Borders Equine Clinic

Borders Equine Clinic Borders Equine Clinic is a primarily mobile veterinary service specializing in horses. We have limited haul-in facilities for those wishing to come to us.

07/18/2022

Many other conditions besides colic can cause coliclike signs. And as with colic, delayed treatment or misdiagnosis can have serious consequences. Here's what you need to know.

06/05/2022

Signs and tests that can help you and your veterinarian quickly identify the various causes of foal diarrhea.

05/19/2022

Veterinarians and farriers answer common horse hoof health questions.

04/29/2022

What's going on inside your horse's hooves during injury or disease? Our sources reveal what they've learned when dealing with common hoof conditions.

04/21/2022

Banamine (flunixin meglumine) is often a first line medication when horses are in pain or have fevers. How do you administer this medication? Banamine is labelled for IM administration (in the muscle); however, IM injections of Banamine can have fatal consequences. Clostridial myonecrosis (muscle death) may result from any IM injection; however, is more often seen after IM Banamine or a repository product like an oil-based hormone. The injection allows the obligate anaerobe Clostridium to grow within the site, releasing toxins that can be life-threatening to your horse. The most common signs include painful swelling where the injection was given, fever, lethargy, high heart rate, reluctance to move, gas under the skin where the injection was given, and brick red gums. Once the process of myonecrosis has begun, we need to open the skin to expose the muscle tissue to air and allow for drainage. Your horse will also receive intravenous antibiotics and fluids to help counteract the inflammatory process. This is a life-threatening emergency and your horse should be seen by a veterinarian immediately. Due to the increased risk of severe illness following intramuscular administration, we recommend that Banamine be given in the vein (IV) or by mouth (PO) and never in the muscle.

If you have any questions or are concerned about your horse, please call the Equine Medical Center of Ocala at (352) 873-7830.

03/19/2022

Equine Practice faces a shortage of veterinarians in the coming years as current veterinarians approach retirement and less veterinary graduates enter and stay in the field of practice.

****EDIT: Now that our stories are gone and this post is still being shared, we figured we should update the post and share the background information.

While there is a larger number of veterinary students graduating each year, fewer are entering and staying in equine or large animal practice. Of graduating veterinarians, 1-3% will enter equine practice and of those 30% will leave equine practice within 5 years of graduation. The reasons are multifactorial but the biggest issues specific to equine and large animal practice are the salary disparity and debt:income ratio compared to small animal practice, particularly relative to lifestyle. The long hours, afterhours on call, and 24/7 access by text and cell are just a few of the factors that make small animal more appealing. If your veterinarian is sticking around in equine or large animal -- know that it's because they're passionate about the profession, love what they do, and enjoy working with the horses. Help them enjoy a full life by supporting their efforts to take time away from work. ❤️

As clients, you can help promote a healthy lifestyle fo veterinarians and veterinary staff in equine practice. How?
1. Recognize the industry must change with respect to expectations of your veterinarians time and availability. Think about it, do you have 24/7/365 direct phone access to your family doctor? Understand that you may not always see your veterinarian on emergency but another vet whom they work with.
2. Respect the boundaries that your veterinarian establishes to having time outside of being a veterinarian and value that time. Veterinarians having private time to rest and recharge means they're a better vet when you really need them! Consider whether that text is really necessary or if it can wait until business hours or better yet, be an email.
3. Utilize your veterinarians for routine preventative healthcare. Preventative healthcare and routine examinations by your veterinarian can go a long way to avoiding emergencies AND having an established relationship with your veterinarian can make it much easier to get emergency care when you really need it.

What other ideas do you have in how clients can help encourage retention of veterinarians in equine practice? What questions do you have regarding the crisis in veterinary medicine?

03/04/2022

Here are some basic do's and don'ts to make sure you're providing the disease protection your horse needs.

01/27/2022

Temporomandibular joint changes could cause pain as well as behavior problems and poor performance in horses. Or not.

01/26/2022

DO YOU KNOW YOUR HORSE’S BCS (body condition score)?

Most horse owners understand the dangers of a horse dropping weight and becoming too thin; however, many of those same horse owners underestimate the fact that an overweight horse is just as unhealthy, and can be much more difficult to manage and rehabilitate than a thin animal. An overweight horse will not only have a compromised quality of life; it will also be at higher risk of a number of health problems — like laminitis, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, the formation of colic-causing lipomas (fat tumors in the abdomen), joint and bone problems, reduced reproduction efficiency and increased stress on their heart and lungs.

Being able to assess your equine friend's weight and body condition is a valuable skill. Because "fitness" is subjective, the Henneke Body Condition Scoring Chart provides a standard scoring system for you, the veterinarian, the nutritionist and other health care professionals involved in the care of your animal. The horse's physical condition is rated on visual appraisal and palpation (feel) of six key conformation points: the amount of flesh or fat covering along the neck; the withers; down the crease of the back; at the tailhead; ribs: and behind the shoulder at the girth. A body condition score of somewhere between 4 and 6 is ideal for most horses. However, keep in mind that in some disciplines (like racing, polo and eventing) and some life stages (like pregnancy) a higher or lower body score might be more appropriate.

If you think your horse is too fat or too thin (or even if you are unsure), have a chat with your veterinarian to discuss the appropriate condition and a feeding and exercise program for your animal!

Address

18777 Boehner Road
Middleton, ID
83607

Telephone

+12089890359

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Borders Equine Clinic posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category