McKeown Equine Veterinary Services LLC

02/28/2026

Hess Equine experienced a tragic first this week. With a combined 50+ years of practicing equine veterinary medicine, our team saw the first (and hopefully last!) case of equine rabies.

The reality is that rabies is 100% preventable with adequate annual vaccination.

The truth is that rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms develop.

The brutality is that there is no way to test for rabies in a living animal.

Pennsylvania was one of the top six states reporting the greatest number of rabies cases in 2022. The commonwealth continues to have a very high incidence of the disease in wild and feral animals.

EVERY mammal is susceptible to the rabies virus.

Horses by their very existence are in close proximity to wild animals that may carry rabies (notably: raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats, groundhogs, etc). We generally see very few cases of equine rabies because most horse owners follow veterinary recommendations and annually vaccinate against rabies.

There are two forms of the rabies virus:

1. Furious: this is marked by significant aggression, abnormal vocalization, foaming at the mouth, fear of water (especially human cases), the classic “old yeller” version. Furious rabies accounts for about 80% of rabies cases, making it recognizable with the single most common factor among domestically affected animals being the lack of proper vaccine administration.
2. Paralytic: these animals become weaker and weaker, eventually paralysis sets in, and finally coma & death.

The incubation period from the time of exposure to the saliva of an infected animal through a break in the skin (typically a bite or scratch) is normally 2-3 months but can be as soon as one week and may take up to one year for central nervous system infection and resulting symptoms. NOTE: this is NOT like “old yeller”, this is a disease that takes time to manifest.

The bottom line in preventing the unnecessary and tragic loss of your equid to rabies is PROPERLY VACCINATING THEM EVERY YEAR UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF YOUR VETERINARIAN.

If you believe you may have been bitten by a rabid animal or come into contact with the saliva of a potentially rabid animal please seek medical attention immediately and contact your local health department.

If you would like to learn more about the rabies virus and how it affects humans worldwide please visit https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies.

01/05/2026

This is so cool!!

12/03/2025

THE COLD WEATHER IS UPON US! ❄️

Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice; good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal, and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
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Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

11/21/2025

11/21/2025

Two positive cases of Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), the neurologic form of EHV-1, have led to the cancellation of the remaining Barrel Futurities of America (BFA) World Championship events scheduled for Nov. 17–22 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, OK. Both affected horses had previously competed at the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) event in Waco, Texas (Nov. 5–9) before traveling to Oklahoma.

Below is what you need to know ⬇️

❓ What is EHV/EHM?
Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a common virus in horses.
EHM, its neurologic form, is rare but serious and potentially life-threatening. Horses may shed the virus for 2–10 days before showing signs.

📍Why was the event canceled?
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry confirmed two EHM cases in horses that attended both the WPRA event and traveled to Oklahoma. Officials are concerned other horses may have moved between the WPRA and the BFA events, increasing exposure risk.

🦠 How Does EHV-1 Spread?
EHV-1 can spread through nose-to-nose contact or inhalation of respiratory droplets, via contaminated surfaces (stalls, water/feed buckets, tack, trailers), or humans can also spread the virus through contaminated hands, clothing, and equipment.

🛡️ Recommended Actions for Horse Owners
If your horse attended the event, you should isolate your horse for 14 days after returning home. Take and record twice-daily temperatures (monitor for 101.5°F or higher) and consider increasing biosecurity and disinfection measures on your farm.

You should contact your veterinarian if your horse may have been exposed or shows any concerning signs.

For detailed information on signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of EHM, visit: https://equinediseasecc.org/equine-herpesvirus

If you have questions beyond what we've shared in this post, please give our office a call at (614) 292-6661.

11/07/2025

🩸 Recently, a 17 year old draft gelding in Virginia tested positive for Equine Parvovirus. And we thought that we would break this disease down for horse owners with Dr. Lauren Holley, ACVIM.

🩸 Did you know horses can get Parvovirus too?
Unlike dogs (who get GI signs), Equine Parvovirus causes liver disease (hepatitis).

💡 EqPV-H has been linked to Theiler’s Disease (Serum Hepatitis) — once thought to occur only after blood transfusions, but we now know horses can get it without any blood product exposure.

👉 We test all of our blood donors for Equine Parvovirus, and our plasma comes from rigorously screened, verified sources.

🩸 Most horses with EqPV-H don’t get sick — only 1–2% show signs of hepatitis. Mild cases often resolve on their own in a few weeks (1-12 weeks), with the only indication being elevated liver enzymes on blood work.

🪧 Typical signs of liver disease or hepatitis include:
💤 Lethargy
❌ Inappetence
💛 Yellow discoloration of the mucous
membranes (eyes, gums, v***a)
🌞 Photosensitization - abnormal
sunlight sensitivity causing blistering
and sunburn on the ‘non-pigmented’
or ‘white’ areas of the coat.
🤢 Colic
🛏️ Recumbency

🧠 In severe disease - Neurologic signs (hepatic encephalopathy) including altered behavior, head pressing, staggering and blindness.

🩺 Diagnosis
Clinical signs, elevated liver enzymes on blood work (AST, SDH, GLDH and GGT) and changes in markers of liver function (ammonia and bile acid concentrations).
PCR testing for the virus (in both blood and liver samples). A positive blood test doesn’t always mean active disease — horses can test positive up to a year after infection.

💊 Treatment and Prognosis
Only symptomatic horses require treatment → aggressive supportive care and secondary treatment of liver dysfunction - especially in the case of neurologic signs.
The prognosis with mild to moderate clinical signs is excellent. Severe disease, fulminant liver failure and neurologic signs, the mortality rate can be high.

💉 Prevention
No vaccine available
When administering biologic products (stem cells, plasma, etc), it is best to use autogenous biologics (from the patient's OWN blood) or commercial products that are known to be negative.

☣️Biosecurity
Not enough is known about EqPV-H. Traditional approaches to limiting the spread of diseases in outbreaks and good quarantine practices when introducing horses to barns are recommended.

📸: A foal receiving a blood transfusion.

07/21/2025

Most equine owners know that a negative Coggins test is a document required to be able to transport their animal across state lines, enter them in a competitive event, or board at someone's barn. But what does the phrase "negative Coggins test" actually mean?

A "Coggins" is a blood test that can only be performed by USDA-approved laboratories and checks for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies in the blood. EIA is a potentially fatal blood-borne infectious viral disease that is primarily transmitted by biting flies, particularly horseflies—which means that your animals are at risk even if they never travel or live in a closed herd.

The clinical signs of disease can vary dramatically from an acute infection to an inapparent form, but what is important to know is that it produces a persistent infection. Once an animal tests positive for EIA it becomes a lifelong source of disease transmission, so the owner can only choose between quarantine for life or humane euthanasia to ensure that large outbreaks of the disease don’t occur. There is no vaccine and no treatment for EIA.

Take-home message: While a Coggins test is a necessary travel document, don’t forget that it's also first and foremost a way to identify and remove EIA carriers to keep the disease under control.

To learn more about EIA, visit our website at: https://aaep.org/resource/equine-infectious-anemia/
or visit the Equine Disease Communication Center's website: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/

06/07/2025

"Cool" hot weather tips! ☀️

The notion that a hot, recently exercised horse needs to walk until they are completely cooled off is a myth. A 2020 study found that out of the five methods tested, the quickest way to return to normal body temperature was stationary with continuous tap water application. This doesn't mean that you should abruptly stop exercise—finish your ride or training session with a slow walk to allow your horse's heart rate and breathing to gradually return to normal, but after that your sweaty, hardworking horse should be offered a cool shower and drinking water (small but frequent amounts) without delay.

Overall, enjoy your summer rides but be aware of signs of heat stress in your horse. When heat and humidity soar, even moderate exercise can push your equine friend's body temperature beyond safe limits! Be sure to contact your veterinarian for more information about heat stroke and for recommendations tailored to your horse's individual situation.
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Information brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

05/09/2025

02/21/2025

Two common surgical techniques do relieve symptoms of kissing spines, but veterinarians still don't know exactly why they work

02/05/2025

Equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage says the type and length of turnout a horse gets when healing makes a crucial difference

12/18/2024

If you own horses long enough, sooner or later you are likely to be confronted with a medical emergency—even during the holidays. Are you prepared to act?

Having a clear emergency action plan will help you stay focused and effective if a crisis strikes. Below are some basic guidelines that can help you prepare for an equine emergency:

1. Know how to reach your regular veterinarian after hours. Ask about a back-up or referring veterinarian in case your regular horse doctor is not available for emergencies.

2. Have a plan for transporting the horse if necessary and know in advance the most direct route to an equine surgery center.

3. Prepare a first aid kit and store it in a clean, dry, readily accessible place. Keep a first aid kit in your horse trailer or towing vehicle as well and be sure to check your supplies periodically and restock as needed. First-aid kits can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like; seek your horse doctor's advice on what to add, especially regarding any drugs that could be included and how they should be administered.