Saving money on horse health care is getting tough. Spending a little on vaccines is better than spending a lot to treat a preventable disease. To help our clients with fall vaccines, James River Equine Services will offer a 5% Cash discount on charges paid for at the time of service before November 1, 2009. If you pay at the time of the veterinary visit with cash or check, we will take 5 % off. This discount only applies to charges paid for the same day and does not apply if a credit/debit card is used for payment. For a typical farm vaccine visit on two horses, this will save you about $25 if you pay with cash or check the same day. Call Leza to set up your fall farm visit now.
Did you notice? - Our billing address has changed. In an effort to be more efficient in this economic climate James River Equine Services has moved its business office to Charlottesville. This change does not affect our area of service, since we are still a completely mobile practice and come to your farm for veterinary care. We still maintain the drop box for medication pick-ups at our old office in Palmyra. With the advent of newer mobile technology, we now can also more quickly get back to you for questions or to schedule appointments. Leza will be happy to make your next appointment right from the truck, since all our phone lines now go straight to wherever we are. Please don’t hesitate to leave a message when you call 434-591-1260 to reach us. We usually can return a phone call very shortly after you leave a message when we get back in the truck during a regular business day. Emergency Service is always available 24 hours a day. Always call 434-591-1260 to reach the doctor on duty. Please update your computer if you use online bill pay through your bank to reflect this billing address change:
James River Equine Services
PO Box 6756
Charlottesville, VA 22906
Our fax number is now 434-296-2124
Fall vaccines-It is time to call and schedule your fall vaccine appointment and dental exam. Since grazing is less nutritious in the winter, now is a good time to make sure your horse can chew efficiently to get the most out of his meals. Since this has been a wet summer, the insects that carry West Nile, Potomac Horse Fever and EEE are in record numbers in Central Virginia. We always see these diseases in the fall. It is important to get the titers for these diseases up high by vaccinating in the fall. Don’t wait until November as by then it is too late. If you plan to feed round bales, ask Dr. Shane about Botulism vaccine as well.
Deworming- A lot of new research has forced us to re-examine how we deworm horses. Parasites are becoming resistant to most of our dewormers. The latest strategy for parasite control involves actually deworming less than we used to, with an emphasis on checking the worm burden in your horse first before deworming. This spring many of you had your horse checked by giving us a fecal sample. This helped many horses get the right dewormer at the right time. If you did not have a fecal exam done on your horse this spring, we encourage you to collect a fresh sample for us to check while we are on the farm to vaccinate this fall. Many owners would like a year long schedule to stick to and not have to think about it. Unfortunately, this way of deworming has resulted in parasite resistance. Please ask Dr. Shane about parasite control for your horse during the fall appointment. Each horse and each farm is different and it will depend on your horse’s specific parasite risk/load as to what is the best dewormer to use and when to use it.
James River Equine Services
PO Box 6756
Charlottesville, VA 22906
www.jamesriverequine.com
434-591-1260