VETERINARY NEWS LETTER SPRING 2005

Spring is upon us, this is a time for your horses to start shedding out and for spring foals to be born, unfortunately it is also mosquito and fly season, the following few paragraphs contain information on precautionary actions that you can take to help keep your horse safe this season.

West Nile Vaccine & New Mosquito Control Products

Due to the excess amount of rain this year we are anticipating that we will have more mosquito activity than previous years. As a result we recommend that you boost your West Nile Virus vaccine every six months as opposed to annually, this will help to insure the safety of your horse/s. Horses that received the vaccine more than six months ago should be boosted as soon as possible. Eliminating standing water on and around your property will help to minimize mosquito proliferation, we also now offer several horse friendly products to help control the little suckers, including dunks that kill the larva in standing water i.e. watering troughs and granules that can be spread over irrigated areas. Please call us for more information.

Microchiping

We now offer microchiping! Introducing the Avid Microchip, an indisputable way to identify your horse incase of theft or disaster. It is also universally read by all scanners including those used by brand inspectors, law enforcement, animal control officers, disaster workers, veterinarians, rescues, slaughter facilities and many sale barns.

Shoo Fly You Bother Me!

They are here!! Those nasty flies and gnats that buzz around the barn and bug our horses. Not only do they bug our horses they can also inflict a painful bite, lay eggs in their eyes, get in their ears, and leave welts and scabs all over their bodies. Spare your horse the trouble of swatting and itching this year, we now offer a full line of proven protection for your horse including:

• Fly Parasites which kill flies at the larva stage
• Solar Fly Traps which work as “fly magnets”
• Insect-A-Peel works like a huge sticky fly trap (works great)
• All Natural fly spray, contains Aloe, Cedarwood, Eucalyptus and Citronella

IT’S BREEDING SEASON!

Yes it is that time of year, for those of you that artificially inseminate your mares we would like to inform you of a new program that we have set up to make life a little easier both for you and Dr. Sergent. When you call in to set up a breeding appointment we will ask for you to fill out a Mare & Stallion Data form so we have all of the information, to make scheduling more efficient, before we start. We also now require a breeding retainer, you may either use a credit card from which to debit payments as we go, or you may use a pre paid retainer. Please call our office for more details and to reserve space in the schedule if you plan on breeding this season.

Pneumabort-K Vaccine (Pregnant Mares)

Just a reminder to vaccinate your pregnant mare/s with Pneumabort-K at 5,7 and 9months to protect against late term abortions due to abortion form of rhinopneumonitis and to give 4-way and West Nile Virus vaccines within 30 days prior to foaling to provide protection for the new baby. If you would like to schedule an appointment please call our office.