High Desert Veterinary Service Fall 2019 News and Notes

High Desert Veterinary Service 

Chrysann Collatos VMD, PhD, DACVIM LA

775-969-3495 (Office)           742-2823 (Cell)

hidvet@gmail.com      HighDesertEquine.com

Building Healthy Partners

Fall 2019 News & Notes:

Ø Clinic Schedule

Ø Frustrating Summer Sores

Ø Beware of Harmful Dentistry

Late summer greetings to you,

     Once it got here, we enjoyed a gorgeous  summer with our horses this year.  Cold weather is ahead, and there are IMPORTANT steps to take in preparation for your horse’s transition to winter. Your Fall Clinic appointment is the perfect opportunity to ensure you are up to date with your horses’s preventive health care.  See you in September!

Dr. Chrysann

Fall Clinic Schedule

Routine Fall exam includes flu/rhino vaccination, deworming or fecal examination, annual dentistry consult, and sheath cleaning.  Also consider Microchipping!

To reserve an appointment, call 775 969 3495 with:

• Your Name, Phone # and Clinic Date
• Number of Animals, and Services wanted

Your call won’t be returned until three days before your clinic when we will give 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 Sept 6

Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos2       Sat Sept 14

Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 1         Fri Sept 6

Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 2         Sat Sept 14

Span Springs/Palomino Valley 1        Fri Sept 13

Span Springs/Palomino Valley 2        Sat Sept 21

Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 1   Sat Sept 7

Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 2   Fri Sept 20  

South & West Reno 1                        Fri Sept 20

South & West Reno                            Sat Sept 7

Discounted prices ONLY AVAILABLE Clinic Day

Farm Call (per location)              $14.00

Wellness Exam (mandatory)     $17.00

West Nile                                        $33.00

FluRhino                                          $30.00

Strangles Intranasal                     $34.00

Rabies                                              $23.00

Tetanus/ Encephalitis                 $19.00

Ivermectin Deworm                    $16.00

Coggins Test                                 $32.00

Sheath Clean w/sedation           $45.00

Fecal parasite exam                    $19.00

Pre-registered microchip            $39.00

Summer Sores –

What are they?

Your horse’s eyes are red, swollen and itchy, or there is an odd sore at the corner of her mouth, or a wound on her pastern that is getting larger and lumpier….all common presentations of Habronemiasis, or Summer Sore. If left untreated, this common problem can become an extremely challenging condition to resolve.

Summer sores are caused by stomach worm larvae deposited in wounds by stable or house flies.  Larvae licked up and swallowed by horses complete their life cycle in the intestinal tract (where they do little harm), but when stranded in broken skin they cannot mature and cause severe, chronic inflammation.  The result is a non-healing, expanding wound.

Treatment involves immune-suppressive medication (steroids), destruction of larvae (dewormer) and surgical removal of the larvae, proud flesh and granular inflammatory deposits from the lesion.  I surgically excised the summer sore from this horse’s lip, sutured the wound closed, and applied Alu-shield spray to the wound and SWAT around the area.  The horse also received a carefully calculated dose of steroid, short-term antibiotics, and Ivermectin deworming.

Unfortunately, summer sores often are not recognized as something other than an uncomplicated wound until the disease process is quite advanced.  At this point successful treatment can take weeks, incur high veterinary costs, and require intensive wound management.

Habronemiasis has become a common problem in our area, and is often seasonally recurrent.  Preventive measures include frequent deworming, fly masks, and aggressive fly control.

             

Beware of Harmful Dentistry

I took this picture several weeks after this horse underwent aggressive motorized dentistry. This is NOT how your horse’s teeth should look after dentistry. Notice how the edges of the teeth are curved, the biting surface is smooth, and the front of the first premolar has been removed. In the short term, this procedure causes thermal damage and impairs the teeth’s ability to break down fiber, reducing the intestinal digestive enzymes nutrient processing.  And long term, it removes surface enamel from the tooth that CAN NEVER BE RESTORED.  Year after year of this procedure will reduce the life of your horses’ teeth, but the damage may not be show until it is too late to change the outcome.

            This is what your horse’s teeth should look like after correct dentistry, whether performed with hand tools or motorized tools.  Our understanding of equine oral health has come so far in the past decade, there is NO EXCUSE for “over-floating”.

       Annual dentistry is a vital part of LONG TERM health care. Don’t let your horse’s condition in later years be compromised by poor management today.  Foot care, nutrition, deworming, and DENTISTRY are the 4 corners of your horse’s longevity.  Ask me any questions at your fall clinic appointment.  An important part of my role in your horse’s life is to answer your questions and keep you informed.

Call today to schedule your  

Fall Clinic appointment!

HighDesertEquine.com

Building Healthy Partners