Lorraine's Pet Supply & Pet Grooming

02/18/2026

UPDATE: All appointments are booked at the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter. Stay tuned for more opportunities in the future!

Calling all pet owners! February is National Spay/Neuter Awareness month and starting next week, we are offering free spay/neuter appointments for owned pets in the community from February 23rd-28th. Appointments can be made by scanning the QR code or by visiting https://bit.ly/WSNRiv2.

This opportunity is available for community members in our jurisdiction only. To confirm if you reside in our jurisdiction check https://rcdas.org/service-areas.

Please see requirements below:

🔵All cats must be in carriers
🔵 All dogs must be on a leash
🔵 Limit 2 appointments per household
🔵 Owned pets only—no feral cats

Vaccines and microchips are included with every appointment.

We are committed to addressing community needs and preventing unwanted litters, and this effort is the start of many more opportunities to come for RivCo people and pets. If you are unable to make an appointment due to high demand, stay tuned for additional free spay/neuter clinics in the future! Visit https://rcdas.org/upcoming-events for more information.

¡Atención, dueños de mascotas! Febrero es el mes nacional de concienciación sobre la esterilización y castración, y a partir de la próxima semana, ofreceremos citas gratuitas para esterilizar y castrar a las mascotas de la comunidad entre el 23 y el 28 de febrero. Las citas se pueden concertar escaneando el código QR o en nuestra página web https://bit.ly/WSNRiv2.

Esta oportunidad está disponible solo para los miembros de la comunidad dentro de nuestra jurisdicción. Para confirmar si reside en nuestra jurisdicción, consulte https://rcdas.org/service-areas

Consulte los requisitos a continuación:

🔵Todos los gatos deben estar en transportines.
🔵Todos los perros deben llevar correa.
🔵Límite de 2 citas por hogar.
🔵Solo mascotas con dueño, no gatos callejeros.

Las vacunas y los microchips están incluidos en todas las citas.

Si no puede concertar una cita debido a la gran demanda, ¡esté atento a futuras clínicas gratuitas de esterilización y castración! Para más información, visite https://rcdas.org/upcoming-events.

01/23/2026

We will closed Friday January 23rd. My son is getting married. Saturday the 24th we will be closing at 12:30, for his reception.

12/31/2025

New Year’s Eve Calm Wrap 🐾✨

Fireworks can be overwhelming for dogs. A simple half-wrap using a long scarf or wrap can help apply gentle, calming pressure—similar to a hug.

✔ Start at the chest
✔ Cross over the shoulders
✔ Wrap under the body
✔ Tie securely away from the spine
✔ Snug, never tight

This light pressure can help anxious dogs feel safer and more grounded during loud celebrations. Always supervise and make sure your dog is comfortable🤎🖤🩶🐕

11/30/2025

Blanketing is not just about adding warmth. Horses heat themselves very differently than we do and understanding that helps us support them instead of accidentally making them colder.

Horses heat themselves from the inside out. Their digestive system ferments fibre all day which creates steady internal heat. Their winter coat traps this heat when the hair can lift and fluff, a process called piloerection. This creates a layer of warm air close to the skin and acts as the horse’s main insulation system.

A thin blanket can interrupt this system. It presses the coat flat which removes the natural insulation. If the blanket does not provide enough fill to replace what was lost the horse can become COLDER in a light layer than with no blanket at all.

Healthy horses are also built to stay dry where it matters. The outer coat can look wet while the skin stays warm and dry. That dry base is the insulation. When we put a blanket on and flatten the coat, the fill must replace that lost insulation.

Problems begin when moisture reaches the skin. Wetness at the base of the coat flattens the hair and stops the coat from trapping heat. This can happen in freezing rain, heavy wet snow, or when a horse sweats under an inappropriate blanket.

Checking the base of the coat tells you far more than looking at the surface. Slide your fingers down to the skin behind the shoulder and along the ribs. Dry and warm means the horse is coping well. Cool or damp means the horse has lost insulation and needs support.

Horses also show clear body language when they are cold. Look for tension through the neck, shorter and stiffer movement, standing tightly tucked, avoiding resting a hind leg, clustering in sheltered areas, a hunched topline, withdrawn social behaviour, and increased hay intake paired with tension. Shivering is a clear sign but it appears later in the discomfort curve.

Ears can give extra information but they are not reliable on their own. Cold ears with a relaxed body are normal, but cold ears paired with tension, stillness, or a cool or damp base of the coat can suggest the horse is losing heat. Always look at the whole picture instead of using one single check.

If you choose to blanket, pick a fill that REPLACES what you are removing. Sheets and very light layers often make horses colder in winter weather. A blanket that compresses the coat needs enough fill to replace the trapped warm air the coat would have created on its own.

Blanketing is a tool, not a default. Healthy adult horses with full winter coats often regulate extremely well on their own as long as they are dry, sheltered from strong wind, and have consistent access to forage. Horses who are clipped, older, thin, recovering, or living in harsh wind and wet conditions will likely need more support and blanketing. The individual horse always matters.

It would be easier if a single number worked for every horse. But in my own herd I have horses who stay comfortable naked in minus thirty and others who need three hundred and fifty grams (+) in that same weather. That range is normal. It is exactly why no one chart can ever work for every horse, and why watching the individual horse will always be more accurate than any temperature guide.

Thermoregulation is individual. Charts cannot tell you what your horse needs. Your horse can. Watch the body, check the skin, and blanket the individual in front of you.

11/20/2025

What is Equine Herpesvirus (EHV)?

You've probably heard it called Rhinopneumonitis, a respiratory tract disease that results in "snotty noses," but EHV is more than that. Depending on the strain, this virus can also cause abortion in broodmares, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) — the often-deadly neurologic form of the disease.

Because EHV is endemic in many equine populations, most mature horses have developed some immunity through repeated natural infection. However, they remain a source of infection for other susceptible horses, like weaned foals and yearlings, who usually display symptoms of the respiratory form of the disease in autumn and winter. Performance and show horses are also more vulnerable to the disease, as they commingle with unfamiliar equines in close quarters while under stress from travel and competition.

Proper biosecurity protocols can help reduce EHV outbreaks and other disease transmission. A variety of vaccines are also available for protection against both the respiratory and abortive form of the disease, but there is no equine licensed vaccine at this time that has a label claim for protection against the neurologic form (EHM).

Consult your primary equine veterinarian to learn more about this disease and work with them to determine the optimal vaccine protocol for your horses.

You can learn more about all three forms on the Equine Disease Communication Center's website here: https://equinediseasecc.org/infectious-diseases

10/24/2025

We will be closed tomorrow, Saturday October 25th. To attend a celebration of life. Sorry for any inconvenience.

10/04/2025

Equine Deworming
Brian S. Burks DVM
Diplomate, ABVP
Board-Certified in Equine Practice

Everyone knows that their horse should be de-wormed. Parasites remain a leading cause of intestinal disturbance in horses. There is much more to parasite control than simply giving your horse a deworming paste every so often. First, many paste products are the same active ingredient, so that even though products are changed, the same pharmaceutical ingredient is used. (See table) Anthelmintic pastes do not get every stage or even every parasite. Secondly, there should be an understanding of parasite life cycles and which one should be targeted at a given time of the year. Only your veterinarian can help you with the important details of de-worming your horse. It is not nearly as simple as giving a paste in your horse’s mouth.
In decades past, large strongyles were responsible for an estimated 90% of colic due to migration of larvae through the cranial mesenteric artery. With the advent of more efficacious deworming in the 1970’s and 80’s this parasite came under control. Since then, however, the parasites have developed resistance to these chemicals. Today the small strongyles (cyathostomins) are more prevalent, harder to control due to resistance, and harder to diagnose accurately due to their life cycle. The larval stages encyst in the colon wall and ‘hide’ from most anthelmintics. They may stay there for variable lengths of time varying from weeks to years. Slow build up of encysted cyathostome larvae can occur over several years. Only the adult cyathostomins are killed by deworming, which, in turn, decreases egg shedding. Tapeworms have also become more important, especially on certain farms. Large strongyles and bots are also of concern. In foals, weanlings, and yearlings, round worms (Parascaris equorum) are a significant parasite. There are multiple other parasites that will be controlled by most de-worming protocols.
Cyathostomins (small strongyles) may cause intestinal disturbances from subclinical to severe changes in intestinal function. Severe disease may result in weight loss and protein losing enteropathy (protein loss through the inflamed intestinal wall). Other horses may experience more mild symptoms such as mild, self or easily resolved colic symptoms, and peritonitis (inflammation and/or infection in the abdomen). Young horses are also quite susceptible to this parasite.
Tapeworms attach to the mucosa at the ileocecal opening- the junction of the small intestine and cecum, or appendix. They may block the opening resulting in reduction of fluid flow from the small intestine into the cecum. They may also cause weight loss with chronic, low grade infestation.
Round worms are present in all ages of the horse. Young animals, one year of age or less, are the most susceptible to this parasite due to a lack of immunity against parasites. Parascaris equorum may cause small intestinal obstruction due to the large number of adults that are found there. A single female may produce 10,000 or more eggs per day. The life cycle also involves migration of larvae through both the liver and the lungs, which may result in dysfunction of these organs. Pneumonitis and/or pneumonia are common sequelae to migration through the lungs. Even though infection may be present, antibiotics alone are not effective; de-worming with an appropriate anthelmintic is necessary.
Slow rotation programs, whereby the same active ingredient is used for an entire year are concerning due to small strongyle resistance and the fact that certain parasites are not affected by all of the different anthelmintic classes. Other programs include a change in class of de-wormer NOT just a change in product. This may still causes some parasite resistance, as frequent use may allow them to develop ways to avoid the pharmaceutical.
So how do we treat parasites in our horses? First, we need to find out the parasite load. This involves f***l egg counts. These should be done at least once, if not twice per year. Second, the type of worm must be identified. Each parasite has its own life cycle. Third, we must decide on an anthelmintic based on the first two criteria. Fourth, pasture management strategies should be implemented. This may include pasture rest/rotation, vacuuming or f***s removal, stocking density, and harrowing.
F***l egg counts will reduce the need for chemical control of parasites in many horses. Approximately 30% of the horses contain 80% of the worms. Identification of these horses will allow more intensive treatment of those horses that need it, while decreasing unnecessary treatment in other horses. Since parasite resistance is becoming rapidly wide-spread, this will also keep the de-wormers working in the future.
In western Pennsylvania, the critical periods for de-worming are the spring, summer, and fall/early winter. Since most parasites will not be active during the winter, continued treatment is not necessary. Cyathostomins will tend to excyst from the colon and cecal walls in the spring, and will encyst during the winter. This makes spring and early winter ideal for treatment of this parasite. Tapeworms tend to proliferate in the late summer and autumn, making winter a good time to remove these parasites.
Younger animals will need more frequent f***l egg counts and treatment. This is due to their lack of inherent resistance. Infestations in young animals tend to be more severe and to make them ill much more quickly than in adult animals.
In conclusion, parasite resistance is increasing; therefore we need to be proactive in treating those horses that require frequent de-worming, while not treating animals that have low f***l egg counts. Strategic treatment will more efficiently control parasitism, and preserve anthelmintics for future generations of our horses (less parasite resistance). Involving your veterinarian by having him or her run f***l egg counts, you will have a better idea if your horse is a heavy, moderate, or light egg shedder. Your veterinarian is also trained in parasite life cycles, making him/her the best source for your de-worming purchases, when necessary. This will allow a more tailored de-worming program, suited for your horse. It may even save you money in the long run!

Anthelmintic Drug Classes
CLASS PHARMACEUTICAL
NAME BRAND NAME GENERIC BRAND NAME

BENZIMIDAZOLE Fenbendazole

Oxibendazole Panacur
Panacur Powerpack
Anthelcide Safe-Guard

TETRAHYDROPYRIMIDINES
(PYRANTEL SALTS)

CONTINUOUS PYRANTEL PRODUCTS Strongid Paste Rotectin 2
Equi-Cide
Strongid-C Continuex Daily Dewormer

AVERMECTINS/MILBEMYCINS Eqvalan Paste Ivermectin
Iver-Care
Agri-mectin
Bi-Mectin
Zimecterin
Equimectrin
Zimecterin Gold
Equimax
Quest (Moxidectin)
Quest Plus


Fox Run Equine Center

www.foxrunequine.com

(724) 727-3481

08/02/2025