Van's Veterinary Services

08/15/2023

Please be advised Dr. Van is not available this week. August 14-20th. Sorry for the inconvenience.

03/25/2023

ATTENTION VALUED CLIENTS:

Dr. Van will be unavailable for the majority of the month of April due to unavoidable personal circumstances. Appointments already scheduled will be honored to the best of ability. My most sincere apologies for any inconveniences this may cause you.

03/03/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10227394373637322&id=1601305170&mibextid=Nif5oz

10/24/2022

16 non-urgent calls and messages this weekend and several people upset I didnt get back to them. (And to the one actually urgent call- this isn't in regards to you!)

Please, Just a friendly reminder, that I am only available for emergencies outside of regular business hours and PLEASE be respectful that the business phone is the same as my personal phone. Monday through Friday I am on my phone constantly trying to keep up with scheduling calls, discussing concerns and follow ups, billing and records. Weekends are for my family. I will not answer.

Thank you for your understanding. Sorry, I'm no super hero like Franklin here that can keep up with everything 24 hours a day everyday.

10/11/2022

Vans VetSource online pharmacy has some promotions to offer! If you're ordering regular medications, check these out to help offset some of the cost!

Also if you've purchased before you will get these promotions in an email.

https://vansvetservicespllc.securevetsource.com/site/view/217872_Home.pml;jsessionid=720FA16C51BDF73F94F85A395F43C7F2.clustermember?s=Adequan%20I.M.%20EQUINE%20Injectable%20100%20mg%2Fml&hierarchy=&sort=score%20desc&st=true

08/25/2022

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08/14/2022

I dont think I agree with the statement that devices ALWAYS cause improper carriage and muscling but they definitely CAN. Train your eye to see true balanced carriage and not bracing against an aid or single muscle group

06/17/2022

05/20/2022

I completely agree

05/18/2022

Sharing again so it's available

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04/24/2022

After seeing multiple videos posted by various breeders bragging about their 2 ½ year olds/recently turned 3 year olds and sharing videos of them cantering around in the arena, I have decided to once again circulate the below article.

First of all, breeders *should* have the knowledge to understand a horse’s fragile and slow maturing musculoskeletal system. Breeders should not condone their own horses let along anyone’s horses being cantered around under saddle at an incredibly young age. Period. This sets a terrible example and is quite honestly animal abuse. Just because a horse does not object does not mean it is right. And quite frankly, most of the videos posted show animals that are already in pain or developing pain…

As breeders, we should strive to produce healthy and sound animals. We should promote horsemanship that produces long term soundness. No, starting a horse later does not guarantee soundness. But it certainly helps.

I am a firm believer in scientifically backed approaches to horsemanship. You can’t argue with science that has been proven time and time again. Let’s dispel some stupid rumors:

1. There is no such thing as a (skeletally) slow maturing horse or one that is fast maturing. No horse is skeletally mature before the age of 6. And that is on the low estimate for age.

2. Growth plates are not just in the knee. Every bone behind the skull has a growth plate. Not every single one needs to be converted to bone before starting. There is a schedule of when bone fuses…this is the information needed to know when to start a horse. Not their outward appearance. It is a known fact that during growth, proprioceptive awareness can regress, greatly increasing the risk of injury.

3. Starting a horse is not the same thing as riding a horse. Starting a horse does not mean cantering it 3-4 days a week in an arena.

4. Injecting a horse that is in pain does not mean you fixed a problem. You masked it.

5. You can build correct muscle and teach a horse how to move their body from the ground. This creates a solid foundation to work from once your horse is ready to actually be backed. Teach a horse to use its body correctly before backing and you’ll save yourself a lot of vet bills down the line.

Hocks are “late” for maturity. The growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals do not fuse until a horse is 3-3 ½. Ever wonder why so many horses seem to have hocks issues?? Horses need to learn to carry themselves and their own weight well before adding a rider.

The growth plates that are LAST to close are at the base of the neck. This area is where we ask a horse to raise the base of their neck and come round. If under too much stress, the growth plates can fracture or be permanently damaged.

There are DOZENS of activities you can do with a young horse to build healthy muscular development. None of them involve a saddle or your weight on their back. Teaching a horse to carry themselves correctly BEFORE adding a rider is essential and cannot be done in a week. A 2 ½ year old horse is a baby. Mentally and physically. We see far too many injured performance horses at VERY young ages - broken down and/or sour from work. It’s wrong. Period. They need slow and steady work and need time to recover from even the slightest of injuries.

PLEASE, if you are considering when you should start your horse and what that work load should look like, please read the below. There are some wonderful things you can do with your young developing horse. Please don’t rush a year out of greed.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

04/16/2022

Discover even more ideas for you

03/22/2022

Don't forget to check a f***l this spring!!

03/06/2022

This is a great summary of why we need to weigh the risk-benefits ratio to boots...and why I HATE neoprene anything. It has no place being on a horse really anywhere

02/21/2022

Not mine but I kind of liked this. Know and respect your horses' limitations

01/19/2022

Please take note of Van Veterinary 2022 price changes.
This will become effective January 20th, 2022

Initial Chiropractic Assessment and Adjustment $120.00

Follow up and maintain adjustments $95
Adjustments within 2 weeks of previous adjustments $75

Farm call charge $75 for local calls (20 miles)
Recheck farm calls $65

Don't blame me, blame inflation and gas prices

01/18/2022

01/16/2022

"I see so many horses get sore in the poll and neck and whole body really because they're being ridden in a "hold and mold" fashion and it's just a harder process to learn collection. I love this article because it teaches achieving collection through relaxation. The outcome is the same. The journey is easier for the horse"

For a horse to be able to be collected, learning to give to the rein and flex at the poll is vital. “A horse that goes ‘flat’ in his back and his balance, pulls, or gets heavy in the reins, or one that raises his poll to evade rein contact, has to learn to stay …

12/29/2021

What effect does changing the angle of the hoof and therefore phalangeal alignment have on the soft tissue structures of the digit?

I am often questioned as to whether artificially aligning the hoof Pastern axis over loads the suspensory ligament and/or superficial digital flexor tendon and whether therefore it is not good practice.

There have been studies in favour of artificial elevation and some against.

Hinterhofer et al. (2001) stated there were smaller deformations of the hoof with a 5 degree increase. But acknowledged the risk of further crushing to the heels supported by the finding of increased load on the heels with wedges (Wilson et al. 1998).

Thompson et al. (1993) found that the Deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) strain decreased with elevation and that the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) strain were NOT affected, however strain on the extensor branch of the SL increased rapidly. Riemersma et al. (1996) also measured an increase strain in the SL.
Other studies have measured increased intra articular pressure with elevation, showing that joints and ligaments are also affected by these changes in angle but that’s another question.

With these findings it’s understandable why the increased load on the SL and other structures is often a concern. However what remains unclear from all of these studies is what the phalangeal alignment was at the time of an increase or reduction of hoof angle. Also what hasn’t been quantified is what the strains are of those structures in an ideal.

Many studies have linked a broken back alignment with increased load on the DDFT.

Broken back HPA (BBHPA), has been shown to predispose the horse to navicular syndrome. Waguespack and Hanson (2010) outlined the biomechanical considerations of a BBHPA and stated that the primary source of pressure on the navicular bone (NB) is compression from the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), Ruff et al. (2016) expanded on this, expressing the increased compressive force on the NB from the DDFT in conformations exhibiting increased dorsiflexion, this was supported by Uhl et al (2018) which stated conformations described by Ruff et al. (2016) as being mechanically predisposed to navicular and that DDFT lesions corresponded with areas of increased load. Many other papers have expressed the importance of a good HPA, (Witte (2014), Zani et al. (2015), Logie (2017), Turner (2020), Brown (2020)), outlining its importance in optimal performance and the predispositions of a BBHPA

If you raise the heels in a broken alignment, perhaps you will get an increased strain reading in the SL or SDFT but the question is have you over loaded those structures or returned to a more even strain share of all the relevant structures, especially in the light of all the papers just stated.

More research needs to be done to quantify what appertains to ideal strain share and whether that is obtained at aligned. But my hypothesis is that ideal strain share would correlate closely with ideal alignment.

The image below shows an illustration of that theory. Aligned has ideal strain share of the 3 structures. Broken back, increased strain of the DDFT and broken forward has increased strain of the SDFT and SL. Increased strain shown by thicker lines.

For more information on alignment feel free to watch and read at these links.

https://youtu.be/xggVpfmO9BI

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/hoof-pastern-axis-influential-factors

11/18/2021

Shock wave therapy for horses is a noninvasive treatment option which uses sound waves to promote healing of joints, ligaments and wounds.

11/10/2021

https://www.facebook.com/419693468786673/posts/1080443609378319/

11/03/2021

Please use this resource for ALL your prescription and nonprescription orders!

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09/23/2021

Unlike humans, horses are designed to run on a full stomach. Feeding your horse 2-3L of chaff or a biscuit of hay prior to exercise has two benefits :
1️⃣ The chaff will form a ball of feed in the stomach, which will help prevent acid from splashing up from the lower part of the stomach to cause gastric ulcers.
2️⃣ Blood is normally diverted away from the stomach during exercise, which reduces some of its normal protective mechanisms. Research has shown that feeding your horse before exercise actually reduces the amount of blood that is shunted away from the stomach and also increases the amount of blood delivered to the skeletal muscles and muscles of the chest. So not only are you helping to protect the stomach, you also might be improving your horse’s performance.
For more information : http://ow.ly/CfYy50Dmwnh