Pacific Crest Equine Veterinary Services

08/13/2025

It is never too early to teach a horse good ground manners and basic horse life skills.

Foals grow fast! (they will only be bigger tomorrow...) so start laying the foundation early, while they are still with their dam. Then continue to work with them regularly as they grow.

Your farriers and veterinarians will thank you if your foal is learning basic skills such as leading (halter broke means the halter can be put on and they can be led, not just that they can wear a halter), standing while held, having all of their legs touched and feet picked up. Bonus points if you start early teaching them to accept things like taking their temperature, examining their gums/mouth, and being touched in sensitive spots like their flank.

These skills make routine and emergency vet appointments much less stressful for your horse and for the professionals working with them. If a horse is not well handled enough to safely work on, then we will have to leave the appointment for another day until more training has been done. Safety is important to all of us!

08/10/2025

We missed the mark by a few days....but Happy Workiversary to Dr. Sarah Willsey!

Dr. Willsey has been with PCEVS for 2 years and we are delighted to have her as part of our team. Beyond a keen interest in all things equine veterinary medicine, she also is a woman of many talents including baking, crafting, and is known to be quite the backgammon player.

If you haven't met Dr. Willsey yet please let us know when scheduling if you and your equines would like to see her with your next appointment!

08/08/2025

Kittie stowaways! Some very friendly and curious barn cats checking out the inside of the vet vehicles this week. The top of the vet box is a favorite place for them to explore. We always try to check to make sure we don't drive away with anyone's kitty!

07/21/2025

Graffiti got to be a pioneer for OSU! He was first diagnosed by Dr. Posey and referred to OSU for further work-up. These days he is doing well and continues to be a lovely patient to work with even after all he has been through!

Graffiti, a 17-year-old warmblood gelding, recently became the first horse in Oregon to undergo a successful transvenous equine cardioversion (TVEC) at our Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital! After irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, he’s now back on track thanks to our amazing hospital team, including Dr. Erica McKenzie, large animal internist pictured here with Graffiti.

We've since performed two more TVECs on other horses!

Read all about it https://today.oregonstate.edu/all-stories/healthy-horse-tricky-cardiac-procedure-osu-veterinary-team-helps-graffiti-get-back

07/12/2025

As the summer heats up and turnout may be extended, don't forget about sun protection for your horses! Especially if they've got pink on their noses: these areas can be very prone to getting sunburnt and can become blistered and painful. Applying sunscreen, making sure they have some shade in their turnout, and using long fly masks can all help to provide protection for those sensitive places.

07/09/2025

Another successful "brain surgery" (aka castration) completed! This young guy was a perfect patient who is seen here taking his time to contemplate his new life as a gelding before slowly and easily making his way back to his feet. As an added bonus it was his human mom's birthday today, we can't think of a much better birthday present than a new gelding! 😂 🎂

07/04/2025

Happy 4th! Our office is closed for the holiday. Normal hours resume on Monday July 7th. Doctor on call: 503.301.4211

06/30/2025

We are seeing clusters of yellow in the fields....and much of it is Tansy Ragwort, a plant that is toxic to horses.

While generally left uneaten in an otherwise grassy field, if a horse consumes enough tansy it causes pyrollizidine alkaloid toxicosis which irreparably damages the liver. Toxic effects are cumulative and generally result from small quantities eaten over an extended period of time. The negative effects may not show up until weeks or months later, when it is often too late.

Tansy is still toxic in its dried form and fields with any tansy growing should not be harvested for hay.

Any part of the plant with flowerheads must be burnt or thrown away in a sealed bag as they will otherwise spread and re-seed even if they appear dead and dried. Most home compost piles will not get hot enough to destroy the seeds.

Throw a tansy-pulling party with all of your horsey friends and remove this toxic plant from your pastures!

Check out the extension service's comprehensive article on tansy control for more info: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/pests-weeds-diseases/insects/tansy-ragwort

06/28/2025

Summer is here and we know that often means vacation time. Particularly if you are going to be out of the country or just generally not easily reachable, having a Permission to Provide Services form on file with our office can ensure that we have the correct contact information while you're gone, who is authorized to make decisions for your horse if you are not reachable, and some permissions for finances and medical care.
Directly here: https://form.jotform.com/232776526220051
Our on our website pcequinevet.com under the Resources section

05/26/2025

A tiny addition this Memorial Day weekend. Pictured here at just under 24hrs old and full of s***k and personality! She wasn't the biggest fan of being examined, but tolerated our snuggles with some resignation.

As a reminder: the office is closed for Memorial Day and normal office hours will resume on Tuesday at 8am. Doctor on call: 503.301.4211

05/11/2025

Happy Mother's Day to all our horse and human moms!

As foaling/breeding season is in high gear remember the 1, 2,3 rule for your foaling mares.
1. Foals should be able to stand on their own within 1 hour after birth.
2. A newborn foal should be nursing within about 2 hours. Some of them need a little help and direction to find the right spot, but all of them should be interested and have a good suckle.
3. The mare's placenta should pass within about 3 hours of delivery. A retained placenta is an emergency that can be life-threatening for the mare if not treated in a timely fashion. If your mare passes the placenta on her own, place it in a bucket and save it for the veterinarian to look at with the new foal exam.

If the foaling all goes well, then a new foal exam should be performed by your veterinarian when the foal is 12-24 hours old. This will include physical exams for both the mare and foal, and IgG test to test for adequate passive transfer of colostrum from mare to foal, and a vitamin E/Selenium injection for the foal to get them started off correctly. It is important to identify any issues early! If you have any questions about your impending foaling please give us a call.

04/26/2025