High Desert Veterinary Tales: Fall 2020 News and Notes

High Desert Veterinary Service

Chrysann Collatos VMD,PhD,DipACVIMLA

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

hidvet@gmail.com HighDesertEquine.com

Building Healthy Partners

Fall 2020 News & Notes:

Ø Clinic Schedule

Ø Smoke and our Horses

Ø Balance and Performance

What a summer,

The new COVID world, devastating FIRE conditions and weather events have impacted us all this summer. Maintaining a positive attitude can be a challenge, and the time we spend with our animals is more cherished than ever. All great reasons to protect the health of your equine friends with a fall preventive care clinic appointment.

Always here to help. 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 Sep 4

Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos2 Sat Sep 12

Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 1 Fri Sep 4

Red Rock North/Silver Knolls 2 Sat Sep 12

Span Springs/Palomino Valley 1 Fri Sep 11

Span Springs/Palomino Valley 2 Sat Sept 19

Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 1 Fri Sep 25

Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 2 Sat Sep 26

South & West Reno 1 Fri Sep 18

South & West Reno Sat Sep 26

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

Smoke and Your Horse

Smoke is an unhealthy combination of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, soot, hydrocarbons, and other organic substances. Smoke particulates can irritate horses’ eyes and respiratory tracts, and hamper their breathing.

The simplest thing you can do to limit the damaging effects of smoke on your horse’s airway is to limit your horse’s activity when smoke is visible. Increased airflow and turbulence that accompany athletic activity can significantly increase the inflammation and damage to delicate cells lining the respiratory tract. In addition, if possible, misters and fans can be used to improve air quality in your horse’s environment.

Human air quality advisements can be applied to your horse as well. If your eyes are burning and you smell and taste smoke, then assume that your horse is feeling as uncomfortable as you are.

Most importantly, when smoke has been particularly heavy, remember that it takes time for airways to recover fully. Four to six weeks can be required for airways to recuperate from severe smoke exposure, and early return to exercise can delay healing and increase the risk of long term airway damage.

The best way to combat heat and smoke is through hydration. You can:

Provide clean, fresh water at all times
Water your horse’s hay and feed grain as wet mashes
Put sprinklers out in turn outs to reduce dust and smoke and increase moisture in the air

Balance, Conformation and Performance

Over the years we have bred horses to be balanced to best suit their intended use. When you choose a horse, consider your equestrian discipline.

Draft horses were built to pull – they are very “uphill” with short, strong high set necks, powerful shoulders and weaker hindquarters.

Quarter horses are built to work cattle – they need to keep their heads low and turn with exceptional speed and quickness from the hindquarter – therefore they are quite “downhill” with tremendous power in the sacrum, hip and thigh to dig in, turn and go.

Thoroughbreds are built to run – they are a more level breed, but frequently have a croup that is slightly higher than the wither.

The arab is the ultimate long distance athlete – generally beautifully balanced front to back, but with lean muscle mass and a relatively straight shoulder, making them extremely efficient at moving across the ground, but not well suited to elevating the wither or forearm.

The warmblood breeds have been developed to have a combination of elevation and length. They are balanced generally uphill, with a neck that comes out of the wither relatively high, a moderately sloped shoulder, and a very powerful sacrum and pelvis.

And don’t forget, the horse in motion always trumps the horse standing still. For example, consider a “downhill” quarterhorse with contracted heels in front but a strong, symmetrical, well conformed pelvis and hind limbs. The contracted heels and forehand balance may predispose this horse to foot lameness. However, if the horse is trained to move with impulsion from behind, raise the withers and engage the core, this will result in an overall “lighter” movement, and reduce concussive force on the heels. The result: forelimb lameness resulting from imperfect conformation may be avoided.

Your horse’s overall balance is extremely important in maintaining athletic longevity and compensating for conformational defects in the lower limbs. However, training that develops excellent core strength and flexibility can greatly enhance the horse with less than ideal balance. Here is the bottom line: stand back and look at the whole picture, the entire horse, not just the offset knee, or base narrow stance, or turned out toes. If you develop your horse’s entire body to be strong at the center and balanced from front to back, you will successfully overcome the majority of his/her conformational problems.

Call today to schedule your Fall Clinic appointment!

HighDesertEquine.com

Building Healthy Partners