farrier Service, is on Tuesday July 30th!🐴

Vet-Farrier Day combines the knowledge and experience of Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services and Mark Franks BWFA Certified Farrier who apply their expertise to your horse's specific podiatry needs.

Real time digital radiographs, veterinarian guided recommendations & expert farrier work all provided at one appointment!

We host these clinics on a 6 week rotation, so even if you cant make it this time but want more information for our next Vet-Farrier Day, call 513-715-2600 to be added to our emailing list.

07/12/2024

07/11/2024

Miamitown Equine is now offering gastroscopy (scoping for stomach ulcers)! This service can be performed as a haul-in appointment or farm call.

Signs that your horse may have ulcers:
-Irritability, such as ear pinning when grooming or girth tightening
-Kicking out or resistance to go forward under saddle
-Cribbing, weaving, pawing or other stress related habits
-Intermittent colic
-Loss of appetite, changes in body condition
-Poor performance or just "not quite right"

Stomach ulcers are a very common source of underlying pain in the horse. At our recent gastroscopy clinic, all 11 of the horses attending were diagnosed with ulcers, ranging from mild to severe. Accurate diagnosis with a scope is critical, because there are different treatments needed for different types of ulcers. With treatment and management changes, horses are happier and healthier!

To schedule an appointment, call or text 513-715-2600.

Developing lifelong partnerships with equines and their owners in the Greater Cincinnati area.

07/04/2024

❤️🤍💙Happy Fourth of July!

Miamitown Equine is closed today, July 4th 2024. We will reopen on Friday, July 5th with normal business hours.

As always, there is a doctor on call covering emergencies for our current patients (wellness exam within the last 12 months).