High Desert Veterinary Service
Fall 2013 News and Notes:
Chrysann Collatos VMD, PhD, DACVIM
Chrysann Collatos VMD, PhD, DACVIM
775-969-3495 (Office) 742-2823
(Cell)
hidvet@gmail.com
HighDesertEquine.com
- Vaccination Clinic Schedule
- Interstate Travel Regulations
- Colic: Thinking Ahead
End of summer greetings to you all!
The smoke is clearing and it is time to
prepare for great autumn riding and oncoming winter months. Don’t shortchange your equine
companions. Schedule your clinic
appointment so we can be sure they are ready for the season change. For the health of the horse,
Dr.Chrysann
Fall
Vaccination Clinic Schedule
I am always
here to answer your questions.. Fall health care includes Flu/Rhino vaccination
plus deworming or fecal examination, an oral exam, and sheath cleaning. Also West Nile Vaccination if not given in
spring!
To reserve an appointment, call the office and leave:
Name, Phone #, Clinic Date,
Number of Animals, and Services requested.
We will return your call three days before your clinic with
an estimated time of arrival at your address.
Please be sure horses are caught and haltered 30 minutes beforehand!
Location Date
Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos1 Fri Sep 6
Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos2 Sat
Sep 14
Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 1 Sun
Sep 8
Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 2 Sat
Sep 21
Span Springs/Palomino Valley 1 Sat
Sep 7
Span Springs/Palomino Valley 2 Fri
Sep 13
Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 1 Sun Sep 15
Antelope/Golden/Lemmon
Valley 2 Fri Sep 20
South & West Reno 1 Sun Sep 22
South & West Reno 2 Fri
Sep 27
Sierra Valley/California Sat Sep 28
Reduced Prices - Clinic Dates Only
Farm Call/Fall Exam $18.00
Farm Call/Fall Exam $18.00
West
Nile $32.00
FluRhino $27.00
Rabies $21.00
Tetanus/
Encephalitis $18.00
Intranasal
Strangles $32.00
Ivermectin
Deworm $14.00
Coggins
Test $27.00
Sheath
Clean w/sedation $45.00
Fecal
parasite exam $18.00
Oral
Exam (w/o sedation) No charge!
Interstate
Travel Regulations
I am fielding lots of calls about
increased scrutiny of paperwork at the California border. I spoke with an official at the California
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) last week to clarify their enforcement policy
regarding horse transport. First of all,
despite a lot of buzz on the internet earlier this year, there has been NO
CHANGE in the law regarding interstate horse transport. The federal government is gearing up to get
involved in regulating animal movement, but that HAS NOT YET HAPPENED. Interstate transport of horses is still regulated
at the state level.
Both Nevada and California require a
Coggins (Equine Infectious Anemia) test current within 6 months, and an
interstate health certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) issued within 30
days. Nevada also requires a brand inspection.
The people at the California border inspection
stations are not authorized to detain you or fine you if your paperwork is not
in order. They do have a form which they
are supposed to fill out that identifies you and establishes that your brand
inspection, CVI, and coggins are in order.
If they find that your paperwork is not correct, then they contact a CDFA
Health Inspector and pass along your information. It is the Health Inspector’s job to track you
down and issue a warning or citation as they see fit. In Nevada, brand inspectors travelling on the
highways can pull over any vehicle transporting horses and ask to see paperwork
and issue warnings and fines.
The CDFA official I spoke with
explained that the California inspection station border guards can use their
discretion regarding completion of the livestock identification form for
horses. If they are busy, they may verbally question you, ask to see Coggins or
CVI, or just wave you on through. However, they do have the right to ask you to
pull over, come inside, produce your paper work and supply personal
identification information which they will record.
Bottom line: if you chose to transport
your horse across state lines without current Coggins, CVI, and brand
inspection, you are liable to be fined.
You are required to pull over and answer questions at the California border
stations at the border guards’ request.
Finally, there is a certificate of
veterinary inspection (CVI) issued in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana
that is good for 6 months. California
does not issue 6 month CVI’s but they do accept them. Nevada does not issue or recognize the 6
month CVI.
Colic
Just like you, I dread the thought
that one of my horses may show signs of colic one day. I spent 4 years studying equine colic
completing my PhD research, I accepted literally hundreds of colic emergencies
into the hospital during my clinical residency, and I now have 20+ years
experience treating colic in the field.
And still, I can’t guarantee that your horse with colic will not
experience a serious complication.
Treating colic can be expensive. A routine after hours colic call in my practice
costs about $250. This includes an emergency call fee, physical exam and rectal
palpation, sedation, medication to
reduce pain and enhance gastrointestinal motiliy , and nasogastric
intubation. About 80% of horses recover
uneventfully after a single visit, if
that visit occurs within the first hour of onset of signs. More serious cases, or those in which initial
treatment is delayed, can require multiple visits or warrant hospitalization. Complicated medical cases and surgical colics
can cost $6000-$10,000.
Early
intervention is the key to successful treatment. So what can YOU do to help ensure that your
horse recovers from a colic episode and save money at the same time? Be observant, and learn to do a basic
physical examination! Get a cheap stethoscope
at the local nursing supply store. Buy a digital thermometer at the drug
store. And then ASK ME to teach you
during your fall clinic appointment. How
many of you “experienced horsemen” know
how to do a physical??
If you can get temperature, pulse ,
respiration, and evaluate gut sounds and oral mucous membranes you can convey
critical information on your first call to me at the onset of signs of colic. High
heart rate, no gut sounds, and escalating pain indicate the need for intensive
veterinary treatment. In milder cases,
after we review your clinical findings it
may be reasonable for you to administer medication orally to your horse. Discuss the option of having oral Banamine
paste on your property with me.
When I evaluate your colicky horse, in
addition to history and physical exam findings, I will perform a rectal
palpation and pass a stomach tube. This
will provide me with information that you cannot obtain which will guide specific treatment decisions.
Until I teach you how to do a complete
physical examinantion, here are the basics:
v What to watch for
(in order of severity):
Ø Poor appetite
Ø Reduced manure
production
Ø Lying down more
than normal
Ø Stretching out as
if trying to urinate
Ø Pawing, getting up
and down, looking at flank
Ø Rolling violently
v What to do:
Ø CALL YOUR
VETERINARIAN IMMEDIATELY
Ø Take food away
Ø Walk your horse if
he attempts to lie down/roll
Colic is serious, but in most cases
treatable. When a serious colic strikes,
it happens very quickly. I urge you to
think ahead – establish a savings account for your horses if you can, look into
equine medical insurance and Care Credit (CareCredit.com), and decide now how
much you can afford to spend in a critical situation. Planning in advance makes those difficult
decisions a little easier in times of crisis.
Take
advantage of your fall clinic appointment to ask me more specific questions
about colic prevention and treatment, and to get your physical exam training!
Educate
yourself, for the health of the horse.
See you in September,
Dr. Chrysann
