Rocky River Large Animal Veterinary Clinic

02/04/2025

Everyone welcome “Flash” to the Rocky River Vet crew!! (Yes all our trucks have names) If you see Dr. Featherstone out make sure to say Hi to Flash!

01/31/2025

Check out the latest Rocky River newsletter!

A Happy New Year to you and yours from the team at Rocky River Large Animal. We wanted to use this newsletter to start the year off right and help those of you wanting to have your mare bred this year. Whether you’ve done it countless times, or are new to horse breeding, we hope this newsletter ca...

01/29/2025

While we rely quite heavily on social media to get current information out to our clients, we’d like to remind everyone to visit our website. You’ll find more information about our clinic, staff, services, along with educational resources such as our monthly newsletters.

01/17/2025

Tomorrow, Saturday, 1/18/25 we will be having haul in at the clinic as normal, however we will be closing at 11am instead of 12pm like normal. Please call to get an appointment scheduled. As always we will have a veterinarian on call 24/7.

01/17/2025

The Bovine Practitioner, online first!

Assessing bull breeding soundness exam parameters following vaccination with modified-live or killed vaccine

Jennifer H. Koziol, DVM, MS, DACT; Chance L. Armstrong, DVM, MS, DACT; Blaine T. Johnson, DVM, PhD; Dylan Bostick, BS; Dalton Deckert, BS

Bovine Practitioner Vol. 59, No. 1, 2025 https://doi.org/10.21423/bpj20259038

The Bovine Practitioner is the official publication of The American Association of Bovine Practitioners. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed. The Bovine Practitioner is an open access journal. Articles are printed online first and there are no publication fees. The publication uses an online submission and review process. Print volumes can be purchased. Bovine Practitioner articles can be found online at https://aabp.org under the Publications tab.

01/10/2025

01/06/2025

Luna (Dr.Edgell’s dog) says she’s not ready for this rainy Monday!

01/03/2025

Let's talk cold weather...
How can we keep our horses warm and hydrated during cold weather?
Lets start with keeping them hydrated. Keeping them hydrated is more important then even keeping them warm. A dehydrated horse can become impacted and colic quickly. A couple simple things you can do to make sure they continue to drink when it is cold are:
1.making sure your water is clean (this should happen always)
2.add a tank heater to your throughs or use heated/insulated buckets
3. adding salt to their feed (2-4 tablespoons per 1,100 lb horse)
4. Soaking the horses feed (if they will eat it soaked)
5. Feeding soaked alfalfa cubes/pellets (make sure these are thoroughly soaked to help avoid a choke)
6. If you can't use tank heaters or heated/insulated buckets then make sure you're breaking up any ice in their water several times a day if temps are below freezing.
7. Make sure your water troughs/buckets are full, studies have shown that horses are more likely to drink when their buckets are full.
9. Make "sweet tea" for them to drink, this can be done by adding a hand full of their sweet feed to a water bucket. If you do this make sure they also have access to a plain bucket of water also.

Now for keeping them warm, here are a few things you can do to help:
1. Make sure they have a shelter to get out of the wind and rain (not that they will always use it but make sure they have the option)
2. Free access to hay, digestion helps keep their body temperature up more then you would think.
3. Blankets, only if the horse is used to one for starters, Make sure it fits properly and all buckles are attached correctly and with the correct amount of tension. Blankets are especially beneficial to really old and really young horses, horses that are underweight, horses that have been body clipped, and/or horses that just didn't grow a good winter coat for whatever reason.
5. Make sure they stay dry, getting wet whether it's from rain or sweating mixed with the cold air will drop their body temperature pretty quickly.
6. If a horse is the bottom of the totem pole and the others wont let them in the shelter, either set them up some sort of other shelter or stall them if that is available and make sure they have access to their own pile of dry or soaked hay.

Always remember that just because you're cold doesn't mean your horse is. One of the biggest signs that your horse is cold is shivering, they can withstand cold temperatures a lot better then humans.

01/03/2025

As blanket season is in full force upon us, here is a very important reminder courtesy of the horse doctors at Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services:

"When securing blankets, make sure that the snaps/clips are facing inward, toward the horse! If they are facing out, they can easily become stuck on something, like the hay net in the picture."

01/01/2025

Happy New Year to our Rocky River Vet Clinic "family". Hope you ended 2024 well and that the new year will hold many blessings for you.

As a reminder the office is closed today for regular appointments, but we are available for emergencies as always. Regular office hours begin again tomorrow morning.

12/19/2024

***HOLIDAY HOURS***
December 23: 7:30am-6:00pm
December 24: 7:30am-12:00pm
December 25: CLOSED
December 26-27: 7:30am-6:00pm
December 30-31: 7:30am-6:00pm
January 1: CLOSED
January 2nd: Return to normal business schedule.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

12/12/2024

Lorelai will be greeting you in the office today if you stop by…

11/26/2024

***THANKSGIVING HOURS***
Wednesday 11/27: open 7:30am-6pm
Thursday 11/28: closed
Friday 11/29: open 7:30am-6pm
We will resume regular buisness hours Monday 12/2, as always we are available for emergencies 24/7. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

11/19/2024

We love a good series as much as the next person—especially one as dramatic as Yellowstone! But let’s set the record straight about one scene that made us yell “NEIGH-way!” at the screen.

In a recent episode, a horse was given an injection of Banamine (a common anti-inflammatory drug) *in the muscle*. While it might look cool and cowboy-chic on TV, here’s the deal: 🆃🅷🅸🆂 🅸🆂 🅳🅰🅽🅶🅴🆁🅾🆄🆂🅻🆈 🅸🅽🅲🅾🆁🆁🅴🅲🆃 in real life and could land your horse in serious trouble.
What’s the Problem?
Banamine (flunixin meglumine) is a fantastic drug for reducing pain and helping colics *when used correctly*. But when injected into muscle, it can cause clostridial myositis—a rare but life-threatening infection that produces gas in the muscle tissue. This can happen fast, turning what seemed like a harmless injection into a serious emergency.
The TV Drama vs. Real-Life Care
We get it. TV needs action, and waiting for a vet to explain safe medication practices isn’t exactly prime-time material. But in the real world, Banamine should be given orally or as an intravenous (IV) injection—and the IV option is best left to a trained professional (like your friendly neighborhood veterinarian 👋).
The Takeaway
Hollywood may make ranch life look glamorous, but don’t take veterinary advice from fictional cowboys. Always consult your vet before giving any medication, and remember: the health of your animals isn’t worth risking for a shortcut that’s TV-only accurate.
💡 Got questions about horse care? Drop us a message, and we’ll gallop to your rescue (without the TV drama)! 🐎✨

11/19/2024

We’ve fielded many questions about the new electronic ID (EID) rules for livestock moving across state lines. As the leading provider of EID tags and readers through our Allflex® brand, we want to support cattle producers in their decision-making with the expertise and solutions they need.

Click the link to read more about USDA's EID requirements: https://bit.ly/4fkHdKp

11/19/2024

Did you know that a horse with a moderate hair coat starts requiring additional calories for body temperature regulation when the outside temperature drops to approximately 50°F?

As the temperatures start to drop, especially overnight, it's important to remember that cold weather prompts special considerations for your horse's diet and care. This is particularly important when it comes to the older members of the herd; consult your primary horse doctor to formulate a plan to keep your horses happy and healthy this fall and winter!

11/19/2024

This is a photo taken by a vet while attending the horse who had fallen through the floor of someone's trailer. Thought it was worth sharing to serve as a good reminder to get your trailer floors checked regularly.

11/11/2024

Happy Veterans Day. Honoring all that serve. We thank you for your courage, honor, and sacrifice.