Carlton Veterinary Hospital

04/18/2025

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If you believe that horses need grain in their diet to meet their nutritional needs, you are not alone. However, horses should get most of their nutrients from a good quality forage source such as grass, hay, hay pellets, or a complete feed.

Horses generally eat between 1.5-2% of their body weight each day, so an average size 1,000 lbs horse should eat 15- 20 lbs of hay daily. To help fill any nutrient gaps such as essential vitamins or minerals, a ration balancer may be beneficial. Depending on breed, body condition, and exercise level, concentrates may be added in to provide additional energy but are often not needed.

When deciding on what to feed your horse, it is best to invest in high quality forages as the foundation of your feeding plan. You can even have your hay tested to see exactly what nutrients it is providing.

Please consult with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist about your horse's diet before making any major changes, and remember that any changes should be made gradually over time to avoid GI upset.

Thank you to the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee for providing this information.

04/09/2025

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MIDWEEK MYTHBUSTER! 📢

Many people think that horses can safely eat grass clippings (grass is grass, right?) but that is a pretty common misconception and grass clippings actually pose a number of dangers to our equine friends.

While grass is meant to be slowly picked, ripped and chewed by the horse, grass clippings can quickly clump and cause choke if the animal ingests too many too fast. Grass clippings are also prone to fermentation which can cause colic, stomach and intestinal impactions, founder and laminitis.

Take-home message: Keep your horse away from grass clippings and in general never feed horses any food without the owner’s permission.

Thank you to the Horse Owner Education Committee for providing this information.

03/27/2025

Yogi the Maine C**n came to visit us this week. Regal, handsome AND fluffy - a difficult combination to pull off. Hats off to you, Yogi!

03/25/2025

This little bat eared hippo named Maverick came to see us today. We all melted into a puddle from his ridiculous cuteness.

03/14/2025

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Remember when your parents used to tell you to wait 30 minutes after eating before going for a swim? Unlike us, horses can actually benefit from eating forage before they exercise, as it may help reduce the risk of gastric ulcers.

While a variety of things can contribute to the development of stomach ulcers (medications, diet, stress, etc.), one train of thought is that these areas of irritation result as a consequence of the acid of the stomach splashing against unprotected parts of the stomach lining. When a horse eats forage, the hay can help absorb some of that acid and thus reduce the risk of ulcer formation.

It is important to note that a forage meal (one comprised of long stem hay) provides the most benefit, while eating large volumes of concentrate feeds (such as oats, corn, or other cereal grains) can actually increase the amount of acid within the stomach.
As always, please be sure to consult with your vet regarding further diagnostics and treatments if you have concerns that your horse may have gastric ulcers.

Brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

02/14/2025

Found near Sheridan by a staff member's family. Let's help get him home.

02/13/2025

Due to hazardous weather conditions, Carlton Veterinary Hospital will be closing early today. Depending on the weather, we may have limited hours tomorrow as well. Please call our office if you are planning on stopping by to verify we are open. We suggest staying home and cuddling in warm blankets. 503-852-7009.

02/12/2025

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12/31/2024

Just a reminder: Carlton Veterinary Hospital will be closed tomorrow, January 1st, for New Year's Day. Who would have thought 2025 was here already?

12/25/2024

Northwest Naturals pet food recall:

Morasch Meats of Portland Voluntary Recall of Northwest Naturals Brand 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe Raw & Frozen Pet Food Due to HPAI Contamination Oregon Department of Agriculture sent this bulletin at 12/24/2024 12:18 PM PST Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. News Release: Decem...

12/23/2024

Just a reminder: Carlton Veterinary Hospital will be closing at NOON tomorrow, Christmas eve, and be closed all day Christmas day. We will reopen Thursday, December 26th at 8:15am. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

12/12/2024

There are 2 available discounted float special appointments available December 18th at 9 am and 11am. If interested, please call the office ASAP to reserve your appointment.

12/02/2024

We are currently out of power and have no phones if emergency text 503-899-8559

11/26/2024

Reese wants to remind you that Carlton Veterinary Hospital will be closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11/28 - 12/1) this week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

11/26/2024

Float Special Days are a great Christmas gift for the horse enthusiast in your life. It is a savings of over $100 off of the regular float price. These are our final appointments available for this season. 12/18 - 5 slots, 1/24 - 4 slots, 2/5 - 6 slots, 2/21 - 3 slots. There will be no float special days until this season next year.

11/21/2024

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EPM is widely considered the most important infectious neurologic disease of horses in North America and is caused by protozoal infection of the central nervous system. Horses are infected by consuming food or water contaminated with opossum s**t containing sporocysts.

Horses with EPM do not present a biosecurity risk to other animals because the disease is not transmissible between horses. An effective vaccine has yet to be developed, so the best preventative approach includes eliminating access of opossums to feed and water in order to minimize contact with opossum s**t and improving your horse's immune defenses by decreasing stress and optimizing health.

To learn more about EPM, visit the following resources:
https://aaep.org/resource/equine-protozoal-myeloencephalitis-epm/
&
https://www.equinediseasecc.org/EPM

As always, consult your veterinarian for more information and for advice tailored to your horse's specific circumstances.

11/15/2024

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Did you know that a horse with a moderate hair coat starts requiring additional calories for body temperature regulation when the outside temperature drops to approximately 50°F?

As the temperatures start to drop, especially overnight, it's important to remember that cold weather prompts special considerations for your horse's diet and care. This is particularly important when it comes to the older members of the herd; consult your primary horse doctor to formulate a plan to keep your horses happy and healthy this fall and winter!

10/22/2024

2 SPOTS OPEN FOR CVH FLOAT SPECIAL!

Our "Equine Float Special Days" are an opportunity for our horse clients to save money on a routine procedure. These are discounted floats (over $100 per horse). We very much want to keep offering these every fall/winter, so PLEASE keep your appointment or help us fill them if you need to cancel. We will not be able to afford to keep hosting these in the future if we don't keep all spots full.

Tomorrow, 10/23, we have two openings for float specials due to late cancellations. Please help us to fill these spots. Thank you.