LS Veterinary Services, PLLC

01/30/2025

A strong, healthy topline is essential for your horse’s performance, comfort, and overall well-being. 🐴💪 The topline consists of the muscles running along the vertebral column, including the withers, back, loin, and croup.

In a healthy horse, these muscles should feel smooth and flat, creating a well-rounded appearance without excessive fat. If any of these areas appear sunken-in or concave, it could indicate a lack of muscle development.

Several factors can contribute to poor topline health, including:
➡️ Poor nutrition
➡️ Muscle atrophy from reduced exercise or lack of engagement
➡️ Old age
➡️ Lameness
➡️ Incorrect saddle fit
➡️ Musculoskeletal issues like polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM)
➡️ Endocrine conditions such as Cushing’s disease or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID)
➡️ Overriding dorsal spinous processes (kissing spines)
➡️ Gastric ulcers or other digestive problems

If your horse is struggling to maintain or develop topline muscle, it’s important to evaluate these factors with the help of an equine professional including your nutritionist or veterinarian. With the right feeding plan, exercise program, and lifestyle, you can help your horse build and maintain a healthy topline!🐴✨

For more information on factors impacting topline health, check out our article:
🇨🇦 https://madbarn.ca/build-horses-topline/
🇺🇲 https://madbarn.com/build-horses-topline/

01/22/2025

📆 Plan Ahead for a Healthy Barn This Spring! 🌿🐴

Attention training barns and boarding facilities! Now is the perfect time to schedule a Chiropractic/Acupuncture Wellness Day or a Spring Vaccine Clinic for your equine residents. Here’s why:

Chiropractic & Acupuncture Day
🐎 Improve performance and flexibility for show season.
🧘‍♂️ Relieve muscle tension, joint stiffness, and discomfort.
🌟 Support overall wellness and help your horses feel their best!

Spring Vaccine Clinic
🛡️ Ensure every horse is protected against seasonal illnesses like West Nile Virus, EEE/WEE, and more.
🤝 Save time and money by organizing group appointments.
✅ Keep your barn compliant with health and travel requirements.
📆 Perks of Scheduling a Group Day:

Convenient for owners and horses.
Group discounts may apply!
Builds a healthier, happier barn community.
👉 Let’s Make It Easy for You! Call or DM us today to reserve your preferred date. We’ll handle the rest!

Your barn deserves the best care. Let’s get your horses ready to shine this spring! 🌞🐴

01/21/2025

01/21/2025

🐴 Cold Weather Tips for Older Horses 🧣❄️

As the temperature drops, our senior equine friends need extra care to stay comfortable and healthy. Here are some cold weather best practices for older horses:

1️⃣ Keep Them Warm
Older horses may have trouble maintaining body heat. Provide a well-fitted blanket on chilly days, especially if your horse has a thin coat or is underweight. Ensure shelter is dry, draft-free, and accessible.

2️⃣ Monitor Weight & Nutrition
Cold weather increases calorie demands. Check your horse’s body condition regularly and consider supplementing with forage or senior feeds to keep weight stable. Warm mashes can also help on extra cold days!

3️⃣ Hydration is Key
Horses are less likely to drink ice-cold water. Use a heated water bucket or break ice in troughs to encourage hydration. Adding electrolytes to feed can also help maintain water intake.

4️⃣ Regular Vet Checks
Cold weather can exacerbate conditions like arthritis or dental issues. Schedule a winter wellness check to ensure your senior is ready for the season.

5️⃣ Daily Movement
Staying active helps prevent stiffness and supports joint health. Turnout or light exercise, even in winter, can make a big difference for your older horse.

🐴✨ Extra Love: Don’t forget the power of grooming and extra attention to keep your senior horse feeling their best!

Share this post to help fellow horse owners keep their golden oldies happy and healthy this winter. 💙

01/20/2025

01/15/2025

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SPOT COLIC IN HORSES?

Colic indicates a painful problem in the horse's abdomen (belly), which can be caused by a number of different conditions. Less than 10% of all colic cases are severe enough to require surgery or cause the death of the horse; nevertheless, every case of colic should be taken seriously because it can be difficult to tell the mild ones from the potentially serious ones in the early stages.

Horses show signs of abdominal pain in a wide variety of ways, and usually a horse shows only a few of the signs during an episode of colic. The rule of thumb is — the more obvious the signs of pain, the more serious the problem.

If you suspect the horse is suffering from colic, we suggest that you:

• Alert your veterinarian immediately

• Remove all hay and grain from the horse's surroundings

• Don't medicate without your veterinarian's approval, as pain medications can mask clinical signs

• Walk the horse around if it's continually rolling or in danger of hurting itself — but do not tire the horse with relentless walking and don't approach the animal if it's not safe

• Keep the horse under close observation until the signs of colic resolve or the veterinarian arrives

The key to increasing the chances of a good outcome is to identify the problem early and get your veterinarian involved from the start.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of colic signs. Horses are individuals and may display signs of pain in a variety of ways. Always consult your horse doctor for more information.

01/10/2025

🐴💉 What is Strangles? Recognizing the Symptoms and Diagnosis

Strangles is a highly contagious bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus equi. It primarily affects the lymph nodes of the head and neck, causing discomfort and potential complications if untreated. Early detection is crucial to prevent the spread and ensure your horse’s recovery.

Symptoms of Strangles:
🔹 Fever
🔹 Swollen and painful lymph nodes (often abscessed)
🔹 Nasal discharge (thick and yellow)
🔹 Difficulty swallowing or breathing
🔹 Lethargy and loss of appetite

🔬 Diagnosis:
Veterinarians typically diagnose strangles through clinical signs and confirm it with laboratory testing, such as bacterial culture or PCR testing of nasal swabs or abscess samples.

If you suspect strangles in your horse, isolate them immediately and consult your veterinarian. Biosecurity measures and early intervention are key to controlling outbreaks. 💡✨

To learn more about strangles, check out this article:
🇨🇦 https://madbarn.ca/strangles-in-horses/
🇺🇸 https://madbarn.com/strangles-in-horses/

01/09/2025

I have my very good friend and mentor coming to Stillwater Monday January 13 to help with some extractions. If anyone is needing dental work or radiographs there are a couple afternoon appointments available. Please call or text to book 308-529-0058

01/08/2025

What are your favorite cold weather barn hacks?

01/08/2025

😆😆😆

01/06/2025

A recently-published study in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Sciences examined horses eating from round bales with and without nets, with some interesting conclusions.

https://bit.ly/3DChBuh

01/06/2025

FUN FACT FRIDAY!

Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice; good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal, and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
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Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

01/05/2025

12/30/2024

Share your animal related gifts from this Christmas with your critters enjoying them.

12/26/2024

Its not just the humans who get to enjoy a tipple on Christmas Day - our horses get to have a can a Guinness in their breakfasts too which they all love.

We would like to wish all of our family, friends and followers a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We will be back with new retraining adventures in January x x x

12/24/2024

🎄12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS🎄
$25 Sleip app exam with current VPR (6 month exam) it’s super cool! Ai measures stride lengths and quantifies lameness. Message me by December 31 to set up your appointments and take advantage of this pricing.