Horse care 101

Brie Taylor, DVM

Whether your horse hits the trails, travels to shows, works on the ranch, or is retired on pasture, the following basics should be performed to keep your horse’s quality of life at its highest and to help prevent disease or injury.

(1) Vaccinations -- There are quite a few out there, but the following are the “core” vaccines every horse should receive:

Other vaccines, such as Strangles and Herpesvirus vaccine should be given to horses at risk. Discuss with your veterinarian the vaccines best for your horse.

(2) Dental Care – To keep your horse comfortable, from dropping feed, properly nourished, and responsive to the bit and cues, it is extremely important to have their teeth “floated”. Your horse’s teeth are different than ours: They continually grow and food is ground in an elliptical motion. Sharp points develop on the edges of the teeth, which create ulcers on their cheeks and tongue. Waves, hooks, and ramps may also be present, each of which inhibit your horse from correctly chewing and getting all of the hay’s nutrients and calories. Beginning at birth, every horse should have their teeth examined regularly. Their teeth should be tended to annually starting around year two.

(3) Hoof Trimming – Like their teeth, a horse’s hooves also grow continually, requiring them to be trimmed regularly. Ideally, trimming should be performed every 6-8 weeks to keep up with the growth rate of the hoof. Excess growth can lead to added stress on the bones, ligaments, and joints, potentially causing disease or injury. Overgrown and neglected hooves are more prone to hoof wall cracks, abscesses, and thrush.

(4) Deworming – Horses always carry a parasite load in their gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, deworming them every two months decreases that burden. To be most effective your dewormer should alternate between different medications, such as ivermectin, fenbendazole, oxibendazole, moxidectin, and pyrantel. Annually, a dewormer with the ingredient praziquantal should be given to take care of tapeworms. Alternatively, Strongid C, a pelleted daily dewormer can be given for forty-five days in a row to kill tapeworms. It is necessary to keep your horse’s parasite load down to prevent malnutrition, diarrhea, colic, anemia, and even lung disease.

Our horses are important to us. They take a lot of time and care, but also give us much back in return. Keep up with the above tasks and your horse will spend less time sick or injured and more quality time with you. Don’t hesitate to call your veterinarian to get more detailed information on the above topics.

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Meet the Veterinarians from Middletown Animal Hospital:

Dr. Brie Taylor was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, with loving and supportive parents, family, and friends. She and her two brothers had many pets growing up which helped cultivate her love of animals and her dream to become a veterinarian. After receiving a B.S. in Biology from Oregon State University in 2002, she again attended Oregon State University where she obtained her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. She is excited to be a new edition to the veterinary team at Middletown Animal Hospital and enjoys working on a variety of animals. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, two cats, Toledo and Gracie, and family Golden Retriever dogs, Kalli, Bailey, and Donovan. She also loves to explore the outdoors and can’t wait to experience the diverse natural beauty California has to offer.

Dr. Jeffrey J Smith , DVM graduated from Cornell University in 1986. He completed an internship in Thousand Oaks, California in 1987, and stayed on for another year as an associate. Before opening MAH in 1991, he worked in a small animal clinic, in an equine practice, and in an emergency clinic. In 1990 Dr. Smith came to Middletown with the goal of building a veterinary hospital that the community could be proud of. Little by little he cleaned up the property, added staff and equipment, and built-up the reputation of the hospital. The mission of the hospital is simple: Provide the best possible care to each patient and client. Dr. Smith places a high value on continuing education and medical technology in order to offer the best care available. His biggest challenge on a day to day basis is to keep the small business running smoothly--- unfortunately that sometimes means cutting into his time as a veterinarian!

Dr. Sarah Mason was raised in rural southern Oregon on her grandfather and her father’s cattle ranches. Growing up around livestock and horses fostered her desire to become a veterinarian from a young age. In 2002 she graduated from the Oregon State University agriculture program with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and then completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, also at OSU, in June of 2007. Dr. Mason has spent the last year in large animal ambulatory practice in the North Bay area, gaining invaluable experience in equine and small ruminant medicine and field surgery. She is looking forward to broadening her horizons and taking on new challenges with the doctors and staff at Middletown Animal Hospital. She enjoys trail running, hiking, knitting, and watching movies in her spare time. Her current project is training her 11 month-old terrier mix puppy named “Patti” to come when she is called.

Middletown Animal Hospital
21503 Highway 29
Middletown, CA 95461
707-987-2000

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