Ascent Veterinary Health

11/07/2024

Want to send a huge shootout to all the great farriers we work with. Be sure to thank your Farrier this week!

11/07/2024

Want to send a shoutout to all the great Farriers we work with. Be sure to thank your farrier this week!

04/06/2024

Dr. Brett will be giving a talk at 's wellness clinic at the end of the month!! Come on out to Broyhill Equestrian Preserve to listen to equine professionals chat about various aspects of horse health and have your horses photos taken by

Click the link in our bio on Instagram to register or go to Facebook to be able to click the link in this post.

https://mailchi.mp/202c87fbac03/equinewellnessclinicregistration?fbclid=IwY2xjawDL7ZhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbPGVr91QYGYmjZSSCXD6kxod-ro7WPDQAFgVlBcGHwiqrAz1cMcnBcVIQ_aem_AeZquA01Ig0yn_eSxn37kleADgM70UQTs2qW7R0l6TZqnxSnMFKQw2m_Ylf1pDHCwm8_tpS2hypiHcBBDxCWDS4x

09/04/2024

Ready to face this solemn weather over the next few days!
Show season is already upon us. Consider doing a Soundness Exam for your show partner prior to your busy season to make sure they good to go and do all that work you're asking of them! A Soundness Exam is different than a lameness exam in that the horse isn't necessarily showing you pain or lameness but we can flex them in ways that may show us issues that are pending for your equine friend. That way we can try to prevent an early departure from your show season ahead of time.
Give us a text or leave a voicemail on our vet line and we'll give you a call to set up an appointment 828.222.6900

02/04/2024

With baby season in full swing remember to keep an eye on those mommas and please call us at 828.222.6900 if they need any assistance! These kids were lucky and we got to them just in time to save them and help the mom have her two bucks.

20/03/2024

Awesome opportunity for all of our small ruminant clients. This is a very informative program with a great list of speakers!

The NC State Ruminant Medicine Service invites owners, breeders, and producers to attend the 2024 Small Ruminant Husbandry Owner Workshop

19/03/2024

Does your horse suffer from back pain? There are many different reasons why this can occur. With a thorough examination and diagnostics we can help provide the proper treatment and management to help your equine athlete.

Here, you can see Dr. Dylan performing mesotherapy on one of our patients!

06/02/2024

Hey y'all!! Don't worry if you missed your opportunity to enroll your horse in our yearly wellness program in January, we are still accepting enrollment and are excited to get you and your horse taken care of for the year. Our wellness program includes a coggins test, core vaccine (EWT, West Nile, Rabies), rhino flu 2x yearly, Potomac, twice yearly physical exam, a dental float and discounts on your emergency fee, radiographs, and blood work all for $500. *25% off emergency fee, 10% off blood work and radiographs*
Please shoot us a text, give us a call, or email us to enroll your horses today. 828.222.6900 or [email protected] for email.

25/01/2024

Reminder! There is still a 5% discount available on Wellness Plans that are purchased in full by January 31st.

This wellness plan will cover the basic needs of every horse and includes the following:

Twice yearly examination
Coggins testing
Rabies, EEE, WEE, Tetanus and West Nile vaccination
Twice yearly Flu/Rhino vaccination
Potomac horse fever vaccination
Spring f***l egg counts
Yearly dental examination and floating

Horses enrolled in this wellness plan will receive the following benefits:

25% reduced emergency fee
10% reduced bloodwork cost
10% reduced radiograph cost

The cost for this you might ask- $500 per enrolled horse

Farm calls will be paid at time of service to allow for splitting with others at the same location or on a special route.

Current and new clients are welcome to enroll! Call, text, or email today!
8282226900
[email protected]

17/01/2024

Let's talk about deworming.
Botflies will lay their eggs on your horses hair, typically on their front legs, and then the eggs can become ingested by your horse through self grooming and once ingested will hatch inside. They will then migrate their way out of the skin and create sores. This us why they are one of the parasites that f***l exams may miss.
Endoscoping helps us properly diagnose stomach ulcers, but sometimes, when we're viewing the stomach, we can discover other issues. These images are of botfly larva inside of a horses stomach. Hopefully, these images will help illustrate the importance of deworming your horses and encourage you to purchase a botfly comb to remove any bot eggs you may see from your horses legs.
To figure out the deworming protocol for your horses, we suggest having a f***l egg count done to see what kind of parasite load we want to deworm for. Every horse handles their parasites differently and so, right now, f***l egg counts are the best way to really know what your horse is dealing with and tell us what to treat them with and an appropriate deworming schedule. Some horses only need twice a year deworming, while others may need 4 times a year.

Regardless of the f***ls results, every horse will need some deworming every year to catch parasites that do not show up under our microscope.

09/01/2024

Rainy Days! Snowy days! What about your animals??

Make sure you offer them electrolytes at this time to help prevent dehydration which could lead to colic. Sometimes just adding a tablespoon of salt to their grain is enough if you don't have any electrolytes on hand.

People often ask us about blanketing, and to that we always say it depends. It depends on what kind of blanket you have. Will that blanket just fill up with moisture and they'll be wet anyway? Is it too thin and doesn't keep them warm? Are they inside or outside? What temperature is your barn inside, warmer or colder than outside typically? Do they have shelter outside to stand away from wind and rain? Are they older and more frail or young and excitable?

Most the time, our equine friends are more sturdy than we think, insulating themselves as the days get colder by growing a winter coat. A blanket is a good idea if it's below freezing and raining or snowing pretty good, especially if they are older and thinner. If it's colder in your barn than outside of your barn, then definitely consider a blanket even though they're dry inside. If it's warmer inside than outside, then they shouldn't need a blanket in their stalls.

Horses should always have some sort of shelter, if not a barn, then a lean-to would suffice, allowing them to make the decision to get out of wind and rain or snow.

Rule of thumb - Cold, Windy, Wet. If all 3 - they should be inside and if they can't be inside they should have a sufficient blanket for the type of weather. If it is just one of those, they are usually fine.

05/01/2024

New service alert! We are going to be offering a package of bi-annual soundness examinations!

This will be targeted to check your horses performance prior to your show season and mid season to help keep your equine athlete in top shape. These examinations will include both standing and moving examinations for signs of lameness or performance limitations, as well as flexions to determine if your horse could use preventative maintenance before a lameness limits your show season.

Horses enrolled in this performance package will recieve 10% off of radiographs and ultrasound examinations deemed necessary during the year that they are enrolled.

Contact us today to get your athlete enrolled in this program

828-222-6900
[email protected]

04/01/2024

We are excited to now be able to offer scoping services for our horse patients. We know how much stomach ulcers are affecting our patient base and we are now better able to diagnose and treat these patients without referral to a hospital outside of our area.

Be on the look out for opportunities to get on the schedule to have your horse scoped. If you are interested or think your horse may be affected give us a call or email and we will be glad to help you out!

828-222-6900
[email protected]

03/01/2024

We are excited to offer wellness plans for our patients! This wellness plan will cover the basic needs of every horse and includes the following

Twice yearly examination
Coggins testing
Rabies, EEE, WEE, Tetanus and West Nile vaccination
Twice yearly Flu/Rhino vaccination
Potomac horse fever vaccination
Spring f***l egg counts
Yearly dental examination and floating

Horses enrolled in this wellness plan will receive the following benefits:

25% reduced emergency fee
10% reduced bloodwork cost
10% reduced radiograph cost

The cost for this you might ask- $500 per enrolled horse

As a special bonus any plan purchased in full by January 31st will recieve 5%off

Current and new clients are welcome to enroll! Call or email today!

828-222-6900
[email protected]

02/01/2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With the new year comes even more growth from the Ascent Vet Health team!

Be on the look out for more in depth posts about how these items will be expanding our practice but in the meantime, our team is proud to announce that we will be offering the option to have your horse scoped by Dr. Dylan or Dr. Brett!

Endoscoping is the only definitive way to tell if your horse has gastric ulcers. It'll help us make the correct decision on how to treat your family member(s) when ulcers are suspected.

We are also creating Yearly Wellness Plans to help create an environment where we see your animals twice a year (spring and fall) for overall health and vaccines and dental included in a package deal!

In addition to the Endoscoping and Wellness Plans, we want to offer Soundness Exams. This is for our competitors out there! If we can see your horse before you start into your show season and check along their neck, spine, each leg, eyes, and see how they move, we can hopefully catch anything that could slow or stop your season!

12/12/2023

Great series to help train your horse to be good or better for our vet visits!

It's the off season for riding and we wanted to share this series done by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) to give you some ideas on training you can do with your horse to help them with their vet visits. We know it can be stressful for both animal and owner and we do our best to make each appointment as good for them as we can, but we can only do so much in the few times a year we see your animal.

Hopefully, you all find this information useful and can utilize it to help any anxiety you and your Equine experience.

Equine vets have one of the highest injury risks of all civilian professions. To help address this serious issue the British Equine Veterinary Association (B...

08/12/2023

We are growing!!! We are thankful this holiday season to have added Jaime Smith to our team. Jaime will be our new Vet Assistant and will be riding along to appointments, so be sure to say hello and welcome her to our practice. Jaime comes to us with a background in both Equine and Cattle, having taught equine industry at Wilkes Community College in their Animal Science department. She has also managed equine facilities and helped train and maintain horse health as a farm sitter. We are confident that she is going to be a great asset in our growing team!

05/12/2023

Being a small practice, we want to make sure everyone knows how to reach us! We do not have an office at this time, so the best way to reach us is by calling and leaving a message on our automated line or by texting us! At this time, until we grow more, our social media pages and email are a slow way to reach us. Please call and leave a message or shoot us at text message so we can get back to you!! Our systems do not alert to missed calls, but to messages left and text messages received.

Our hours are Monday to Thursday 8am to 5pm and Friday 8am to 4pm, outside of these hours non emergency messages and texts are typically not answered until the following business day.

If there is an emergency you must call the vet line and press for emergency to alert the vet on call!

828.222.6900 is our business number and the best way to contact us.
No personal cell numbers for Dr's or assistants will be used for communication.

04/07/2023

We will be excited to be there!! We are hnored to sponsor a good cause.

Thank you for sponsoring the Honey Harvest Hoedown! We are so appreciative of you and your partnership to help others learn, grow, and restore!

22/05/2023

We are excited to announce that we will be adding a new veterinarian to our team.

Dr. Dylan Long is a native of Greer, South Carolina. He completed his undergraduate degree at Clemson University and received his DVM from the University of Georgia (but don’t mistake him for a UGA fan). Dr. Long found his passion for horses at an early age as he was raised in a home full of horse lovers. He competed as a jumper in his middle school days before switching to the western discipline in high school. During his time at Clemson, he worked at Glenn Dairy Farm in Pendleton, SC which is where he first began working with cattle. When he isn't on the road taking care of his patients, Dr. Long is busy with his wife, Mary. They enjoy being active members in their local church, anything outdoors, Bluegrass music, South Carolina football and traveling. They share their home with two pets Dolly (Golden Retriever) and Maple (Kitty-cat). Dr. Long also loves to discover the best local eats in town so be sure to let him know where to go when he comes to visit!

Dr. Long will be riding along with Dr. Brett for a period of time after joining the practice to get to know the area and clientele. We know he will be a great addition to our team and that our patients will be in good hands with the growth of our care team.

06/04/2023

Hey everyone, just wanted to pop in and make a quick announcement. I hope your spring has been as exciting as ours has. We have some big changes in store for this year that we are excited to share with you. Ascent Vet Health is continuing to grow thanks to the support of our great clients. The past couple of years have been a whirlwind and the next two looks to be the same. Keep an eye out here, and in your emails, for several announcements over the coming weeks and months about the changes and additions to the practice. I am very excited to bring in some new things and people to enhance the care we can provide to our patients and clients.

Happy Spring,
Dr. Brett McCaskill

22/10/2022

Happy National Vet Tech week! We don't know how Dr. Brett would get anything done without Amber here to keep him straight. We want to send a Big Thank You to Amber for all of the things you do for AVH and our clients! Hope you have enjoyed some time off and we can't wait to see you back next week.

21/06/2022

It's a hot one out there!! Be sure to make sure all your critters have plenty of water and use electrolytes to help keep them hydrated! If they don't have any shade, bring them inside but make sure that you have a fan or a relatively cooler barn if you do! White, gray and paint horses can get sunburned so please take extra precautions with them during these long hot summer days ☀️ make sure you cool them off after a ride until their breathing is normal again and make sure to give us a call if you have any issues or notice that your animals are acting different. 828.222.6900! You can call or text this number for scheduling but *ALWAYS*** call if its an emergency! Happy summer y'all!!

05/04/2022

Already planning on scheduling an annual exam and Coggins? Why not add a half off microchip in for your equine friend? 828.222.6900

07/03/2022

Know your horses feet and how they should look. A horse needs balanced feet and its the farriers job to keep them healthy and balanced for you. But you should know what they need to look like so you can monitor and keep them on the right track! Every horse has different needs and you need a farrier you can trust to meet those needs.

The heels on this mare are too long. But more than that they're unbalanced, causing her pain and for thrush to grow deep in the heels.

If you need advice on your horses feet or if you need contacts on farriers you can trust, ask us or your vet to point you in the right direction! A good team on your side can help keep your horse in top shape.

*vet, farrier, owner and barn staff need to work together to keep everything correct for your family member(s)*

07/03/2022

Where has the time gone?! And here's to hoping it continues to feel like spring!!

Check out this deal for the month of March and give us a call!! F***l egg counts really help with what type of worming schedule your horse needs to keep them healthy. Give us a shout and we'll put you on the schedule 📅 828.222.6900

03/03/2022

Good tips to follow at any barn!

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF INFECTION AT YOUR BARN?

As California reports multiple counties with confirmed cases of EHV (and strangles affected several counties in Wisconsin during the month of February), this is a good time to refresh our memory when it comes to controlling infection in horses.

While parasite control and immunization with vaccines remain key pieces of any infection control plan, horse owner need to remember the importance of reducing or preventing exposure of the horse to infection causing agents in the first place. This will surely require more work than simply scheduling a vaccination appointment for your horse, but if you’re thinking, “Is this REALLY necessary?” — we believe the answer is yes. Any effort you put in to prevent infection vastly outweighs the cost of treating and possibly hospitalizing a sick horse!

Learn more tips about controlling infection in your horses on our website at https://aaep.org/horsehealth/tips-controlling-infection-your-horses
And as always, your veterinarian remains your best source of information and advice!

21/02/2022

So why are f***l egg counts important, can I just worm them?

Of course! But you won't know what you're wormimg for or which kind of wormer your horse needs. Having the f***l egg count done let's you know how your horse is handling their current worming schedule and what kind of shedder they are. Some horses are high shedders (they need to be wormed four times a year) and some are low shedders (wormer twice a year). By getting an accurate count on your horse, you'll know what they need, which is the best wormer for the job and how often to do it.

Make an appointment anytime in the month of March for a wellness check and vaccines and we'll do a free f***l egg count! Just give us a labeled zip lock bag with some of their stool in it and we'll get the count and tell you the best deworming schedule for your equine family member(s).

07/02/2022

Icy roads, you say??

Temperature should be rising this afternoon and that will help clear the roads but until then... stay safe and warm at home 🏡 and remember, the sudden dips and then the rising of temperatures 🌡 definitely affects our critters. Check on them and keep an eye out for abnormal sluggishness, abnormal lack of appetite, and if they're acting funny then definitely check their temperatures. Make sure to check that they are drinking water. Warmer water is preferable in cold weather and be sure to add some electrolytes to help keep them hydrated.

In horses, a low grade fever is 101° to 102°, anything 102° and above we recommend that you give us a call 📞

04/02/2022

If there's a horse, there's a way. You can't always catch everything that your equine can get caught up in but be sure to double check their living facilities both pasture and barn.

This one got caught and then stuck in some panels damaging his leg.

Its amazing what some stitches and time can do for these wounds! also has helped keep this clean and on its way to being fully healed.