Large Animal Veterinary Services

08/28/2025

Fall is just around the corner, which means it's time for a FALL-CHECKLIST! 🍂🍁

As the cooler weather moves in, now is the time to crack down on housing, nutrition, and preventative health strategies suitable for the arrival of winter.

Check out this list of essential items on the horse owner's fall to-do list, but there is much more that needs to be done—like having your horse's blankets repaired and waterproofed, securing and storing hay properly, assessing your shelters for safety and soundness, etc.

Note that your equine veterinarian is one of your greatest allies this season, so be sure to consult them and discuss vaccination and deworming protocols appropriate for your horse’s situation. This is also a great opportunity to chat about recommended changes in nutrition and exercise programs as well!

08/28/2025

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF PROUD FLESH? 🔎

Wounds on the bodies and limbs of our equine companions are exceptionally common. In particular, wounds on lower limbs can be especially difficult to manage. There is little extra skin in these areas, making large wounds difficult to close via suturing.

In addition, wounds on the lower legs are contaminated easily with bacteria since they are closer to the ground, bedding, and manure. The constant movement of an animal's legs as it walks, turns, and bears weight can also greatly impair healing, especially if the wound occurs over a joint. All of these factors can often halt the normal progression of the healing process and result in a chronic wound.

Persistent inflammation, along with infection, is a major contributor to exuberant granulation tissue (or proud flesh) formation in a wound. Proud flesh is not conducive to wound healing as it prevents the wound from epithelializing (the process of the skin cells covering the wound), and sometimes it can become so large that it appears to be a tumor, usually obliterating the original wound.

Prevention of proud flesh involves good wound management. For the best healing, wounds should be identified and treated quickly and properly — especially on the lower limbs. Consult your veterinarian about any wounds that appear deep or extensive, that lie over important structures (like joints and tendons), or that already show signs of proud flesh development. Rather than waste time and money in trials and errors that could delay your equid's healing, ask your veterinarian what products are best for your situation.

08/26/2025

Mini crush Monday!
This little Highland/Dexter cross came to see us at LAVS today, we wanted to share the cuteness with all of you 😁🐮🤠
Hope you all had a good Monday!

08/22/2025

Hopefully we never have to use our emergency plans but it’s ALWAYS a good idea the have a plan in place for ourselves and our four legged partners! Here is some good info on natural disaster and evacuation planning.

08/20/2025

May your coffee be stronger than any challenges you have to face today. Happy hump day everyone!

08/19/2025

Fall Vaccine Clinics are right around the corner & brochures are heading out soon! Call the clinic to get your horses on the schedule. We look forward to seeing all of you!

08/15/2025

This little cutie joined the LAVS family earlier this week. She is not only adorable but sweet and very curious too! Happy foal Friday y’all!

08/14/2025

Good boy pony “Roy” came for a visit today. He helped Dr. Beth write his prescription labels and paid very close attention to his discharge instructions! ♥️🐴

08/08/2025

Suns out, tongues out! ☀️ 😛 🐴
Happy Friday everyone. We hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

08/06/2025

If any of you are interested, this is happening tomorrow evening. Could be some very good info! Use the link in the description to register.

08/04/2025

And the fun continues…. Our phones are on the fritz again!
We ARE able to RECEIVE incoming calls, so keep calling in.
However, we are NOT able to call out from the clinic on our landlines so we are having to use our cell phones to call clients. This means when WE CALL YOU, it looks like you are getting a call from a private or blocked number OR some random phone number to at you don’t recognize. If you have an appointment with us at all this week or are expecting to hear from anyone at the clinic and it comes through on your end as private, blocked or a number you don’t know please answer or at least let us leave a voicemail and call us right back.
Once again we are so sorry for these ongoing issues, AT&T does not have an estimated time for when things will be resolved but we will keep you all posted as best we can!

08/04/2025

Some Monday reading for you.

The term "fat leg" is pretty self-explanatory, but do you know the difference between stocking up and cellulitis?

Many horses will "stock up" with subcutaneous edema (fluid swelling) in two or more legs (usually the hind limbs). Stocking up generally results from a significant decrease in exercise and usually resolves as the horse starts exercising again.

Lymphangitis (or vasculitis, big leg disease, staph infection, or cellulitis), however, is a bacterial infection and a dramatically different condition. While its causes may vary, it’s easy to spot once it sets in. The swelling will be extreme, hot, very painful to the touch, and the horse will be depressed due to the fever and discomfort.

If you think your equine friend has cellulitis or even if you're not sure, we encourage you to seek professional help promptly. Your equine practitioner will make the best treatment recommendations, both to reduce swelling and to address any sort of bacterial infection that might be active or that could occur due to the edema in the soft tissue.