Our Story
Rhinebeck Equine is an exclusively equine practice located in Dutchess County in the Hudson River Valley about 120 miles north of NYC. The practice was founded in the 1940’s by Dr. Kenneth Gumaer, and began its equine focus in 1967, when Dr. Paul Mountan joined Dr. Ronnie Miller. Renamed Rhinebeck Equine in 1996, the practice’s veterinarians have been providing quality care to the equine population of New York’s Hudson Valley for over 50 years. This experienced and trusted practice has progressively grown into a comprehensive, caring medical and surgical center employing eight veterinarians, four intern veterinarians, and 28 support staff.
A “State of the Art” referral hospital, completed in 2002, is staffed by two board certified equine surgeons, a board certified internal medicine specialist, interns, and a team of highly experienced support personnel. The hospital enables Rhinebeck Equine LLP to provide cutting edge treatment to its equine patients. Seven ambulatory veterinarians serving the surrounding area who will provide on the farm care from their fully equipped mobile units.
The Rhinebeck Equine LLP team offers a full spectrum of services to horses of all breeds, providing comprehensive equine health care, including services in the areas of surgery, sport horse care, lameness evaluations, pre-purchase exams, reproduction, neonatal care, internal medicine, ophthalmology, dentistry and wellness care.
For more info, visit us at http://www.rhinebeckequine.com/
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Long vet day but an excellent one, thanks to Dr. Shores from Rhinebeck Equine, we got lots of annual vaccines completed, as well as exams on many equines, including Mira, Charlotte, Dante, Nala, Molly, Ruby, Moon Mist, and Gemma. There are always evolving care needs, and providing what our charges need both physically and emotionally is our primary daily goal.
Zephyr update; it’s been two weeks that he has been in the hospital, which was the right decision for all. He is doing very well, has had additional procedures to address a stubborn infection in that joint, and every day shows improvement. Sometimes a healing issue needs a few quiet days and other times it requires further action. Our distance from Rhinebeck Equine affects our decisions, as we don’t want a reoccurrence once he is home, so we are moving with caution. We will be visiting Zephyr on Friday, and will have new photos, and hopefully set a date for his trip home to Rosemary Farm. 🙂 (older photo from prior to his hospital stay)
Requested a new photo of our c**t Zephyr as he continues to improve at Rhinebeck Equine and received this. I think surgeon Dr. Nutt likes him. 🙂
Our little guy is a fighter! Update from the hospital this am. He is doing well overall but still hasn't nursed. They are hoping he will in the next few days. He has received stitches and has a feeding tube. For those of you wondering about his injuries, he started showing neurologic symptoms and ran himself into a few walls. We appreciate everyone's support and may need to continue to fundraise if his length of hospital stay increases. Thank you for all your prayers Rhinebeck Equine #babyboy #c**t #hospital #emergency #wildhorse
Today's One Minute Monday video is only half a minute, but everything we wanted to see this morning. Zephyr had a quiet weekend, and is improved following his surgery on Friday. We remain cautiously optimistic. So grateful for the world class care he is getting at Rhinebeck Equine! Enjoy this video of our boy getting a weigh in, under the tutelage of 'Nanny McPhee'. For the full story and to support his care, see link in Comments.
Good morning!
Now that the dust has literally settled from our abrupt change in plans on Tuesday, I would like to answer some of the questions we are getting repeatedly, to help everyone understand our decision to separate Twist and her c**t Zephyr. We hope this gets us all on the same page (and helps us from typing the same answers over and over!)
Q; Why couldn’t Twist stay with Zephyr?
A; We had hoped that Twist would be able to raise her son, and if he was perfectly healthy he would still be with her at the Sanctuary. However, motherhood was not easy for her, we were trying to work through some of her signs of stress, and we had not talked about that publicly. This means it is more of a shock to our supporters. Things were not perfect behind barn doors. They weren’t awful either, and Twist was really trying to manage to trust the humans, protect her baby, also deal with the baby annoying her, and the stress of confinement. She was really really trying. When we determined that the baby needed hospital care, we recognized that it was unwise and unsafe to send them together. She would have hurt him in the trailer, spinning and panicking, and cannot safely be managed on a lead except by the few people she trusts, and even then it’s dodgy. She would have been traumatized by the event, and it would have been awful for them. The right decision was to get Zephyr the care he needed to save his life.
Q; What was wrong with Zephyr?
A; Zephyr is just a little dude, but his health was imperfect; he was over at the knees, got chilled and winded easily, then began showing signs of lameness. It was minor at first, and the crew here checked the usual possible issues, but all signs began to point to “joint ill”, or “septic joint”, an issue exclusive to foals. An infection takes hold in their body through many possible avenues, and settles in a joint area. If untreated it is fatal. It was clear by Tuesday that Zephyr needed emergency intervention, and we are grateful to Dr. Cassandra Shores for helping our team pinpoint the concern, as always. We got him to the skilled care of Rhinebeck Equine, and are thrilled he is responding so well to his treatments, and we feel he will make a full recovery. He may be there for a week.
Q; Doesn’t Twist miss him? Was she very upset?
A; The separation caused us great concern in advance. Our team got the baby efficiently out the door and into the trailer, and drove off. Twist did have a tranquilizer, and watched with some concern, but once he was gone, he was gone. As she continued to come out of the drugs, she ate, she wandered around, was not left alone in case she needed support. She never called for him. Not one neigh. We can try to understand but may not be able to. Twist may have never had a baby live, or she may have been used to them being taken away. The length of time, three weeks vs. six months, was probably not a factor to her. Her reaction is not what we would consider “normal”, but it supported our decision. Twist wanted to finally join the herd she had been watching, which she was able to do. We did discuss reuniting the pair, and what it would entail. Twist would have required milking (manually by a human) every two hours, around the clock. Aside from the practical consideration, it is not possible to milk that mare. Not even remotely a safe prospect. That would have also meant continuing her separation from the herd, and we didn’t know if Zephyr was going to survive. The separation is complete, and is best for all.
Q; Will they ever be reunited? Would they still recognize each other?
A; Those are good questions and we cannot say for certain. Twist recognizes the horses she grew up with, but may not recognize a foal that she gave birth to and only knew a short time. The baby has been introduced to a nurse mare who will care for him, and as time passes, he will accept her as his mother. Horses have a different brain then humans, and process differently. This is also new territory for us, so we will take it step by step.
Q; What is a nursemare? Does she have a baby somewhere else?
A; A nursemare is a mare that is producing milk, who enjoys being a mom. Renting out nursemares is a business. Some of these businesses get the mares pregnant, and pull off their own babies for profit, when they can make money sending out the nurse mare to cases like ours. This industry is one that rescues work against. However, with the advancement of science, a new business model has arisen, one that uses hormones and milking to keep their nursemares ready WITHOUT any babies created. As a rescue we are thrilled at this development. Our c**t Zephyr met the mare we have nicknamed “Nanny McPhee” who is one such mare, and she has accepted him, and will be taking care of him until he is ready to be weaned. She belongs to Nursemares of the Northeast, and we encourage those interested in learning more to read their page.
Q; Isn’t this expensive? Is it worth it?
A; Yes and yes. At Rosemary Farm Sanctuary, we endeavor to provide the proper medical and emotional care to support healthy equines. Breeding in particular can be expensive, and although as a rescue we do not breed, this pregnant mare and her foal were let down by humans. Our mission is to help equines in dire need, and protect them for life. This is only possible with our large and loving #rfnation helping us make the magic possible. Our costs for Zephyr are going to be approximately $10,800, but that is an estimate.
Q; What happens next?
A; First, we exhale. The decision we dreaded has worked out to the benefit of both the momma and her son. Each, needing rescue, now has the care best suited to each one. The mare Twist will not be subjected to breeding ever again, gets to get her figure back and be a horse. She is only 10 yo, so maybe there is further training in her future, if she enjoys it. The c**t Zephyr will continue to get the medical care he needs, and has a new nanny who will help him learn that humans can be good and kind. The pair will travel to Rosemary Farm Sanctuary next week, and she will live with us for six months. During that time there is lots of social time! Zephyr will grow up with care, love, and training, finally breaking the cycle his parents endured.
I hope this answers your questions! For further info, or to help us,
A beautiful photo of our boy Zephyr bonding with the professional nurse mare, under the skilled care of Rhinebeck Equine. Big exhale.
For those who are concerned, his mother Twist is grazing peacefully on the mountain at home, with Tudor at her side. Both are getting what they need.
This is rescue. While yesterday the decision felt agonizing, today it is clear.
Another great success story, and great collaboration between our veterinarians, and our colleagues at Rhinebeck Equine! Felix and Oreo are now back in the care of their primary veterinarian, Dr. Cory Branscomb, and doing very well at home!
#teamworkmakesthedreamwork #babydonkey #pinebushny #HorseDoctor
MJ experiencing some sunshine Rhinebeck Equine ❤️
Great work by Dr. Cory Branscomb, Dr. Lucia Aznar, and Dr. Chelsea Santa Lucia! While this mare ultimately did not accept her, baby MJ was able to find a mare with the help of the team at Rhinebeck Equine. We love being part of an amazing community of rescuers, veterinarians, and horse owners who come together to help animals in need!
#horsedoctor #nursemare #foalingseason
Thank you to all who joined us virtually and in-person for tonight’s Equine Ask the Specialist (EATS) Dinner! Dr Lauren Pasch of Rhinebeck Equine lead a great discussion on endometritis.
Thank you to NutraWorks Equine Zoetis EquineBreeder's Choice, Inc #aurorapharmaceuticals and of course our founding practices Millbrook Equine Equine Clinic at OakenCroft and #RhinebeckEquine for making these Continuing Education events possible!
Sending a big Thank You to everyone at Rhinebeck Equine for all the care, concern and professionalism you have shown to me, my family and most especially our beloved Shaina.
