Northern Lights Veterinary Service

05/31/2026

As we go into June, our wellness schedule is lightening up and we are booking only a few weeks out for routine appointments. If you haven’t scheduled your vaccines and dentistry appointments this year, now is the time to hop on the schedule!

We reserve appointments each week for urgent appointments. A reminder- emergency service is only guaranteed for routine wellness clients that we do vaccines and dental work each year.

05/28/2026

Our dental scope has been getting plenty of use this spring! We use it to evaluate teeth in addition to our dental mirrors. It was instrumental in some recent tooth extractions to visualize the offending fractures. Check out these pictures of a fractured tooth (that we extracted at the office) and some feed packing between the mandibular teeth and the cheek. The second picture shows some enamel cracks that we will monitor.

05/26/2026

Now is a great time to get a performance/lameness exam before we are in the thick of the riding season. If joint injections are indicated, they can be done in the clinic or on the farm - we can medicate any joint needed to help your horse perform his best! We have the ability to medicate with steroids, ProVet orthobiologics, or polyacrylamide gel.

05/25/2026

Honoring those that served our country and gave their lives on this Memorial Day. That includes the many dogs and horses that have served as well.

05/22/2026

The office will be closed for Memorial Day but Dr. Lara will be available for emergencies in case you need anything. Don’t have too much fun this weekend. The office reopens Tuesday at 8:30am.

05/17/2026

Did you know we see pigs? Pigs should get vaccines and routine foot/tusk care. We can come to your property or you can bring them into the office for a little piggy spa day!

05/10/2026

Celebrating all mothers today!

05/10/2026

Great advances in equine dentistry!

Periodontal (gum) disease is a common disease process that we encounter in our equine patients. Horse gum disease is not entirely the same as it is in humans, however!

Humans get periodontal (gum) disease when we don't follow good oral hygiene practices. If you quit brushing your teeth every day, this allows plaque to build up on your teeth which coats your teeth and gums with a bacteria-laden film that can then eventually harden into tartar. Ongoing accumulation of tartar then creates localized gum inflammation. If you stop brushing your teeth for a LONG time, then the gum inflammation eventually leads to gum recession and bone recession which can lead to early tooth loss.

Everyone knows that horses don't brush their teeth daily, so you may be asking yourself how the process differs for them! The first answer is that chewing hay is actually a fairly effective tooth brush! The coarseness of hay combined with the grinding motion that horse make when they chew makes plaque and tartar build-up on the cheek teeth actually quite rare! Horses get gum disease when they have spaces that occur in between their cheek teeth which should be packed very tightly together. This can happen for a variety of reasons:
⭐ Maleruption of a tooth--the tooth may come in crooked or tipped
⭐ Loss of a tooth which may cause shifting of the neighboring teeth
⭐ Narrowing of the crown of the tooth in older horses--part of normal aging
⭐ Shifting of the cheek teeth which can start to happen in older horses
⭐ Poor anatomy--some horses are born with a broken blueprint! If they lack
the normal angulation of their teeth they can be predisposed to diastema
(space) formation which can lead to gum disease at an early age.

The picture shows a case that we treated recently for gum disease. The horse had several small diastemata (spaces with feed packing) that was creating pockets in the gums. One of the treatments that we perform in these horses is debridement of the pockets to remove the feed material followed by packing the pockets with a rubber-like impression material bridge. This keeps the food out of the pocket and improves the oral comfort of the horse when chewing. It will not reverse the gum disease, but will hopefully slow down the progression of the disease.

05/08/2026

Frosty mornings are a good reminder to keep metabolic horses off pasture until they are at least 5 inches tall to minimize grazing stressed grass. Yay “spring.”

05/08/2026

Check out this quick survey you can fill out to help researchers learn more about metabolic disease!

Attention all horse owners‼️ 🐴

Researchers from Texas A&M, UC Davis, Rutgers, CSU (Dr. Fedorka), and Cavalor are conducting a nationwide survey on the prevalence and management of equine metabolic disease, and they need your input!

If you own horses, your experience matters. This survey will help advance research, improve management strategies, and support horse health across the industry.

📋 Take the survey here:
https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2026/04/28/texas-am-agrilife-launches-national-equine-metabolic-health-survey/

Thank you for making difference in equine health! 🐎💚