Abby Berzas DVM Performance Horse Medicine

31/07/2024

Vaccinations are important, even on those pasture ornaments! Make sure your vaccines include the minimum of tetanus, encephalitis and west nile

Tenacious Candy, a 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly, endured an extended hospitalization to survive tetanus and injury and is now on her way to a racing career.

23/07/2024

Anyone recognize this dog? Intact Boston terrier. Showed up last night. Very friendly and sweet. Mamou.

08/05/2024

Webinar alert!

Veterinary acupuncture can play a key role as part of a treatment plan to help keep equine athletes in top physical condition.

This Wednesday evening, join certified veterinary acupuncturists Drs. Lori Bidwell and Mary Masterson for a discussion of how they incorporate acupuncture into their equine sports medicine practices. They’ll also share treatment tips and alternative options for non-compliant patients.

Pre-registration is required and AAEP members received an email on 5/1 with a Zoom registration link, so be sure to search your inbox if you missed it.
Can't attend the live webinar? No worries, the session will be recorded and made available on demand!

Special thanks to our sponsor, !

02/05/2024

Learn more about how veterinarians and farriers manage this degenerative arthritic condition.

02/05/2024

08/04/2024

Remember when your parents used to tell you to wait 30 minutes after eating before going for a swim? Unlike us, horses can actually benefit from eating forage before they exercise, as it may help reduce the risk of gastric ulcers.

While a variety of things can contribute to the development of stomach ulcers (medications, diet, stress, etc.), one train of thought is that these areas of irritation result as a consequence of the acid of the stomach splashing against unprotected parts of the stomach lining. When a horse eats forage, the hay can help absorb some of that acid and thus reduce the risk of ulcer formation.

It is important to note that a forage meal (one comprised of hay or grass) provides the most benefit, while eating large volumes of concentrate feeds (such as oats, corn, or other cereal grains) can actually increase the amount of acid within the stomach.

As always, please be sure to consult with your vet regarding further diagnostics and treatments if you have concerns that your horse may have gastric ulcers.
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Brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

30/01/2024

Anyone available to haul a horse for some clients of mine. Mamou to Vinton?

12/12/2023

When your horse has a large wound, try to keep your wits and take action to stem the bleeding until the veterinarian arrives. >>>https://bit.ly/EQLacerationFirstAid

05/12/2023

🎄 It’s that time of year again!🎄

🐴🎄Christmas Horse Camp ✨❤️
December 18th OR December 19th
10:00am-2:00pm

$75 per camp, your child is more than welcome to do both days!

Limited spots available
$50 non refundable deposit to secure your spot

Snacks and water will be provided
Please send a packed lunch

Located in DeRidder, LA

Please call/text me at 337-396-5286

29/11/2023

This is why it is important to find a sports medicine veterinarian. Not all veterinarians are skilled and have experience diagnosing and treating performance horses. Procedures such as joint infiltration and most surgeries (for small and large animal) are “taught” but not actually learned in our veterinary curriculum and have to be learned after school.

In order to improve proficiency and self-efficacy, equine arthrocentesis should be provided multiple times throughout the veterinary curriculum. 🐎

Learn more: jav.ma/arthro

29/11/2023

Four Quarter Horses in Texas, located in Waller, Montgomery, Denton and El Paso counties, were confirmed positive for EIA and euthanized.

14/11/2023

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.

15/09/2023

As the colder weather draws near, and most horse owners are getting their hay bought before winter - this is a great source of information to help you assess how much HAY your horses will need for the year.

Simple calculations broke down for you!

We are lucky to have great sources of hay here in the Northwest!

02/02/2023

Sarcoids are one of the most commonly diagnosed skin tumors in horses. They can be frustrating to diagnose and even more frustrating to treat. Removal of the sarcoid can trigger a massive expansion of the lesion, leaving the horse in a worse predicament than before.

There are several treatment options for equine sarcoids, but this is one of my favorites.

With this case, our clinical diagnosis was equine sarcoidosis. Instead of waiting on biopsy results (and possible uncontrolled regrowth of the tumor), we elected to reduce the tumor and treat with an immunotherapeutic, Immunocidin.

14/09/2022

Is it Christmas yet? 🎄

Corneal ulcer in a horse.

28/08/2022

Before & After 💁‍♀️

13/08/2022

UPDATE ❕little man is looking brand new ✨

10/08/2022

Can I eat that? ❤️‍🩹

10/08/2022

Laceration repair 💥

10/08/2022

Prepping for some coffin injections 🧼🫧

10/08/2022

Say aah! 🦷

Equine Dental Exam & Float

09/08/2022