Central Washington Equine Hospital

09/03/2026

It’s Rodeo week in Ellensburg!

We want to wish all of the contestants (and their equine partners) the best of luck as they compete for the top spot at the world famous Ellensburg Rodeo! 🐴🤠

Our team at Central Washington Equine Hospital is ready to serve you and your equine athletes as the official on-call veterinarian. 🩺

If you need an appointment, or are experiencing an equine emergency, please give our office a call at 509-859-2933.

09/01/2026

🐎Appleatchee Riders🐎

Dr. Bergevin will be traveling to Appleatchee on Tuesday, September 22nd!

Please contact the office to get scheduled.
(509) 859-2933

08/31/2026

Labor day holiday hours 🇺🇸

Our office will be closed Monday, September 7th, for Labor Day. As always, we will remain available 24/7 for equine emergency care.

If you are experiencing an emergency on Monday, our on-call veterinarian can be reached at 509-859-2933

08/26/2026

🚩What is your horses biggest “Red Flag”?!🚩

If you own horses, you know that all of them have at least one red flag. We want to know what you think your horses is!

Our staff has chimed in, and here’s what they have to say about their own equine friends! 📣

- A master of opening gates that need to be closed.
- Runs from the halter like it’s an Olympic sport! “He’s really easy to catch!”
- You ate WHAT?!
- Plays hide and seek with her fly mask, boots and hay pillow. Raven hides, mom finds!
- Are you napping, or are you dead?
- Gets mysteriously better when the vet arrives.

Comment below ⬇️

08/21/2026

🐴Entiat travel day🐴

Dr. Downer will be traveling to Entiat on September 30!

Please call the front office to get on the schedule.

(509) 859-2933

08/17/2026

💥Meet the team Monday💥

Maddy Ziegler

Maddy grew up in Kent, Washington, where she spent most of her time horseback riding. Her love for horses was heavily influenced by her grandpa, who introduced her to horses at a very young age. She later attended Central Washington University, where she studied Communications and American Sign Language (ASL). While at CWU, Maddy managed the CWU Equestrian Team barn and showed in both English and Western riding.

Outside of work, Maddy enjoys trail riding, cow sorting, hiking, paddle boarding, silversmithing, and spending time with her dog, R***r.

Maddy is a very familiar face at CWEH as she primarily manages scheduling and keeps things running smoothly for our clients and patients in our front office. We’re so happy to have her on our team! 🐴

08/17/2026

🐴Appleatchee and Wenatchee horse owners!🐴

Dr. Maggie Downer will be traveling to Appleatchee and surrounding areas on 8/27 and still has some room in the schedule to add appointments.

Please call the office to get scheduled!

(509) 859-2933

08/15/2026

A TPR is a simple skill that all horse owners should know. This baseline can provide valuable information to what your horses “normal” values are, and can be a reference point for your veterinarian to use in the event of an emergency.

Check out the information below to see the normal ranges for a TPR! 🌡️

Do you know your horse’s baseline? 🤔

Knowing what’s normal for your horse’s vital signs is one of the best tools you have for spotting early signs of distress or illness!

Practicing taking your horse’s TPR (Temperature, Pulse, Respiration) regularly helps you know their personal baseline so you can quickly spot when something is off. If your horse seems unusually dull or anxious and their numbers fall outside these typical ranges, it’s time to call your equine veterinarian:

🌡️ Temperature: 99.0°F – 101.5°F
❤️ Heart Rate: 28 – 40 beats/min
😮‍💨 Respiration Rate: 12 – 16 breaths/min

Note: Hot weather and high humidity can cause minor shifts in these numbers. Chat with your veterinarian about what’s normal for your specific horse and environmental conditions, and ask them to double-check your technique at your next visit!

💡 Special thanks to the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee for sharing these essential health guidelines.

08/04/2026

Are you prepared to evacuate large animals if necessary?

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is a highly credited resource that offers in-depth information to help you and your horses, livestock, other large animals be better prepared for evacuation if needed.

Visit the link below for more information.⬇️

Updates on issues of interest to the agricultural community and the public.

08/04/2026

💥Meet the team Monday💥

Dr. Jim Lillich, DVM, MS, DACVS

Hailing from Santa Fe, New Mexico Dr. Lillich received his bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico. He then traveled to Ft. Collins, Colorado to complete his DVM at Colorado State (Summa Cum Laude, 1991). He completed his large animal Internship in Ithaca, New York at Cornell University. From there he was off to Columbus Ohio to complete his three-year equine surgical residency at The Ohio State University. He has shared his expertise, training veterinary students and residents at Oklahoma State University, and Iowa State University, and was on faculty for 22 years at Kansas State University. Dr. Lillich comes to us with over 30 years of equine surgical experience and has over 80 publications and book chapters to his credit. He prides himself on providing excellence in orthopedic surgical conditions, regenerative medicine, as well as general surgery.

Outside of his exceptional knowledge and impressive equine veterinary skill, Dr. Lillich brings an equal amount of compassion (and humor) to our team at CWEH. He is known to always have a bank of good jokes, and even better cooking.🧑‍🍳

Dr. Lillich has availability for both in hospital and farm call appointments. If you would like to get on his schedule, give us a call @ 509-859-2933