Knik River Veterinary Services

03/02/2025

Get this event on your calendar! It is offering so many wonderful options to learn and visit all in one place. I can’t even believe it. I want to go to all of them! I’ll be doing one on Sheep.

Also bringing my liquid nitrogen tank, so if there is anyone from further out in the state, they would like to pick up inventory while they are there and save on shipping.

03/01/2025

First shipments of frozen baby-making dna material arriving….and that grass is turning green! It’s Feb 28 and baby fever is here! Can’t wait!

02/15/2025

Good health is important. For our horses but also for ourselves! I really appreciate these public Health Fairs and the volunteers that run them. Sign up for a time slot near you. There is one in Palmer on March 15. Fast for 10 hours before. Run the panels. You pay them directly. The phlebotomists are great. The whole result is mailed right to you. You can give a copy to your doctor once a year. Then you file yours for safe keeping of your medical history. Use it to learn and understand your own health better and then make any changes needed.

Stay well.

Alaska Health Fair is a nonprofit established in 1980. Our Health Fairs offer free health education, free screenings and the most comprehensive and affordable blood tests in Alaska.

02/13/2025

The top two photos here show large cavities in the enamel of the molars. The bottom picture shows not just cavities but total loss of the enamel across the teeth. This is a very common finding in our area. And a very good reason for a full visual look at all of the teeth in the horse’s mouth with picture documentation. This helps to monitor progress in the issues from year to year. Hopefully it shows how we can heal these and stop them from happening. These teeth without their enamel are very prone to breaking and fracturing. So it is crucial that the teeth are floated carefully.

02/13/2025

February is going strong as Dental Month. Points that cause discomfort are often thought of as being up against the cheeks. But just as many are next to the tongue and cause significant trauma to tongue. And they lock the horse’s ability to chew in the circular motion and across the teeth from one side to the other. And it eliminates their ability to have relaxation of the jaw in the bridle….a trait in training that is not often discussed these days.

02/07/2025

Another day helping Alaskan horses with dentistry. Here is a cap on an injured incisor with
Pro Equine Dentistry. This broken tooth will live and continue to grow out over the years. Avoiding extraction. Some feel adding bling would have been a bonus?? 🤩

01/28/2025

The Platinum Performance article series is such a great comprehensive review. This one is on Gastric Ulcers. It touches on a few points that I try to bring up when owners ask. Such as managing the causes. Being reserved about pharmaceutical use. The benefits of just better quality feeds and supplements. It does not address ulcers of the hind gut that are completely not looked for with gastroscopy. So this is why I prefer to screen for all of them regularly instead of heading straight to a VideoScope of the stomach.

Internal medicine specialist Dr. Amy Polkes answers a range of questions on equine ulcers, their causes, treatment and prevention. Includes images. Learn more.

01/28/2025

The 3 most significant contributing factors to colic cases in a population are a change in feed, change in environment, change in WEATHER. Over the years, I can set my schedule on it when temperatures do what’s about to happen Tuesday-Wednesday. 40-70 degree change. What is most concerning is that it’s right after a rain. Safe to say a heavy rain. Is your horse dry and fluffy after all that rain? A wet horse in all this wind followed by below zero weather is really concerning. It is difficult for a wet horse to be warm below zero.

So what can you do? 1) Get your horse dry. If he has a blanket…check it and make sure it’s dry underneath. Many blankets lose their ability to shed water. If your horse does not wear a blanket, then groom them up well and get that hair coat fluffy and clean.

2) Check his body condition, how much meat he is carrying over his back. It needs to at least be a roof shape to shed the water off his back.

3) Evaluate his nutrition. High quality protein supplement is needed if he is on Timothy only. Adequate Vitamin E is crucial. Increase roughage.

4) Observe the water situation. Ice on the way to water tank is not helpful. Salt or sand on ice is bad idea. Use manure instead. Check your tank heater that has been on vaca the last couple months.

So let’s ward off any problems after this blasted weather and check your horse carefully twice a day. I’m doing farm calls every day right now from Talkeetna to Anchorage. 🐎

01/24/2025

Entropion is an eyelid that is rolled towards the eyeball and usually irritates the cornea. It happens a lot in dogs with a lot of extra skin like Shar Pei’s, Great Pyrenees, etc. it also happens in sheep. Sometimes just rolling it out when they are born is enough but some need surgical fix or a stitch to hold just a few weeks until they grow up a bit and fix themselves. I’ll put the fixed photo in comments.

01/24/2025

“Hey Doc, can you just take a look and see if she needs her teeth floated?” ….. 🤦‍♀️ Yes, I can look if they will let me. But it does not substitute for a good sedated exam prior to starting an annual float. It is highly unlikely I would have been able to appreciate where exactly the issue was in this horse’s mouth without lights, sedation, rinsing mouth out….just a very thorough exam. This is a 7 year old horse; she is not old. The whole molar is broken and draining into the mouth. It hurts!

01/16/2025

A couple months ago, I got a message that a Momma was needing help having her baby. It was a capable owner with lovely horses I’ve known a long time. I stopped by almost right away. For some reason I did not think about the fact that she has geldings 🤔. So on arrival she takes me to the house and …. we have a Momma DOG having trouble having her puppies. 🥰. So that’s not normally my forte. But she was struggling, I’m here and I wanted to at least try. Try we did and helped out the big guy blocking the exit ramp. And these are our 😍puppies😍 from that evening now! Aren’t they just adorable?! Like most Terrier x Italian Greyhounds they are cold outside and not amused with being outside to see me. But oh they are so adorable! What a great visit that evening and it makes my heart full of joy!

01/03/2025

Scheduling begins for Teeth Maintenance.

12/27/2024

Little Lamb entered the world on Christmas Day. Her Momma was struggling with a classic case of “Ring Womb” where her cervix was too small for her to leave via the normal exit ramp. So I gave her a bypass route into the world via cesarean. Momma handled the process like a rock star and is resting comfortably. I am so grateful to have been able to help them along 🥰🐑

12/05/2024

Reproduction Educational Talk Dec 10 at 3 pm at the Cooperative Extension Service in Palmer. Directed towards horses but all species mentioned to provide a more complete perspective. Organized by MatSu 4-H on their way to National Hippology competition. Looking forward to it!

12/05/2024

11/25/2024

Do you have a horse with a complicated dental issue? Or a major extraction needed? Especially molars. Get it on the schedule as we have a guest dental specialist coming late Winter to help tackle some of these cases. Pass the word.

11/21/2024

In full swing with Dental Season! Now through March is the absolute best time to get teeth done on your horse. So nice to have all the extra time needed this time of year!

Floating front teeth has become a real buzz lately. My theory is because those are the ones everyone can easily see and comment on? They are important for sure. But no more important than the molars in the very back of the mouth for example. Yes, I do float the front teeth when needed. Getting to be a bit on most horses these days. But not all horses need it. And most horses have incisor issues BECAUSE of the issues with the molars/premolars in the back of the mouth. Such as cavities, broken teeth, large enamel overgrowths, etc.

And I document every horse with pictures all the way to the back of the mouth. So important. It’s helpful for documentation, for owner understanding, for records that we can see from year to year, and for transfer of information from Vet to Vet or Vet to dental provider. Ask for pictures of the work that is done on all of your horse’s teeth, especially in the back of the mouth.

These pictures are some before and after. Hooks and minor issues on incisors addressed. Lots of molar/premolar points floated off. Lot of wave in the back of the mouth. Some of this can be fixed. Some cannot in a horse this age and I just have to work with what we have. Great enamel quality on this horse.