As many of you are aware, one of Dr. Butters’ special interests is equine dentistry. Knowing this, one of our fantastic clients generously provided us with a wonderful and very interesting skull specimen that we wanted to share.
This skull is from a stallion that lived in a wild/feral state west of Cochrane. Our client knew the stallion, and relayed that he died during the very cold, deep snow winter we experienced several years ago.
Dr. Butters believes she knows what may have contributed to this early death.
Euthanasia is a term that comes from the Greek language and translated into English means “good death.” The most common method of euthanasia is via a lethal injection of a barbituate drug, but other methods may also produce a “good death.” There are many reasons for an owner to choose euthanasia and the decision to euthanize a horse is often a difficult and deeply personal for the owner.
What is in a “3-Way” vaccine? A “4-Way?” “5-Way?” “6-Way?”
We get a lot of questions about these confusing terms! The “3-Way” vaccine has long been used to describe the combination vaccine containing Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE), Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WEE), and Tetanus. For a “4-Way,” add influenza to those three vaccines just listed. A five way provides protection against EEE, WEE, Tetanus, Influenza and Equine Herpesvirus (“rhinopneumonitis”), and a “6-way” contains all 5 components of a 5-Way, plus West Nile. Although there is a combination vaccine that includes EEE, WEE, tetanus, and West Nile, the combination of EEE,WEE, tetanus, and influenza was on the market for years prior to the introduction of the combination with West Nile, so the “4-Way” term is usually reserved for the vaccine containing influenza and not West Nile. Clear as mud?
Contact the clinic and we can help you determine what vaccinations are appropriate for your horse. Stay tuned in the coming days for more information on these diseases and why we vaccinate against them, as well as more answers to your frequently asked vaccination questions.
Whether this is your first adventure into the world of mares and foals, or you have been down this road before, you may be wondering what happens between the time you say your farewells at the clinic and the time you get that wonderful news. Well, wonder no more! In this article I will explain all of the techniques, technologies, and tricks we have at our disposal to make the process as reliable and smooth as possible.
Wireless inertial sensor-based technology is at the forefront of lameness evaluation research today, and we are excited to now be incorporating this cutting edge diagnostic tool into our lameness examinations! The Equinosis Lameness Locator is the result of over twenty years of gait analysis research, and it allows objective quantification of lameness during a routine clinical exam.
Just as in humans, most vaccinations cause at most very mild outward symptoms after the vaccine is given. Some horses may be a little more lethargic than usual, have some mild tenderness at the injection site, or stiffness in the neck if that is where the vaccine was administered. Occasionally, the horse will develop a mild and transient fever, and this is usually noticed if the horse goes off his feed. These usually resolved uneventfully, although sometimes anti-inflammatories are given.
