Equine Care

Wellness and Vaccinations

Our equine wellness programs are designed to provide you with confidence your horse is receiving the highest-quality preventive health care and a fundamental foundation for a long, healthy life. We recommend annual preventive care appointments, which include a physical examination, vaccinations and dentistry, as well as more frequent de-worming. We view annual examinations as an opportunity to establish a baseline for your horse’s health as well as to detect problems before they become serious and expensive to treat. 

Recreational Riders:

to provide the best coverage core vaccines should be administered in the spring (between April-June)

Competitive Riders:

to provide complete coverage for the entire competitive season, core vaccines should be administered in the Spring (April-June) with Risk-based vaccines being given pre-season (February—June) and again 6 months later (July-December) *varies based on the duration of competitive season

RHINO:

Should be given to pregnant mares (& horses housed with pregnant mares) at three stages of pregnancy— 5, 7 & 9 months pregnant 

EQUINE COGGINS AND EXPORTS

Equine Coggins Testing and Export Documentation Services are available to ensure horses meet health requirements for travel. Whether transporting locally or internationally, these services provide the necessary testing and paperwork to comply with regulations. These services make the process smooth and efficient, ensuring all travel requirements are met with ease and confidence.

Equine Dentistry

Horses need regular preventive dental maintenance every 1-2 years or more often if there is an issue with their bite. Unlike people, horses’ teeth have an eruption rate of two-three mm per year. The teeth should wear in correspondence to yearly eruption rate. Malocclusions, or improper position of the teeth, can lead to many health issues and behavioral problems.

Identifying dental problems as early as possible is important. There are several factors that come into play at a young age that might increase treatment needed, or make a remedy even possible:

– Loss of food while eating

– Eats hay before his grain

– Grain in water bucket

– Difficulty chewing or excess salivation

– Loss of body condition

– Large undigested food particles in manure larger than one quarter inch

– Head tilting or tossing

– Bit chewing

– Tongue lolling

– Tries to rear while bridling

– Fighting the bit or resisting the bridal

– Bucking or failing to stop or turn

– Foul odor from the mouth or nostrils

– Traces of blood in the mouth; or nasal discharge or swelling of the face.

Other horses may not show noticeable signs, because they just simply adapt to their discomfort. 

Reproductive Health

Breeding is essential for maintaining a herd, and it is an important endeavor for those seeking to give birth to the next competition or show horse. Dr. McCracken can provide guidance on breeding and maintaining the health of the mare or dam during pregnancy and delivery. We also offer reproductive ultrasounds during important stages of pregnancy. 

Diagnosis & Treatment of Medical Conditions

Though we prefer to prevent illness as much as we possibly can, there simply is no guarantee a well-cared for horse will never face an illness or injury. Dr. McCracken and team are able to diagnose and treat a wide range of medical conditions.  

Equine Surgical Services

As with the preventive medical care we provide, we would much prefer to do all we can to prevent the need for surgery. However, there are times when surgery is in the best interest of your horse. Surgeries we perform include castrations and laceration repairs. For more specialized surgeries we will provide you with a referral to a specialty centre.