Treasure Coast Equine Emergency Services

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Palm City, FL
Treasure Coast Equine Emergency Services

TCEES is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for all of your equine emergency needs including veterinary and technical rescue services.

Treasure Coast Equine Emergency Services (TCEES) is proud to serve Martin and St Lucie counties for all of your equine emergency needs. Whether your horse is colicky, has a laceration, an eye injury, or your mare is having troubles foaling, we are here for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With certification in Technical Large Animal Emergency Response (TLAER), we are here for loose livestock, d

own horses, trailer accidents and more. We work with local first responders to help you and your horse for the best possible outcome. We have a well-stocked emergency rescue trailer to respond to emergencies such as trailer accidents. A rescue glide, 6 wheel John Deere Gator, and harness and safety equipment are just some of the items we can employ during a rescue. Dr Karie Vander Werf is a graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. After performing 2 years of clinical rotations at University of Florida, she went on to complete a rotating internship at Equine Medical Center of Ocala in Ocala, FL. In addition, Dr Vander Werf completed a 3 year residency in Equine Internal Medicine and another 3 year residency in Equine Emergency and Critical Care. Currently, she is one of only two with double board certifications in equine internal medicine and equine emergency/critical care in Florida. Please visit www.tcees.org for more information or call 561-510-5038 if you have an emergency with your horse.

11/07/2025

It’s gonna be flippin’ hot this weekend then flippin’ cold Monday and Tuesday.

Prep this weekend for the cold snap. Get those water troughs clean. Buy that salt and put it in their feed. Watch the manure! Act fast if smaller, fewer piles.

Remember: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Pooping! 💩

10/31/2025

Practicing what I preach.

Feeding 55 horses at The Liberty Barn - Horse and Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary and preventing temperature change-related colic by adding salt.

Remember: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Pooping! 💩

10/28/2025

All of the Treasure Coast is going to experience a drastic change in temps at the end of the week. Get that salt in the food! Monitor water intake. Monitor manure output!

Think vets charge too much? Stick it to the man and PREVENT COLIC!

Remember: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Pooping! 💩

10/09/2025

Please remember that temp swings (even relatively small ones like this) can cause horses to stop drinking as much - this is the time to prep for colics!

Also, many of my horses at The Liberty Barn are wooly mammoths. We are clipping them as quickly as we can (thank you volunteers!) and I would encourage you to as well. We won’t get really cold weather for a while and I’m sure your hairy friends will appreciate the clip. Even if you do a trace clip, that’s better than nothing. Don’t make your horse suffer! Many clippers available here on the Treasure Coast - just have to ask! A clip is cheaper than an emergency vet visit!

We all know the adage to give more hay when it’s cold as this warms a horse from the inside.

However, horses don’t drink as much in cold weather.

Lots of hay + little drinking = colic.

- Increase water intake.
--- Ensure your troughs and buckets are very clean. Empty and scrub with soap and bleach and rinse well. Algae and other muck growing can turn a horse away from a water trough.
--- Ensure the water trough or bucket is not near an electrical source such as a hot wire. Stray voltage can make a horse refuse to go to the trough. Heated buckets can also have a short - and it’s not always detectable by you!
--- Did you get a new horse? The flavor of the water may have changed. Add flavoring to the water to mask the change or get a 5 gallon jug of drinking water from Walmart or other store.
--- Color of the bucket - amazingly, horses have preferences when given options of colors. They prefer turquoise or light blue buckets to drink out of. https://bit.ly/30GPbsv
--- Add salt to feed. Here’s a very basic explanation of why salt increases thirst: https://bit.ly/38yylQX Commercially available electrolytes may or may not have enough salt to increase the thirst in horses. If they are not losing electrolytes through sweat, they do not need electrolytes. Sodium chloride is what increases thirst. Do not use Lite Salt as this is potassium chloride and it will not have the same effect. 1-2 tablespoons on the feed divided over the day on the meals should be sufficient. Salt blocks can help but only if the horse voluntarily goes to them and uses them.
--- Other flavoring: Gatorade water - I have found that they like orange flavored best but others can be tried. Molasses water. Alfalfa tea - soak alfalfa for a while and then remove the stems - leave the leaves.
--- Fake them out: add a handful of grain such as sweet feed or senior to a much larger amount of water. They think they are eating but are mostly drinking. Hydration hay with more water than recommended is also helpful. Handful of hay pellets in a large amount of water can also be used. In general, if you have a large colon impaction that you are trying to gut hydrate, you do not want to add a lot of bulk to the dam that is present in the colon. So using low residue feeds such as senior pellets or hay pellets is better than straight hay or hay cubes.
--- Grazing wet grass. Grass itself contains a lot of water. But we can add more by spraying it down before the horse grazes.

- Watch your horse's manure. If you notice smaller, more well-formed f***l balls, this is an indication that an impaction is imminent. The horse is drawing water out of their gut to hydrate their body. This is the time for action - decrease hay, increase water intake.

If you have additional helpful tips, please comment below.

Remember: Proper Prevention Prevents Poor Pooping! 💩i

09/28/2025

What are the Top 10 Horse Emergencies for us here on the Treasure Coast?

1. Colic
2. Choke
3. Lacerations
4. Eyes
5. Acute lameness
6. Euthanasia
7. "SNR" = Something Not Right - usually sick/fever
8. Down horse
9. Foaling problems
10. Coggins (yes, really)

Over the next few days, I'll focus on each of these and give an overview of how these come about, how they are managed, and most importantly, how to prevent!

08/11/2025

🌪🐴 Hurricane Season Is Here — Let’s Get Ready! 🐴🌪

Hurricane season is in full swing, and we’ve already got our first named storm spinning out in the Atlantic — Tropical Storm Erin.

📈 While most models predict she’ll swing north, storms have a sneaky way of changing course. The unusual does happen — and when it comes to our horses, livestock, and pets, it’s always better to be ready before we need to be.

✅ Prepping now = less scrambling later.
✅ Prepared barns = safer animals.

🐴 Remember: Proper Preparation Prevents Pony Peril in a Powerful Phurricane! (Yes, “Phurricane” is totally a thing now… we’re making it happen. 😉)

💡 Coming up next: We’ll be sharing our top tips to protect your animals from storms — from ID tags to safe evacuation routes, feed storage, and more. Start gathering your supplies and make sure your emergency plan is ready to roll!

📅 Don’t wait for the cone of uncertainty to include your zip code — prep now, breathe easier later.

07/28/2025

We’ve been sweltering here in FL but this is a persistent heat wave. Seeing an uptick in colic and overheating calls. Please monitor your horses through the day. Hose down as needed. Inside under fans is best for our oldies if possible. Monitor manure output and increase water intake!

Remember, Proper Prevention Prevents Poor Pooping! (And vet calls)

07/17/2025

Don't let lack of transport be the limiting factor in getting your horse the help it needs.

Address

Palm City, FL
34990

Telephone

+15615105038

Website

http://tcees.org/

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