Aural Plaques update

Dr Dunbar cam out today to float Broadway's teeth. Boy is she not a light weight. Much like Scarlett before her she took a lot of drugs to make her sleepy. The noise is what gets her and she doesn't react well. After the float we decided to inspect her ears for how the Aldera was treating the Aural Plaques. We were able, with a little fight, to clip the ears so we could get a better look and clean them well before treatment three. When we first started it didn't look like there had been a lot of improvement but as we started cleaning the ears the plaques sloughed off showing raw skin below. Based on the University of Minnesota study this is really common and actually treatment week three, where we are, is supposed to be the worst. Thankfully she was sedated so we were able to clean the ears well and put in the next treatment. I have included the pictures below but stop here if you don't want to see them as they are raw and open. I will post pictures again after the next treatment and then after the rawness heals. If you are considering this treatment for your horse make sure you have a good fly mask with ears to keep the ears protected.

Vaccination Clinic Success!

Although this vaccination clinic was a little slow we vaccinated 60 dogs and 7 cats and ran heartworm tests on 25 dogs. Remember heartworm is in our area and it is worth it to test and use monthly preventative to prevent this aweful infestation. Failing to do so can result in death so it is really important to tay on top of it. Thank you to all the staff at Vetlink of Parker who help make the clinic a success. Dr Sorley for vaccinating all the dogs and cats, even the unruly ones! Dr Sabbatini for drawing all the blood and running the heartworm tests. Laurie for helping Dr Sorley so well, Maryann for helping Dr Sabbatini. Justinn for keeping the line moving and people flowing. Thank you to Rebecca who came and helped us with the paperwork it really helped having you help. I know with a great team we can make the vaccination clinics run smooth.

We do these clinic 2-3 times a year, usually in the spring and fall and they are always really busy and a benefit to the community. Make sure to watch our website and facebook for the dates of the next clinic.

Pictures from the clinic:
Doing a blood draw to test for heartworms, luckily every one was negative.

Vaccinating a little one

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A BIG guy waiting in line, would you let him cut?

Can't wait to see you at the next one!

Great places to ride and hike - Dawson Butte Castle Rock Colorado

Dawson Butte, located just outside of Castle Rock is a great trail for any rider. There is a five mile easy loop around the park that is great for any level horse and rider. When it is wet there is one small water crossing that is more just water over the trail. It was the only place my green trail horse balked.

The trail is well-groomed and not rocky. Good for unshod horses or horses like mine who have sliders on for reining competition. The trail is lined in places with scrub oak, through a wooded area, and open in others. There are also numerous out trails that meander through the park. These are mostly there to feed the small cross country course. Because I had my reining horse I wan't able to scope out any of the jumps but they look well made with a variety of questions. Looks like a lot of fun. The natural beauty here is outstanding with wildlife like deer that join you. We completed the five mile loop in about 2 hours. This included me riding and three people walking with two dogs.

All in all everyone enjoyed themselves.

The parking is well thought out with lots of places to park even a big horse trailer. The one thing the park asks is manure to be picked up from the parking lot. I am ashamed to say not many horse people followed this rule as there was manure everywhere. If we want to have places to ride we need to respect those places rules or they will stop allowing it to be open to horseback riding. Please don't let this happen by making sure you have a fork to clean up after yourself.

Dawson Butte is a great trail I would recommend to anyone. Happy riding.

Products I am loving right now!

With summer in full swing there are a few products I can't get by without. The first is Calm Coat fly spray.

This all natural fly spray actually works! I love when I spray it on the flies leave. The Calm Coat Fly Repellent has a really pleasent odor and it is great for those who don't want to use chemicals.









Speaking of Calm Coat they also have a great Detangler and Shine.

I love how this smells, like a pina colada, and boy does it detangle. I get so many compliments on how shiny my horse's tails are. A must buy for anyone showing this summer or anyone really who just wants a shiny, tangle free mane and tail. Vetlink of Parker sells both Calm Coat products in quarts and gallons, come give them a try. For a limited time Calm Coat is $1.00 off per bottle.

Back to the subject of flies, London is very allergic to fly bites so I have to change her routine a little in the summer to keep her comfortable. The first thing I do is add Garlic DE from our local company, Gateway Products. Garlic DE combines garlic, diatomacous earth and apple cider vinegar.

The combination of these ingredients makes the horse less appitizing for flies it also inhibits fly breeding in the manure. I feed this product to all my horses to limit the flies on my property and I feel it has really helped.








I also feed flaxseed to all my horses with the product OmegaHorseshine.

This is a balanced flaxseed product so it woun't mess up a balanced diet for calcium:phosphorus ratio. Flaxseed, because of its high omega 3s is great for inflammation and can lessen allergy symptoms. Flaxseed is also beneficial for stabled horses that aren't getting a lot of fresh pasture grass as flaxseed best mimics the natural omegas in pasture grass. I feel it is a great all around product that most horses will benefit from.

That is it for now. I will keep up with the products I am loving at the moment. I hope everyone is enjoying their Father's Day and getting in some horse time!

Treating Aural Plaques

My new rescue horse has aural plaques. They are not bad, yet, but I don't want them to get worse. Aural Plaques are the white, wart looking growths on the inside of horses ears. As many as 25% of the equine population has them. Although their exact cause is not known it is thought to be related to the papillomavirus which does cause warts and other growths. In the past and for most of my time at Vetlink I have always told those who asked there is no treatment for aural plaques, and in the past there wasn't. Now with new research from the University of Minnesota there is hope. They did a trial on aural plaques (and sarcoids) involving the human drug Aldara (Imiquimod 5% cream). The conclusion of the trial is it worked very well. Talking with my vet we decided to try it. You can read about the study here http://www.cvm.umn.edu/cic/completedstudies/lamedsurg/aldarardvm/home.html. Broadway can be a little touchy with her ears and she has a habit of pulling back. I was wondering the plaques could be the problem. I started the treatment today. My veterinarian's instructions are a little different than the protocol in the study but ultimatly you are treating the same number of time. My instructions were to apply the Aldara once weekly for four weeks. During the treatment the plaques will get worse before they get better as the medicine uses the body's own immune system to fight the virus. I will be documenting the results here for anyone who is also dealing with aural plaques.

Here is the before treatment pictures.

I am so glad this treatment is available. While I have never seen aural plaques before adopting this horse, I had heard awful stories about how hard bridling was and how the horses hated having their ears and even heads touched. Hopefully with such good results more people will use this treatment for happy horses. Unfortunatly Vetlink of Parker is not able to carry Aldara at this time so it is something you will have to talk with your vet about.

Update on London

If you don't remember, London is my Trekehner mare who was diagnosed with a pastern fracture back in April. Dr Dunbar was out yesterday to do a two month recheck. We needed to trot her to check her lameness grade. I was dreading this part as she has not been out of the stall in two months. Anyone with horses knows this can be a receipe for disaster. Lucklily London was very good, she trotted well although she is still a grade 2/5 lameness in the leg. The prognosis is still good and now London can go out for handwalking/grazing for 5 min twice a day. Her first walk was this morning and again I was worried about her reaction. I didn't need to be at all. London walked nicely for her five minutes, grazing when she wanted to and then going back to her stall. I never imagined she would be so good on an extended stall confinment. So I would like to share a few tips for making the stall bound horse a little more comfortable.

1. I started London on Quiessence the day the veterinarian found the fracture. I really feel this has helped keep her calm.

2. Toys. Find the one your horse likes and keep it going. London likes the stall pacifier, which we can special order through Vetlink. It is a roller that mounts in the corner of the stall and the horse can spin it. London spins it so hard she knocks it out of her holder daily.

3. Lots of attention. I find London is a lot calmer when she has her daily grooming session. She gets to spend time with me and it also allows me to check her out for any scrapes or swelling she may be getting from being in the stall.

4. Free choice hay. I had to watch this one with London becuase the Veterianarian wanted her to lose some weight to help the fracture heal. London herself backed off her consumption so I still make she she has food in front of her all the time.

5. A Buddy if possible. The first few days of stall rest was hard as I tried to work out London's frustration from going from my pasture to the stall. Finally I brought my pony in. London usually ignored the pony but this time she nickered at him and soon settled right in. It has worked wonders. As long as Pony is around London is calm.

I hope you never have to have a horse on extended stall rest as physically and mentally it is draining on the horse and you. But if you do find yourself in the same situation I hope my tips will help you make the time go quickly and easily.