DeNaples Equine Services

04/16/2026

04/10/2026

Spring has sprung, which means foaling season is in full swing! Here is some great information about mare wax and foaling from our friends at Idaho Equine Hospital:

"🐴 Mares Wax: A Key Sign Foaling is Near

If you’re monitoring a pregnant mare, one of the most talked-about signs of impending foaling is “waxing.” But what does it actually mean?

Mares wax when small, bead-like droplets of colostrum (first milk) appear on the ends of the teats. This happens as the udder fills and the body prepares for birth.

✨What to know:
- Waxing usually occurs 12–48 hours before foaling, though timing can vary.
- Not all mares will wax—so don’t rely on this sign alone.
- The presence of wax indicates that colostrum production is underway, which is essential for the foal’s immune protection.

⚠️ Important tips:
- Once waxing appears, increase monitoring—foaling could happen at any time.
- If the mare drips significant milk before foaling, consult your vet. This can mean loss of valuable colostrum.
- Combine waxing with other signs like relaxation of the tail head, softening of the muscles, and behavioral changes.

Being attentive during these final stages helps ensure a safe delivery and a healthy foal.

We would love to see pictures of your mares that are due or even foals that have already hit the ground! Happy Foaling Season!"

03/05/2026

03/04/2026

Spring only a few weeks away! 🙌 It’s not too early to start thinking about a deworming plan for your horses.

If deworming is something you’ve been doing the same way for as long as you can remember, this year we encourage you to break tradition and work with your veterinarian instead. Thanks to tools like the f***l egg count, your horse doctor can help you devise a treatment tailored to the needs of your equine friend plus monitor the efficacy of the dewormer used last.

Before you dismiss this notion because you’ve been “doing it for years,” you should know that the old-school approach to deworming is quickly becoming outdated. Not only is it a waste of money, but it also builds drug resistance in the parasitic fauna of equines, which means we are running out of drugs that can effectively help us control parasite infections.

For more information, the AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines can be found on our website: https://aaep.org/resource/internal-parasite-control-guidelines/

Key take-home messages from these Internal Parasite Disease Control Guidelines include:

• Perform f***l egg count reduction tests (FECRT) annually to ensure that you are using effective dewormers in every herd or barn.

• Recognize that no anthelmintic will eliminate all parasitic stages from a horse.

• Continue using f***l egg counts (FEC) once or twice a year to stratify horses into low, medium, and high shedders to reduce pasture contamination.

• Deworm all horses at a baseline rate (once or twice a year) and target selected horses more often based on FEC (strongyle high shedders).

• Do not use FEC to diagnose disease in horses; there is no correlation between FEC and disease-causing parasite life stages.

• Discontinue deworming all horses with fixed intervals year-round (e.g., every 2 months), and stop blindly rotating anthelmintic classes.

As always, consult your equine veterinarian to learn more and for questions specific to your horses!

02/14/2026

Many people think of donkeys as hardy, low-maintenance “small horses.” However, while they have similarities, donkeys are a completely different species and, as such, have a different physical, mental, and emotional makeup.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while caring for our long-eared friends during the colder months:

❄️ Donkeys are more sensitive to changes in temperature than their equine friends. You can help by making sure that they have shelter from wind and precipitation, ensuring they have a good body condition, offering adequate food and water, and checking their temperature during freezing weather.

❄️ Donkeys grow winter coats differently than horses do. Although they may grow thicker coats, they are generally not water resistant or as insulating as a horse's coat in the winter. This makes it even more crucial that donkeys have access to a dry shelter so they can stay warm.

❄️ Being stoic animals, donkeys often don't show signs of hypothermia until they are very sick.

Remember that every animal is different depending on age, breed, and other health conditions, so be sure to talk to your primary veterinarian to address any concerns or questions!

This information is brought to you by the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee.

📸 Dr. Iris Foote

02/14/2026

Did you know that February is ? 🦷

Your equine's dental health is an essential part of their overall health and well-being. Therefore, it is imperative that your veterinarian perform AT LEAST one dental exam on your horse per year to ensure that their teeth, gums, and other oral structures are healthy. Poor dental health can also have adverse effects on other areas of the body if not addressed.

This graphic offers a quick overview of things you might not know about equine teeth and tooth wear.

If you're interested in learning more about equine dentistry, check out the recording of the webinar for horse owners that was presented last week on the topic of dentistry here: https://youtu.be/ABqWu9XMAi8?si=_O-L_OGFbyfaIh3p

Thank you to the Horse Owner Education Committee for providing this information.

If you have questions or concerns about your horse's dental health, contact your veterinarian.

02/03/2026

12/03/2025

THE COLD WEATHER IS UPON US! ❄️

Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice; good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal, and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
•
Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee

11/25/2025

Join Boehringer Veterinarian, Dr. Julie Settlage, and learn more about the virus that has mobilized a nation - equine herpes virus 1 and one of its sequela, equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Please utilize the survey to submit any questions by midnight on Sunday night. She will do her best to...

11/24/2025

𝐄𝐇𝐕-𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐇𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

11/23/2025 09:00am

The current EHV-1 confirmed case count is 27, with 21 of those cases being the EHM (neurologic) form of the disease. The affected states are Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Washington state.

There has been a significant amount of speculation on how high the case load actually is. It is important to remember that while there is a delay in positive test reporting, all owners may not necessarily choose to have their animals tested. Additionally, it was speculated that some animals passed prior to testing being performed, falsely decreasing positive numbers. It is quite important to realize that there is no way to verify these speculations without data present, which was the instigator for this series to be written - we’d like to keep you all up to date on the facts that have been presented. These outbreak situations are stressful enough as it is without guesswork and the proverbial social media firestorm that is happening as a result. The fact of the matter is, we all only what want is best for our horses & to keep them safe.

That being said, Arizona and Nevada continue to be the only states with updated travel regulations.

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 (𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟏/𝟏𝟗)

- Previous 30-day health certificates will only be valid for 5 days if the origin state has had an EHV-1/EHM detection in the previous 30 days
- Supplemental statements are required on the health certificates (found here: https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/default/files/Letterhead%20Color-NEW%20LOGO-MOVEMENT%20RESTRICTIONS-SIGNED.pdf)
- Extended (6-month passports) health certificates are cancelled and availability will be paused for the next 30 days
- Additional rules due to early November vesicular stomatitis outbreak listed on site

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐚 (𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟏/𝟏𝟗)

- Implementation of an Entry Permit System - All health certificates (CVIs), test results and supporting documents must be faxed/emailed to the permit office for review, then details submitted to the online permit system to obtain an entry permit number
- Entry permits will be required until January 1, 2026
- Health certificates must have supplemental statements (Found here https://agri.nv.gov/Animals/Animal_Disease/Import_Requirements/)
- Animals will be denied entry if they have been on a premise or at an event with a confirmed case of EHV-1/EHM in the last 21 days ( Extraco Events Center, 377 Arena, Lazy E Arena, Jackson County)
- Additional rules due to early November vesicular stomatitis outbreak listed on site

The National Finals Rodeo & Junior National Finals Rodeo is planning on continuing as scheduled with additional rules & regulations in place with the safety of their equine athletes at the forefront.

Major events that are being postponed or rescheduled include the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway and the 2025 National Finals Breakaway Roping. A significant number of large barrel races, professional rodeos, horse sales and other western performance events have also been cancelled in multiple states in an effort to reduce spread during this time.

- Dr. Cooper

Update:

MT Dept of Ag has released the following regulations:

“- All equines entering Montana must be traveling on a certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) issued no earlier than 72 hours prior to travel into Montana. This 72-hour restriction also applies to equines who are issued a CVI in Montana to travel out-of-state and are returning to Montana on the same CVI.
- Equines that may have been exposed to EHV-1 within 14 days prior to CVI inspection are not eligible for importation into Montana until this order is lifted.
- Equines exhibiting any clinical signs consistent with EHV-1 or EHM, including a fever, are not eligible for importation into Montana until this Order is lifted.
- All other importation requirements for equines eligible for entry into Montana pursuant to this Order remain in place

Up to date confirmed cases can be found here: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/news/article/Equine-Herpesvirus-Myeloencephalopathy-(EHM)-Outbreak

Arizona equine travel regulationscan be found here:https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/default/files/Letterhead%20Color-NEW%20LOGO-MOVEMENT%20RESTRICTIONS-SIGNED.pdf

Nevada travel regulations can be found here: https://agri.nv.gov/Animals/Animal_Disease/Import_Requirements/wng