Valley Equine Clinic

08/27/2026

Lets talk about the recent news of Equine Herpes Virus!

What's the news?
On August 25th, there was a horse who participated in the "4-H Round Up Show" and the "Kings County Agricultural Fair Draft Horse Show" in Sussex, NB who had a stablemate who is positive for EHV-1. To be clear, the horse at the show was just a stable-mate of the horse testing positive, the show-horse has not tested positive to our knowledge.

What should I do about this news?
- If you were at the show, the NB government is recommending quarantine for 14-21 days and monitoring for signs of EVH-1.
- If you were not at the show, take this at a warning. EHV-1 is everywhere, and is common. It is much more common than we think - often it isn't tested for or reported

What should I do with my horse moving forward?
We though this was a great opportunity to remind everyone of our biosecurity recommendations! Please do the following;
- Use good biosecurity at shows - do not share tools, water, etc and do not touch or allow your horse to come into contact with other horses
- VACCINATION! The EHV/EIV vaccine (two of the diseases in the common "5-way" vaccine) only has good protection for about 6 months. If you are showing 6 months away from your vaccination, YOU SHOULD BOOSTER EHV/EIV IN YOUR HORSE!
- Monitoring: Practice good biosecurity on your farm - keep show horses separate from at-risk horses (young, old, pregnant, unvaccinated) and monitor horses carefully for any signs of disease; give us a call if you notice any signs.

We have a fact-sheet about EHV available on our website, if you would like to find more information about EHV. Below is the link

https://www.valleyequine.ca/helpful-links

I will attach the notice from the NB veterinary service in the comments for anyone wanting the news straight from the source.

08/27/2026

Sharing our friend (and Dr. White’s study partner!) Dr. Angie Yates excellent explanation on the important of pre-purchase exams! This applies whether you’re looking at a horse locally, across Canada, or across the World.

We are happy to help assist you on your path buying a new partner. Even if you’re looking at a horse out of province, our team likely has colleagues in that area they can recommend to you! Call us today at (902) 690-5014 to start the conversation.

08/22/2026

Our team loves to support underserviced areas, and we’re excited to announce our next destination: Newfoundland!

Dr. White will be traveling to St. John’s from Sept 26th thru 30th. He will be offering soundness evaluations, radiology, ultrasonography, and gastroscopies.

If any Newfies on the Rock are interested in being seen, please email [email protected] for more information. Spots are filling up fast!

08/19/2026

It’s one of the best times of the year here in the Valley! The Annapolis Valley Exhibition!

Our own Dr. Pyke has limited hours this week, as she’s spending the majority of it competing at the exhibition with her mare, Demi.

The Valley Ex has a multitude of equine events this week, and we’re thrilled to be able to sponsor them. If you’re looking for something to do this week, take a ride down and take in the shows!

Good luck to all of our clients competing this week!

08/14/2026

We love supporting equine sport in NS! 🥰

Huge thank you to Gold Sponsor, Valley Equine Clinic for sponsoring our 5th Annual Versatility Ranch Horse Show!

08/12/2026

Sneak peek! Guess what’s going on with Team VEC this afternoon? 👀

08/11/2026

Let’s talk about 🩸bleeding!🩸

🩸We have two main kinds of bleeding; arterial and venous (meaning blood is coming either from arteries away from the heart or veins toward the heart)

🩸Venous bleeding is the most common - it will usually stop on its own fairly quickly

🩸Arterial bleeding can be more serious - blood will be coming out faster and will take a very long time to stop bleeding

🩸Arterial bleeding often requires veterinary intervention - often times the artery bleeding will need to be surgically clamped or tied

🩸Important to have in your first aid kit in case of arterial bleeding: sterile gauze sponges and vetrap. After speaking with the vet, we will usually advise a pressure bandage - a tight bandage of gauze and vetrap which is only left on a very short time to stop the bleeding. Please call before applying a pressure bandage!

Here is our emergency from last night - the horse came in from turnout with a small, shallow wound. Despite the (small) nature of the wound, it would not stop bleeding, prompting the owner to call. The owner was advised to apply a pressure bandage. Dr. Hansen arrived to clean the wound, clamp and tie off the artery, and suture the wound. We thought this was a great example of how even a small, shallow wound can have arterial bleeding! Facebook does not like bloody photos, so please see more bloody version of the photo as well as a video in the comments!

08/04/2026

Please welcome our new office manager, Allison Hennigar! Allison is a lifelong horse person, a registered veterinary technician, and has impressive bookkeeping/office experience. We are beyond excited to have her expertise to continue to improve our clinic! Please join us in giving Allison a very warm welcome to team Valley Equine!

07/31/2026

Happy long weekend Friday! We had a great day here at Valley Equine - pictured are Dr. Hansen and Bre doing some dental work, Dr. White and Kaelee working performing a lameness flexion, and Dr. Pyke taking a very very well deserved extra day to her long weekend (she's off and out of the area - please don't text her!) We will be closed on Monday for Natal Day, but as always are available on call at 902-690-5014 any time for emergencies. Are you getting up to anything horse-y for the long weekend?