Southern Winds Veterinary Services

01/10/2024

Please consider donating blankets, doggy jackets & dog houses to keep these shelter pets warm next week. 🥶If you can’t make it to Luling, donations can be dropped off at our clinic & Rachael will see that they get there.

We’re about to have our first major cold snap/freeze of the year. Please make preparations to protect you own animals…ideally have them inside, but if outside, make sure they have a warm space protected from the elements. We are getting our shelter prepped for the cold as well. Each dog kennel will have a dog house in it with blankets (which we could always use more of). We’d also love to have cozy sweaters/jackets for all the pups as well. We have added some sweaters to our Amazon wish list if you’d like to help keep a pup warm at the shelter this winter! ❤️❄️❤️
Zani and her friends would sure appreciate the love!
https://a.co/9SE3kso

01/09/2024

"He gets a scoop."

But how much does he ACTUALLY get.....? 😅

I recommend weighing your horse's feed and feeding according to bag recommendations for body weight and activity level. These scoops are both "3 quart scoops" but even with the same feed, the weight is different. You could be under feeding, which means your horse would be lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.

Or! You could be over feeding. And that could mean that you are spending more money on feed when you could be spending that on entry fees 😎

The answer? Keep a cheap electronic kitchen food scale in your feed room. You can buy them for less than $15 on Amazon.

01/01/2024

12/31/2023

These are two wonderful rescue organizations that we work with daily. I know they both could use the help. Pleease considering donating.
Good Catch Dog Rescue
Friends of Dogs at Guadalupe County Animal Control

12/24/2023

Hey, Texas! Santa's reindeer have been cleared to come to the state, y'all!

Make sure you're on the nice list and get proper CVIs and/or permits to travel with your animals this holiday season!

12/23/2023

If Santa was a cowboy.

12/13/2023

Precious pup.

12/07/2023

As temperatures get colder, livestock owners often turn to heat lamps to keep the animals warm. If used improperly, heat lamps can be a dangerous fire risk — never leave them unattended! If you must use a heat lamp, please follow these tips:

-Use heat lamps that are enclosed with a heat lamp guard.

-If using a lamp outdoors, make sure the lamp is labeled for outdoor use.

-Use high-quality bulbs. Low quality bulbs such as thin glass can shatter.

-Periodically check to make sure that the bulb is tightly secured.

-Avoid using bulbs over 250W.

-Secure the lamp to a panel using chain or a heat lamp clamp. Recommended distance from the lamp to ground or livestock is 20 inches.

-Make sure the lamp is secured high enough that adult livestock cannot abuse (head butt, kick, or bash) the fixture.

-Plug your heat lamp into an Arc Fault Interrupter breaker which will trip if the fixture sparks.

-Keep a fire extinguisher in the barn in case a problem arises.

-Install a loud smoke detector that can be heard in the house that will help to alert you of a fire.

-Never lay a heat lamp on a flammable surface.

11/13/2023

11/05/2023

Great practical information courtesy of the horse doctors at Barrow Veterinary Service:

NORMAL: NOT JUST A SETTING ON THE DRYER!
If your horse seems a little "off," do you know what his "normal" is? One of the best ways you can determine if your horse is ill is to know his normal vitals—temperature, breaths per minute, heart rate, and capillary refill time. If they are outside the normal range, a call to your equine veterinarian is definitely warranted! Any refusal to eat a meal or to get up from a recumbent position is also a clue that you and your equine friend need assistance.