LS Veterinary Services, PLLC

01/12/2025

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.

12/23/2024

Congratulations Lauran Bundy! You are the winner of our Daisy If You Do Co. prize package!

12/19/2024

🎄12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS🎄
Book an adjustment between now and the end of December and receive an acupuncture treatment on us!

12/18/2024

We try to not favorites but… I mean how cute are these gals?!?

12/17/2024

Congratulations Bailee Marie Prom, you are the swag bag winner!!