McNall Veterinary Service

05/08/2023

Don’t forget to check eyelid color on your small ruminants!

03/14/2023

This series of photos from PennState illustrates the process of rumen development in dairy calves.

Calves must transition from a simple-stomached animal that digests milk to a ruminant that digests solid feed. The goal is to have a more fully developed rumen before weaning calves off milk. By feeding starter and a little roughage before calves are weaned, they are better prepared (rumen is more developed) to digest the nutrients of solid food once it becomes their sole food source. Promoting rumen development before weaning is key to ensuring the calf is ready to transition to solid feed without experiencing a lag in growth.

Ensuring calves have fully developed rumens sets them up for success.

Source: https://extension.psu.edu/photos-of-rumen-development

03/09/2023

Great info on bottle babies from Dr. Katelyn from Oak Hammock Large Animal Veterinary Services

03/04/2023

02/03/2023

FAMACHA training at UF

01/27/2023

EOTRH “carrot test”

01/13/2023

Take a few minutes and watch this video. Then share it far and wide, for the sake of our horses and equine vets across the US.

01/08/2023

Insulin dysregulation is the leading cause of laminitis in horses. Wouldn’t you like to know if your horse is at risk? Wellness Ready Insulin Test gives us stall side results. We are excited to offer this screening and monitoring tool!

01/05/2023

Happy New Year! McNall Veterinary Service is starting dental month early! We are offering 10% off all equine dentistry services through the months of January and February. Please text 352-358-7123 or email [email protected] to make an appointment.

09/09/2022

Body condition scoring is a great tool and part of every exam we perform.

: Being able to assess your equine friend's weight and body condition is a valuable skill, especially as we head into the colder months. A horse with good body weight will fare better in winter weather than a horse on the skinny side, particularly if it’s an older horse.

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 are unsure), have a chat with your veterinarian to discuss the appropriate condition and a feeding and exercise program for your animal!
•
•

07/21/2022

How long are they? Reportedly an astonishing 23 inches, which might qualify the kid for a Guinness World Record.. But some goat gurus say the floppy ears should be trimmed for the animal's well-being.

07/14/2022

An expert in equine thermoregulation is attempting to bust some of the myths spread about cooling horses. Although most people seem to agree that water is key in reducing temperature, many still say, incorrectly, that the water must be scraped off – with many often insisting that leaving a horse w...

07/02/2022

Have you been waiting longer than usual for an open appointment with your veterinarian or been unable to access after-hours services for your horse? The shortage of equine veterinarians in the U.S. is likely the cause. Many veterinary practices have too few horse doctors to service all their clients.

Why? Only about 6% of new veterinary graduates annually enter equine practice. After five years, 50% of these young veterinarians leave for small animal practice or quit veterinary medicine altogether. The primary reasons are the personal demands of the profession and equine practice’s lower starting salaries. Many new veterinarians begin their career with more than $200,000 in student loan debt, making an equine position with lower compensation often unthinkable. When financial concerns are combined with the always present demands of emergency coverage, many equine veterinarians choose to leave for a healthier way of life.

The good news is that the AAEP along with private veterinary practices and veterinary schools are addressing the pain points which have led to the current crisis. But the solution is complex and will require the support and collaboration of every person in the equine industry — including horse owners. As we work to improve the profession for current and future veterinarians, you have a huge role to play in the much-needed transformation of equine practice. Horse doctors look forward to working together with you for the good of the horse and the sustainability of veterinary care!

06/08/2022

👍👍

Our Dermatology Clinical Trials Team is currently recruiting dogs diagnosed with cutaneous and/or gastrointestinal oomycoses (Pythium, Lagenidium and Paralagenidium) to evaluate the effects on inflammation and immune response from using a heat-killed bacteria treatment.

If you are interested in finding out more about this study, follow this link for more information: https://research.vetmed.ufl.edu/clinical-trials/small-animal/intradermal-immunotherapy-with-a-heat-killed-actinomycetales-bacterin-preparation-as-adjunctive-treatment-for-canine-pythiosis-a-multicentric-randomized-controlled-clinical-trial/

Pictured is Dr. Santoro and Scout, a 7-year-old yellow lab, who completed the study and is currently in disease remission!

06/01/2022

WE DID IT AGAIN!! Genetic testing for risk of degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) in the Peruvian Horse is here

Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis (DSLD) is an important problem in several horse breeds including the Peruvian Horse, the Paso Fino, the Warmblood, and the Akhal-Teke breeds. Through genome-wide association study research over several years, we are now exceptionally pleased to announce the availability of a genetic screening test for risk of DSLD in the Peruvian Horse. This is a marker-based risk test because DSLD is a polygenic complex disease with moderate heritability. For more information, please visit our new website.

https://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/lab/corl/equine-genetic-testing/

We are extremely grateful to the community that we work with for their support. Please look out for future updates on progress with this program, as we are now focusing effort on extending this DSLD genetic testing to other high-risk breeds including the Paso Fino, the Warmblood, and the Akhal-Teke.

Availability of genetic testing.
We are currently setting up this genetic testing service at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison. We anticipate the cost of the marker-based risk test will be ~$330. We welcome expressions of interest or questions about this important development in the Comparative Genetics and Orthopaedic Research Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Please contact us if you are potentially interested in getting your Peruvian Horse tested.

[email protected]

04/07/2022

Now accepting new farrier clients in the north central Florida region!

03/09/2022

On we tip our hat to the women that wear many hats: horse doctors, spouses, mothers, leaders, friends, researchers, trailblazers and so much more. THANK YOU for your ever-growing impact on the health and welfare of the horse and the future of equine practice!

03/05/2022

03/04/2022

We appreciate our clients and their scheduling flexibility. This allows us to plan our day to be more efficient and hopefully prevent having to increase farm/house call fees. We are feeling it financially, as gas prices have literally doubled since MVS opened for business.

03/01/2022

“Something we are eating looks like something in the story”. You’d be surprised how often this actually happens. 🤣

02/22/2022

F***l egg counts for the win!

With spring only one month away (!!), it’s not too early to start thinking about a deworming plan for your horses.

If deworming is something you’ve been doing the same way for as long as you can remember, this year we encourage you to break tradition and work with your veterinarian instead to create a targeted plan for each horse. Before you dismiss this notion because you’ve “been doing it for years,” you should know that the old-school approach to deworming is quickly becoming outdated and is also not sustainable — it’s a waste of money AND it builds drug resistance in the parasitic fauna of equines, which means we are running out of drugs that can effectively help us control parasite infections.

There is no single deworming program that suits all horses and all situations. Your veterinarian can help you devise an appropriate strategy based on the number/ages of the horses on the farm, pasture management and your geographic location.
One of the most useful tools in a parasite control program is the f***l egg count — microscopic examination of fresh manure for parasite eggs. This simple test allows your veterinarian to determine which parasites are present and whether the infection is light, moderate, or heavy. This information is important in choosing the right treatment for your horse and in monitoring the efficacy of the dewormer used last.

Finally, don't rely on dewormers alone when it comes to parasite control. As parasites are primarily transferred through manure, good pasture maintenance and management are also necessary.

For more information, the AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines can be found on our website at https://aaep.org/document/internal-parasite-control-guidelines
As always, consult your equine veterinarian to learn more and for questions specific to your horse(s).

02/15/2022

Info on Botulism.

Information below provided by Dr. Robert MacKay, Dr. Sarah Reuss and Dr. Chris Sanchez of the UF Large Animal Medicine Service. What is botulism? Botulism is a disease caused by ingestion of botulinum toxin, one of the most potent toxins known. It can affect all mammals, however horses are one of th...

02/14/2022

Happy Valentine’s Day!

02/11/2022

20 horses kept on 20 acres. No manure cleanup. No deworming for 40 years. 🧐