Rocky River Large Animal Veterinary Clinic

07/25/2026

Researchers are refining how veterinarians prevent and treat foal diarrhea while uncovering new insights into disease.

07/13/2026

07/13/2026

🌟 We have an EXCITING announcement!!! 🌟

We just welcomed Dr. Hartsell to our team!!!

Dr. Alexandra (Alex) Hartsell is from Monroe, NC. She received her undergraduate degree from Wingate University, then moved to Knoxville, TN where she received her doctorate at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Hartsell has always had a passion for the large animal world and grew up riding horses, caring for cattle, and has always loved tending to all kinds of animals and spending time outdoors. She feels that being a large animal vet is what God called her to do from a young age! In her adult life, she still enjoys riding her horse, Joey, but also loves playing guitar and spending time with friends and family. She married her best friend, Sam, in 2024 and they have a young lab, Gus, who keeps them entertained. Dr. Alex enjoys all things large animal, but particularly enjoys reproduction, dentistry, and emergency medicine!

She will be riding around with our other doctors for a little while so be sure to tell her hey!!

06/08/2026

Cases of New World screwworm have been confirmed only in Texas, and risks for the East Coast seem low, but we wanted to help our pet owners, farmers and others responsible for animal health in our agriculture-heavy state stay up-to-date on knowledge about the parasite and what to be on the lookout for.

For starters, keep an eye on an animal's wounds or body openings, including the nose, ears, genitalia or the navel of newborn animals. 👀 A screwworm infestation begins only when a female fly lays eggs on a wound or body opening.

Find questions and more answers and check back for updates here:

https://cvm.ncsu.edu/news/new-world-screwworm-in-the-u-s-what-it-means-for-north-carolina/

05/28/2026

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. Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) is a potentially fatal blood-borne infectious viral disease that produces a persistent infection among equids nearly worldwide. Transmission through blood transfusions or contaminated needles/syringes, surgical instruments or dental equipment is most common. The virus can also be transmitted through vectors via fly bite.

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 or 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/equine-infectious-anemia

05/28/2026

With foaling season in full swing, let’s talk about retained placentas!

A major thing to watch for with your mare after foaling is that she normally passes her entire placenta within 3 hours. If she hasn’t or if there is a portion missing, then this is considered a veterinary emergency and you should contact your veterinarian right away.

Retained placentas are normally caused by a small portion of the placenta remaining attached inside the uterus. Even a very small piece can make your mare very sick if left untreated!

Once your mare passes her placenta, examine it for any obvious missing pieces then place it in a container, in a cool place to save for your veterinarian to examine when they come out within 24 hours of foaling.

At Rocky River we do a “MFP Exam” or Mare, Foal, Placenta Exam and look over your mare, her foal, and her placenta to make sure all are doing good and everything looks normal.

Retained placentas should never be ignored. They can lead to serious complications including uterine infection, endotoxemia, laminitis (founder), severe illness, or even death.

Call your veterinarian once your foal is born to schedule your MFP exam to make sure all is checking out as it should.

*Fun fact about retained placentas…draft horses and Friesians are more prone to retained placentas than other breeds!

05/04/2026

Wow, these false T-shirt posts are popping up as fast as we can delete them. We apologize. If you were tagged in one, please report it and delete it so it doesn't propagate!

04/15/2026

We’ve noticed a lot of spam lately with posts about selling T-shirts. We do not have an official T-shirt for sale, so theses posts are spam. Please do not click on the links. Thanks!

04/03/2026

***ATTENTION***
Due to staffing shortages our office will be closing at 4pm today April 3rd and will not be having haul in tomorrow April 4th.
As always we have a veterinarian on call 24/7 for Emergencies.

03/30/2026