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Peregrine Equine

Peregrine Equine is owned and operated by Dr. Courtney Lewis and is based in Sonoma County.

20/06/2025

Weighing feed allows you to accurately measure the amount of essential nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and minerals, your horse is receiving. This helps you tailor their diet to meet their specific needs, whether they are a growing foal, a performance horse, or a senior horse.

While weighing every meal might not be practical, consider weighing out the first serving with each new shipment of feed to ensure your horse gets the proper nutrients. Each flake within a single bale of hay can vary, no matter the compactness of the bale. Weighing the hay given to horses is the only way to accurately ensure they receive the proper amount of forage per day. Scoops (and coffee cans) can still be used daily to dish up grain or concentrate. Just weigh once and mark the scoop accordingly.

By closely following feeding recommendations and knowing how much your horse consumes, you can impact their overall performance, maintain ideal body condition, reduce the risk of digestive issues, and minimize wastage. This also makes it easier to provide your veterinarian or equine nutritionist with a more accurate description of your horse's feeding regimen.

17/06/2025

Anything you give to your horse needs to be carefully evaluated for if it lives up to the claims it is making.

Oral supplements are not required to have studies that prove their marketing claims. That being said, some companies have invested in outside research and can provide you with peer-reviewed published research.

Products approved by the FDA (including some injectable joint medications) have to prove safety and effectiveness and can only market based on proven claims. There are many injectable products that are not FDA approved, however, so they should also be questioned for research on safety and effectiveness.

Make sure you are spending your money on a product that is backed by research as there are a lot of unproven options out there.

Before starting any supplement or medication, it is important to know what change you expect to see. It’s recommended to evaluate your horse before you start and then again after 30 days. Do you see the change that the product said you would? If yes, continue on. If no, it’s time to work with your veterinarian and decide on a potential new plan.

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12/06/2025

Every horse is unique—even within the “normal” range for vital signs. That’s why it’s important to establish your horse’s baseline Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration (TPR) values at rest.

Knowing what’s normal for your horse makes it easier to catch subtle changes that could indicate discomfort, illness, or early signs of emergency. Not sure how to take vitals? Ask Dr. Courtney to walk you through it at your next wellness visit.

We’ll be sharing TPR tips throughout the month, and our Instagram Highlights include a full series you can revisit anytime.

Typical resting ranges for adult horses:
🌡️ Temperature: 99.0–101.5°F
❤️ Heart rate: 28–40 bpm
🫁 Respiration rate: 12–16 breaths/min

Practice regularly so you’re confident in spotting deviations. It’s important to note that hot or humid weather—as well as the timing of your readings (such as after work or during feeding time)—can cause slight variations. Talk with your vet about what’s normal for your horse and when it’s time to be concerned.

If your horse seems off and their vitals are outside normal limits, call your veterinarian. Early action leads to better outcomes—and can help avoid costlier care later on.

10/06/2025

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), formerly known as equine Cushing’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in horses. This means the pituitary gland can’t maintain normal bodily functions, leading to a variety of clinical signs. PPID is also linked to serious conditions such as laminitis, secondary infections, and insulin dysregulation.

PRASCEND® is the only FDA-approved medication for treating PPID in horses. Its active ingredient, pergolide, is a dopamine receptor agonist that helps restore balance by reducing the overproduction of hormones from the pituitary gland.

This prescription tablet is administered daily and can be given by horse owners under veterinary guidance. If your horse is showing signs of PPID or is part of an at-risk population, talk with Dr. Courtney about diagnostic testing and whether PRASCEND may be appropriate.

Note: Boehringer Ingelheim offers a rebate program on PRASCEND, Equioxx, Gastrogard, and Legend starting April 1st. To qualify, purchases must be made through a veterinarian or their online pharmacy.
Rebate submissions must be completed within 30 days of purchase.
www.boehringeringelheimequinerebates.com

03/06/2025

Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is another endocrine disorder that can affect mature horses and shares some of the same clinical signs as PPID. Although the two disorders feature some striking clinical similarities — most notably a predisposition to development of chronic laminitis — the underlying disease biology is quite different in each case. Successful management starts with a proper diagnosis.

Our understanding of both conditions, especially EMS, is incomplete and evolving, but sufficient information is currently available to highlight some important similarities and differences for the interested horse owner.

30/05/2025

Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas that helps the body turn glucose into energy. Insulin dysregulation (ID) can cause abnormally high levels of insulin and sometimes glucose to circulate in the bloodstream. ID is the central endocrine disorder of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and is detected in some equids with PPID.

Diets high in non-structural carbohydrates and long-term obesity are primary contributors to ID. Lack of exercise is a significant risk factor for ID, and even light exercise appears to reduce the risk of this endocrine abnormality.

The Equine Endocrinology Group (EEG) is composed of experts in the field of equine endocrinology who provide advice in the form of written guidelines to help veterinary practitioners diagnose and manage equine endocrine disorders. Guidelines are updated every two years or when new information becomes available and can be found on the EEG website: equineendocrinologygroup.org

27/05/2025

Did you know that decreased athletic performance and lethargy are two clinical signs of PPID?

Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), also referred to as equine Cushing’s disease, is one of the most common endocrine disorders in horses.

PPID causes the horse’s pituitary gland to work overtime, leading to various problems. Once believed to affect only older horses, but now horses as young as five years old have been diagnosed. Early diagnosis is important in these cases, so if you suspect your horse is showing signs of PPID, talk to your veterinarian today.

There is no cure for PPID. However, good quality of life can be maintained through the management of medication, diet, and exercise. Prascend is the only FDA-approved drug to control the clinical signs of PPID in horses.

26/05/2025

Please note that Peregrine Equine will be closed for Memorial Day. Emergency services remain for our patients.

21/05/2025

Having November Reign & finish 🥈 in the $5,000 National Derby with scores of 88 and 90.5 was a pretty special moment! 💕

15/05/2025

Most equine owners know that a negative Coggins test is a document required to be able to transport their animal across state lines, enter them in a competitive event, or board at someone’s barn. But what does the phrase “negative Coggins test” actually mean?

A “Coggins” is a blood test that can only be performed by USDA-approved laboratories and checks for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies in the blood. ElA is a potentially fatal blood-borne infectious viral disease that is primarily transmitted by biting flies, particularly horseflies-which means that your animals are at risk even if they never travel or live in a closed herd.

The clinical signs of disease can vary dramatically from an acute infection to an inapparent form, but what is important to know is that it produces a persistent infection. Once an animal tests positive for EIA it becomes a lifelong source of disease transmission, so the owner can only choose between quarantine for life or humane euthanasia to ensure that large outbreaks of the disease don’t occur. There is no vaccine and no treatment for ElA.

Take-home message: While a Coggins test is a necessary travel document, don’t forget that it’s also first and foremost a way to identify and remove ElA carriers to keep the disease under control.

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Grateful to the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee for putting together this information post!

07/05/2025

Last week, we shared the AAEP lameness grading system—a valuable tool for documenting and communicating more obvious signs of discomfort. However, horses are masters at masking pain, and this scale isn’t designed to capture the more subtle indicators of chronic or low-grade discomfort. Learning to recognize these quieter signs can help you become a more observant and proactive steward of your horse’s health.

Luckily, The Horse has put together a valuable resource that walks through how to recognize pain in horses and educates readers on the range of treatment options your veterinarian may recommend, including joint injections, physical therapy, and complementary therapies. We encourage all equestrians to take a few minutes to read the full article:
'Understanding, Recognizing, and Managing Pain in Horses' at thehorse.com.

If something feels “off” with your horse, don’t wait. Call the Peregrine Equine team to schedule an evaluation. A thoughtful, multimodal approach to pain management can make a big difference in your horse’s comfort and performance.

01/05/2025

As of today, May 1st, the FEI’s new noseband measuring rule is officially in effect. All riders competing under FEI rules must ensure their equipment complies with the updated standards.

For full details and measurement guidelines, please visit the FEI website.

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