**Spring is Vaccination Time **
This
has not been an exceptionally cold winter, so the mosquitoes and other
winged bugs will probably be out and about sooner than usual here in
central Virginia. The wild animals will come out and look for food earlier and the trees and grasses will flourish. As
wonderful as this sounds, it also means the diseases that use these
creatures as vehicles to get into your horse will also come out sooner
and in force. The need to vaccinate early this spring is of primary importance. To encourage all our horse owners to get their vaccines done earlier to protect their horses, we will offer a free
rabies vaccination with the full set of spring vaccines if you make an
appointment before March 31st. Call Vivienne soon to set your
appointment.
**Laminitis Alert **
If
you have a pony, donkey, or an older horse that has a tendency to be
obese your horse may be prone to laminitis, a horribly painful disease
of the feet triggered by rich sugars in green grass. We saw cases as late as November because of the warm, wet fall weather. The end result of this disease is a permanently lame animal that sometimes must be euthanized for humane reasons. It is prevented by first knowing if your horse is predisposed to getting it. The
best prevention is not letting it start by taking a good look at
pasture and getting your horse off of it before it turns lush. A grazing muzzle is an excellent, “tough love” way to avoid laminitis. If
you are unsure if your horse or your pasture is prone to this problem,
ask Dr. Shane about it when he visits your farm for spring vaccines.
***The Quiz - 10 correct answers win you a Free Coggins Test. Good Luck!! ***
1. Dr. Shane traveled to a foreign country in November 2005. Which was it?
a. a. Mongolia b. Madagascar c. Montana d. Maybenota
2. Which diseases are more common in warm weather?
a. Rabies b. West Nile Encephalitis c. Eastern Equine Encephalitis d. All of the Above
3. James River Equine Services is located in
a. Charlottesville b. Scottsville c. Palmyra d. Wherever the truck is parked
4. The gastrointestinal tract of a horse is most similar to:
a. a human b. a cow c. a hamster d. a chicken
5. Horses have four stomachs. True or False
6. Horses are more prone to founder if they are overweight and have a long hair coat. True or False
7.
If Jane is riding a quarter horse West at a trot and Bob is riding a
thoroughbred East at a canter and they started out in Kansas; who will
get saddle sore first and why? (Points will be given for creativity.)
8. Horses walk on the equivalent bone of the human’s:
a. Wrist and ankle b. First Knuckle c. Thumb d. Middle Finger
9. Who has the largest eyeball?
a. Owl b. Horse c. Elephant d. Sloth e. Sperm Whale
10. Dr. Shane’s wife is a:
a. Homemaker b. School Teacher c. Accountant d. Marketing Consultant
***Reminders!***
In case of an emergency always call the main office line. The after hours message will give you a number to call as well as a procedure to follow to reach the doctor on duty. This message is changed daily to reflect the call duty schedule. There
are times when calling Dr. Shane’s cell phone will not reach him if he
is out of town, so always call the office first as this will be the
fastest way to get a veterinarian when you have an emergency. Dr. Shane
shares emergency duty with Dr. Lisa Kadie of Afton Equine Clinic.
* * * Mongolia Trip * * *
In
November of 2005 I traveled to Mongolia to train veterinarians in
diagnosing and treating various diseases. Most of the
veterinarians in Mongolia have minimal training by U.S. standards and
would have the level of education of a veterinary technician.
I
was part of a group that sends veterinarians all over the world called
Christian Veterinary Mission. If you would like to share in this
mission, you can check it out at www.cvmusa.org. They have been in
Mongolia since the Russians pulled out in the early 1990’s. In
the summer of 2005 the mission to Mongolia began offering continuing
education seminars to Mongolian veterinarians for a week at a
time. As part of this modern training, they were given money and
equipment to treat animals with effective medicines and shown how to
run a small business. After the communist system failed, many of
these vets are now left to run their practices without state
support. As follow-up to this training, a team journeys into the
countryside and visits each vet to provide hands-on training. I
went along with one of these remote site training teams as an
advisor. It was truly an extreme adventure as we traveled about
500 miles out into the Mongolian wilderness on rough dirt tracks.
The roads run out at about 150 miles from the capital city of Ulaan
Baatar. We stayed in the veterinarian’s clinic (log cabin with
stucco walls) or in 'gers' (round tent like structure made of thick
felt) that were heated with wood or dung in a stove located in the
middle. The temperature in November in Mongolia ranges from zero
degrees F at night to about 20 degrees F. My Mongolian hosts took
very good care to make sure I was warm, lending me a pair of large
Mongolian boots and making me sleep by the fire.
Mongolians
love meat and dairy products and use every part of their animals.
They raise horses, yaks, sheep and goats for meat, milk, wool and
cashmere. This is a culture that is totally dependent on their
animals. The favorite drink offered to visitors is fermented
mare’s milk. November is when they store meat for the winter so
we were treated to large bowls of boiling horse, yak and mutton.
We
saw horses with Strangles and wounds from wolf attacks. We
trained veterinarians on a logical approach to lameness problems, how
to effectively treat pneumonia and pink eye in yaks, and how to float
teeth. Most horses in Mongolia are small by our standards. We
would consider them ponies. They do not wear shoes and are never
trimmed. They graze over the vast grassland and deserts, moving
with the nomadic herders each season to a new pasture.
In
Mongolia, horse racing is a national sport, along with wrestling and
archery. The races are usually held at the “county fair” in the
summer and children are the jockeys. The race is a 26 mile run
over dusty grasslands. Unfortunately, centuries of tradition
dictate how a horse is prepared for the race. They are usually
deprived of food and water in order to make them “lean and fast”.
As you can guess, they go into this race basically dehydrated and
malnourished. About a third of the horses have serious problems
and a few die during the race. Sometimes the children die, too.
They have a long way to go by our standards in understanding basic
physiology and medical treatment, but the veterinarians are eager to
learn and to share their rich and ancient culture. Their national hero is Genghis Khan, who conquered the world in the 13th
century on horseback. The main religion is Buddhism and many
people live in fear of the spirit world. Along with training
vets, we also shared the Love of Jesus and how His perfect love casts
out all fear. We also passed out the newly translated Mongolian
Bible.
It
was my privilege to go to Mongolia and share with the veterinarians
there. I came back itwh a fresh appreciation of how easy we have it
here in America with our dishwashers and fast food. It gave me a wider perspective of the world and how much of it we have never seen and have “no clue” what it is like. I hope to go back again someday.
***Directions To Our New Facility in Palmyra***
From Charlottesville: Take I-64 East towards Richmond to Exit 136 (Zions Crossroads/Palmyra). Turn South (right off of ramp) onto Route 15 South (9 miles) to the town of Palmyra. At the BB&T Bank building in Palmyra, turn left (East) onto Courthouse Road/Route 601. Go 2 miles on Courthouse Road to Oak Hill Lane. Turn right onto Oak Hill Lane. Follow the pavement till it ends (approximately 3/4 mile). Continue straight onto the gravel road at End of State Maintenance sign. Take fourth driveway on right. There will be a large rock with ‘Rock N Horse Farm’ imprinted on it. Take
that gravel drive back into the woods until you see a fenced field on
your right, take split in road to the right and go to the back to large
brown stucco house. James River Equine is the one story stucco building next to the house.
From Buckingham/Scottsville/Fork Union areas: Take Route 15 North to the BB&T Bank building in Palmyra and follow the directions above from there.
***Have You Been To Our Web Site Yet?***
We
have been trying to make our web site user friendly so that you can get
your information and questions answered quickly and easily. Want
to make an appointment? Have a question for Dr. Shane? Feel
free to access us through our site.
If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to direct them to vivienne@jamesriverequine.com and she will make sure that Dr. Shane is aware of them. Add a testimonial by e-mailing Vivienne at the above address.
Send us pictures of events and any news that you would like to see on the site. Help us to make this a source that you come to for information and the latest news regarding your horse.
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