Frequently Asked Questions

Your horse's teeth should be routinely examined twice yearly; usually at the time of Spring vaccinations and again when Fall vaccinations are due.  Teeth should be examined more frequently if your horse has had trouble maintaining weight, is dropping feed, or seems to be having trouble chewing feed, grass, or hay.  Teeth may also be examined if you notice any unusual facial swelling.  Examination of the horse's oral cavity may be as simple as shining a flashlight in the horse's mouth, or may require sedating the horse and inserting a "mouth speculum".  The mouth speculum allows your vet to keep the horse's mouth open and get a good thorough look at the back teeth.  It is routine for veterinarians to sedate your horse during a dental float.  Sedation eliminates the horse's anxiety about the procedure and helps the veterinarian work safely in the horse's mouth.  This allows your vet to do the best possible job while keeping you and your horse safe.

The "basic" vaccination package that we recommend here at James River Equine consists of eight total shots.  The "Basic" package provides protection against the following eight diseases:  Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, Tetanus, Rhinopneumonitis (Herpes), Influenza, Rabies, Potomac Horse Fever, and West Nile Virus.  If your horse has never had any of these vaccinations before, he will need a booster set 3-4 weeks after initially receiving them.  Additional vaccinations that we may recommend depending on your particular situation are Strangles vaccine and Botulism vaccine.  If you are a high risk for contracting either one of these diseases, we will incorporate these vaccines into your program as well.  Both foals and brood mares require particular vaccination regimens so please contact us if you have specific questions regarding foals and brood mares.  We will be glad to discuss your horse's particular needs and design a vaccination program that is most appropriate for your horse.

The answer to this question is "no".  Horse owners are often tempted to take their horse's health care into their own hands and design their own vaccination program.  Many problems arise when owners cannot locate the appropriate vaccines when they give vaccines at the wrong time, when their animal is sick and will not mount an appropriate response to the vaccine, or when they fail to give the appropriate vaccines.  In addition, many owners soon realize that giving shots to their horse is not as easy as it looks and accidents do happen.  Most companies that manufacture vaccines only offer help in the event of an adverse reactions if a veterinarian gave the vaccine.  There is no recourse if an unfortunate reaction occurs from a vaccine if anyone other than a licensed veterinarian gives a vaccine.  Also, only vaccines sold to veterinarians are handled in a way that absolutely insures they stay fresh and cool until they are given to your horse.  Owners may also not know the correct procedure for giving shots or the size needle and syringe that is most appropriate.  This is why there are veterinarians!  Just like human doctors, we are trained to know what vaccines to give, when to give them, and how to give them.  We would be more than happy to help you design your vaccination program and get you started on the right path.

The intensely hot summer we have had this year has been hard on horses as well as people. Just like people, horses can become overheated. They try to cool off by sweating and staying in the shade. Dark colored horses will sometimes breathe very fast to blow off heat, much like a dog pants. Horses are obligate nose breathers so they do not hang their tongue out to pant, but will instead flare their nostrils rapidly when panting. The most important thing in keeping cool is to drink lots of water. Dehydration is the first sign of a problem. You can check for dehydration by pinching the skin on the side of the neck and waiting a few seconds to see if it drops back down. If it stays tented up it can mean the horse is low on fluids. When the horse starts to get low on fluids, their intestinal fluid will be absorbed back into the blood to try and maintain hydration. When the intestinal fluid dries out, impaction colic often follows.

Along with plenty of water, a horse beats the heat better with a shady spot. Somewhere out of direct sunlight under the shade trees near a stream is nature's perfect air-conditioned suite. A three-sided run in shed with lots of air flow is better than standing in a four sided stall with no air flow. A fan aimed at the horse in a stall also helps keep the air moving. Hosing or sponge bathing which cause evaporation cooling is also a great way to cool a horse down. The three things to remember to help your horse (and you) beat the heat are: water, shade, and moving air.