Knik River Veterinary Services

11/07/2026

Every Fall holds an adventure in Talkeetna for us. Back to the roots of where I grew up. The clever solutions to everyday Alaska problems like this mondo boot drier. Tarin gets to practice some Spanish with Miguel and Nira. Get every dog recorded and up to date on details. And Tarin is the best at details getting those microchips right for every single one of those 75-100 dogs! (We forgot to get an updated portrait with the Legends this year so here’s one from a prior year). Not much compares to the motivated glee of a Sled Dog. Tarin and I are grateful every year to visit with Dallas and Nira Seavey and their team.

11/04/2026

Equine Dentistry

We fixed this guy up in less than 30 minutes. Not just the front teeth. The whole mouth. When the front teeth are this messed up, the back teeth are going to match them. It’s not a huge process. Rarely are there overages. We can help them.

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11/04/2026

Old Horse Dentistry

If you have an older horse that has a loose molar, or a displaced incisor, has started dropping feed, or any other issue…. There is an underlying reason. Unless the Horse is over 30 and the teeth have expired, there is a reason that your horse is having these problems. And those problems can be addressed. Proper facilities and sedation, and Picture documentation of the problem are the way to start to determine that cause.

Maybe the horse needs a change in feed? Maybe the horse has a health condition such as PPID? Maybe the horse has a broken tooth? Maybe the horse has a dental condition called EOTRH? All of these things I can help you with.

In addition, I can’t tell you how many times a horse has had another health issue that has actually ended up being connected to dental issues. Such as colic. And choke. Poor body condition.

There is no need to send your Horse out of state for almost all dental issues anymore. If your horse is having issues, you can bring your horse in for a dental visit only if you prefer. There is no need for the horses to just live with these dental conditions.

And that doesn’t even consider performance-limiting dental issues.

10/26/2026

National Veterinary Technician Week

I would be remiss to not mention our budding Veterinary Technician. Our horse-loving staple that is quiet, calm and skilled. Almost all of you know him well has your horse whisperer. We are optimistic that he continues to grow in this profession just as quickly as he is growing in height right now!

10/26/2026

Alaska horses are grateful for the expert assistance of Dr. Ellis Farstvedt DVM, dACVS, and his team at Performance Equine Specialists for 20 years. From performance-limiting to solving life-threatening issues to rocking it with expert surgeon skills that save lives. Every single trip. We are grateful. I am grateful and the horses are grateful.

10/26/2026

National Veterinary Technician Week!

Celebrating the expert help of Veterinary Technicians with Performance Equine Specialists. We are grateful for your expert skills helping Alaska Horses over the last 20 years!

🥰Abby Knoll🥰

𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕:

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫.

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐙 𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐓 𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭!

10/26/2026

National Veterinary Technician Week!

Celebrating the expert help of Veterinary Technicians with Performance Equine Specialists. We are grateful for your expert skills helping Alaska Horses over the last 20 years!

🥰Kayla Reinert🥰

𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕:

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿; 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘄𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹.

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸.

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘀𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆.

10/26/2026

National Veterinary Technician Week!

Celebrating the expert help of Veterinary Technicians with Performance Equine Specialists. We are grateful for their expert skills helping Alaska Horses over the last 20 years!

🥰Hailey Naibauer🥰

𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕:

𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐌𝐓. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝟑 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞; 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠, 𝐀𝐙.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

10/26/2026

National Veterinary Technician Week!

Celebrating the expert help of Veterinary Technicians with Performance Equine Specialists. We are grateful for your expert skills helping Alaska Horses over the last 20 years!

🥰Taylor Johnson🥰

𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕:

𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟑 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.

𝐀 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐠𝐮𝐲, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐱 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫!

09/26/2026

Water Source Prep for ❄️

Now is the time to get ready! -Heating elements replaced for your automatic Waterers. 
-stock tank heaters ready
-replaced the GFCI plug-ins
- plan where your extension cord is gonna go so any junctions or plug-in parts do not end up under the snow or underwater
-situate any electric fence chargers away from the Horses barn. Who wants to hear the click of a shocking device every second for the rest of their life and have the Stall be a pleasant place to be?
-Very common for there to be one outlet at the barn where both the water tank heater and the electric fence charger are plugged in…. Not a good plan.
-be sure the stock tank is nowhere near the electric fence
-consider the height of the watering source if the snow ends up getting deep or if the ice gets bad
-consider the location of the water source in relation to the pecking order if there is a group of Horses. How many colics have I seen were the dominant horse lives right next to the stock tank pretty much all the time.
-consider the kilowatt usage of your heater. Sometimes the 1000 W seem to stop working when it gets below zero. 
-have an extra heater available at all times as both the drop-in and the Nelson permanent ones stop working at in-opportune times at some point over the winter
-drop a voltmeter into your water tank when you first turn on a heater, even if it is brand new. Significant discussion and comment from electricians on this subject last winter….no matter what they say, I have seen them personally burn up while they are attached to a GFCI plug-in that was brand new and professionally installed.  No idea how, I just see the consequences. 🤷‍♀️
-if it gets icy, only use fresh manure on the ice. Do not use sand. Give the Manure 12 hours and it will freeze to the ice. And there will be no issues if the Horse happens to eat the manure. There will be an issue if the horse eats the sand.

Who else has tips and tricks to add?

This post was not AI generated 😜🐎