Virginia Equine PLLC

01/06/2025

Folks, we have no power at this time, so our apologies but the office will be closing early today. So sorry for any inconvenience! Keep your horses blankets dry, their water ice free, their hay stacked high, and you stay warm! We always have an on-call veterinarian for true emergencies.

01/06/2025

With our client area in the 3-7” snowfall band, further complicated by an expected glaze of ice on top, some special precautions are in order for your horses.

1). If you blanket, Prepare for multiple blanket changes! A wet blanket is not going to keep your horse remotely warm. The precipitation is going to change forms from Snow to ice to rain and back to ice as the storm progresses; get out there and check blankets throughout the entire storm duration. One waterproof sheet over top of a winter blanket can save you a lot of headaches.
2). If you don’t blanket, these anticipated conditions are exactly the kind of precipitation that can soak and freeze a horse’s coat. This would be a good night to make that exception, and use a waterproof blanket, especially for horses who are thin or aged.
3). Offer/Feed more simple forage under roof or indoors if possible. Stack it in their run-in sheds so they don’t have to stand in the freezing sleet to get hay from a feeder out in the open. The digestion process for such roughage increases your horse’s core body temperature, helping them keep warm.
4). Offer warm water if at all possible; the colder the water, the less your horses will drink. Be sure to break any ice on the top of the troughs or buckets so they CAN drink.
5). If the snow is the wet heavy kind that makes snowballs, your outdoor horses hooves will be snowballs too. Pick them out several times if they are outdoors.
6). Keep your horses on their routine as much as possible. Change is not your friend when it comes to equines and severe weather!

Edited to add: We never proactively close; we will assess conditions for our veterinarians and staff in the morning. Be safe!

01/02/2025

A good one from
Our friends at Rood & Riddle! If you don’t get the joke, ask someone with a thoroughbred.

🎆✨ Happy New Year from all of us at Rood & Riddle! 🎉 As we welcome 2025, we’re grateful for our amazing clients, patients, and team. Here’s to another year of health, happiness, and success for you and your equine partners. Let’s make it a great year together! 🥂

01/01/2025

Wishing our clients, friends and family the happiest of New Years! Today we present an innovative wound closure. Dr Laura Patterson Wornom says “we use closures like this at times for difficult lacerations, to reduce tension on the wound.” Our thanks to our friends at North Bridge Equine Associates for this photo of their similar work! Is your vet innovative and creative? Join the Virginia Equine family in 2025 for the very best in veterinary care for your equids without the super premium price.

12/27/2024

The potentially fatal form of Equine Herpes Virus, EHM, emerged as a risk with two horses displaying symptoms at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington Va in June of 2024. Why do we bring this up now? Because it’s a good time to look at the healthcare highlights of the year for our horses, and Virginia is being lauded by the Equine Disease Communication Center for its superb handling of what could have been a 90
Horse outbreak. Biosecurity is where it’s at, folks! How is your biosecurity game?

Rapid response, communication between horse show management and state veterinarians, and a biosecurity plan saved an Equine Herpesvirus outbreak at the Virginia Horse Center from spreading and cancelling horse shows from coast to coast. 

12/24/2024

Rushing in on this Christmas/Hanukkah eve to tell you we are grateful to our clients and friends this year, you mean the world to us! Our offices are now closed for the holidays, with access to true emergency services as always. We will reopen December 27th at 9am. We will close a half day on Dec 31 and are off New Year’s Day. Jan 1. May you and yours be warm, be loved, and find joy in this beautiful season!

12/20/2024

When horses take holiday lyrics a little too literally!🔥🐴
🎶 Chestnuts roasting by an open fire... 🎶 🎄

12/20/2024

Whether you’re rushing or resting, the holidays are upon us! Please take a moment to note our hours through this season:

Virginia Equine will be closed December 24, 25, 26 and half a day on December 31st. In observance of New Year’s day, we will also be closed on January 1, 2025. As always, a veterinarian will be on call for true emergencies only throughout this time. Take care, friends, and make a little time to kick back and enjoy.

11/21/2024

Did you know that EPM is not transmissible between horses?

EPM is widely considered the most important infectious neurologic disease of horses in North America and is caused by protozoal infection of the central nervous system. Horses are infected by consuming food or water contaminated with opossum s**t containing sporocysts.

Horses with EPM do not present a biosecurity risk to other animals because the disease is not transmissible between horses. An effective vaccine has yet to be developed, so the best preventative approach includes eliminating access of opossums to feed and water in order to minimize contact with opossum s**t and improving your horse's immune defenses by decreasing stress and optimizing health.

To learn more about EPM, visit the following resources:
https://aaep.org/resource/equine-protozoal-myeloencephalitis-epm/
&
https://www.equinediseasecc.org/EPM

As always, consult your veterinarian for more information and for advice tailored to your horse's specific circumstances.

11/19/2024

Dr Neist’s patient was very appreciative at his vet visit today and said thank you with a neck hug❤️

11/19/2024

11/19/2024

Dr Laura Patteson Wornom has a passion for horses and for sports medicine in particular, and we can thank her now-retired 28 year old show hunter B for that. Retired and living his best life in Powhatan!

11/16/2024

Coughing horse? Let us determine the source.

If your horse has a cough that persists into exercise or is heard while your equine friend is at rest in the barn, be sure to talk to your veterinarian about evaluating your horse for respiratory disease. It could be a problem with the upper airway (the nasal passages and throat) or the lower airway (the lungs).

While waiting for your appointment, try decreasing your horse’s exposure to dust, as that is a primary trigger for lower respiratory disease such as asthma or heaves. Some simple things you can do include avoiding straw bedding, feeding hay on the ground and/or soaking it, not using a leaf blower on barn aisles, and not storing hay or bedding above your horse’s stall. Last but not least, while us humans may be more comfortable with all the barn doors closed on a cold day, your horses’ lungs will appreciate open doors/windows and good ventilation!

As always, if you have questions or would like to learn more about preserving your horse’s respiratory health, your equine veterinarian remains your best source of information!
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Brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

11/16/2024

A year ago, this blew up to millions of people, and I felt it was worth a reshare.

Help us save horses.

Text to give option!
Donors who want to give a one time or re-occuring give can text HOP to 44-321 and instantly receive a link to give.