Horse and Hound Mobile Veterinary Services

09/24/2025

Dr. Chellgren will be out of town until next week. Amy is still answering the phones and taking appointments. Have a great week everyone!!

09/15/2025

The mosquitoes have come out in full force. Contact us for a West Nile Virus booster to keep your horses safe!! Most vaccines cover a full year, but it's not a bad idea to booster every 6 months. There have been confirmed cases near us this year.

08/29/2025

The dangers of owning a horse. They get a sticker burr stuck in their eyelash and then scrape said sticker burr over their cornea until there is a huge corneal ulcer. Thankfully the recheck today showed an almost 80% improvement of the ulcerated area.

08/14/2025

We are sponsoring this event again this year!!! Come have fun, gamble, and win prizes for the rescue dogs!

Have you gotten your Wags & Wagers tickets yet? This paw-tastic event promises to bring lots of fun & excitement - and helps us to save more street dogs! Get your tickets - or purchase a company sponsorship - NOW - before we sell out!
🐾 Friday, September 19
🐾 7:00 pm
🐾 Balmorhea Weddings & Events - 33400 Wright Road, Magnolia, 77355
🐾 Silent auction, catered dinner, drinks, CRI merch, chance to wine wine & liquor wagons, & raffle winner announcements
🐾 All proceeds benefit Corridor Rescue & help us to continue our mission!
🐾 Visit www.corridorrescue.org/casinonight for tickets and/or sponsorships!

08/09/2025

Dr. Chellgren's day trip out to Sandy Creek was a success. Huge thanks to Houston K-911 Rescue for donating a washer, dryer, mini fridge, and microwave. We also delivered canned goods, pet food, diapers, and backpacks for kids going back to school. It was an extremely humbling experience, and well worth the time and sweat. These people were so grateful and I hope we can help them out again.

08/02/2025

Come out tomorrow!!

07/28/2025

Dr. Chellgren is heading to the hill country Friday and Saturday to help Amy Whitaker deliver donations. She said people are in rebuilding stage so appliances and school supplies are needed. If you would like to donate any supplies or money, please let me know and I'll make sure they get to the right places!!!

06/27/2025

I get fiery when I see other "dentists" who have floated the canines down enough to literally kill the tooth. It causes chronic pain and inflammation to the horse.

Hello everyone! Today’s discussion topic of the week is:

Canine Teeth! To Float or Not to Float?🦷

The short answer - DONT FLOAT THEM.

Here’s why!:

While most of the teeth in a horses mouth are classified as hypsodont, which means the teeth continually erupt throughout life and have very different adaptations compared to human teeth. Adaptations which allow these teeth to be floated without damage to the pulp system of the tooth, when done correctly. The equine canine tooth is different because it is classified as a brachydont tooth, which is in the same classification as human, dog, and cat teeth! This means that the canine tooth has a short eruption period at around 4-6 years of age, and once it is erupted into the mouth it changes very little throughout the life of the horse. The tooth has an outer layer of enamel for protection, and when this layer is damaged it can potentially cause damage or even death of the live pulp cavity of the tooth, which can sit as little as 5 millimeters under the surface of the tooth! And unlike hypsodont teeth that lay down a protective layer over their pulp system to protect the sensitive live tissue, the canine teeth do not have the same ability. This is why it is VITAL that your veterinary dental practitioner, who is performing routine oral exams on your horses, does NOT use their float to reduce the height of any canine teeth. Exposure of the pulp system can result in infection and death of the tooth, which is an extremely painful process! Reduction of canines is rarely warranted, in fact, canines are prone to calculus formation because they sit off center from each other and rarely make enough contact with feed and other parts of the mouth to remove this calculus.

While it may be advised not to float canine teeth, it’s still important to evaluate them annually! It is important for your veterinary dental practitioner to remove any calculus that may be built up on the canine teeth in order to prevent or treat any periodontal disease, as well as evaluate for any fractures/trauma, and evidence of EOTRH. Disease of the canine teeth can cause extreme head shyness and other evasive or aggressive behaviors associated with dental pain!

- Ashley Bonnette, DVM

References:

Easley, J., Dixon, P., & Schumacher, J.
(2010). Equine Dentistry (3rd ed.). Saunders.

06/26/2025

Dr. Chellgren is out of town until next Tuesday! Please have a plan in case of emergency.

06/21/2025

We saw Yani this past week for lethargy and mild inappetance. He needs to be healthy to be able to guard his sheep herd!! Even though he is on preventatives, he somehow got a tick-borne disease called Ehrlichia. This was caused by a single tick bite. We don't usually see a ton of ticks around here, but Yani is proof that is extremely important to keep them on prevention!! He is on the mend and taking his treatment well. Hopefully he will be back to 100% soon, so he can continue with his protection service.

05/30/2025

Dr. Chellgren is out of town until June 7th for her 10 year vet school reunion!!! Amy is still taking care of answering the phones for scheduling. Becker Equine is graciously helping us with anything urgent needing to be seen. You can reach them at 936-931-4478.

05/27/2025

Horses already like to do dumb things, but add in a crazy storm in the mix, and you get this. We have no idea how she managed to injure the insides of both her front legs, but she did a good job of it!! Hopefully some stall rest and time will make her good as new.