Vet Visit

The vet came out to draw blood for Coggins and do a spring check-up. When the vet comes out, he draws blood from all the horses; then, when he leaves we vaccinate all the horses. The plan was the vet would geld Keeno, but Keeno kept his balls by getting a cold. In this post I will talk about three things: drawing blood, giving shots (vaccines), and treating a cold in a young horse.

Coggins is a name of a blood test that comes from Dr. Leroy Coggins, the veterinarian who invented it. The test determines if the horse is carrying the Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) virus. In order to draw blood for the test, you need to hold your horse in a manner that lets the vet get the blood safely, quickly and efficiently.  The person holding the horse should stand by the horse’s head on the same side as the vet is standing; if the horse moves, it will have a lesser chance of hitting the vet and/or the holder. The person holding the horse should have a really good grip on the lead rope, but should not be nervous or scared. The person should be ready if the horse were to pull back, rear or try to run. The vet will get the blood and send it to a lab to get tested. The results take a couple of weeks and a negative result is required for trailering your horse.

Vaccinations are important. We give our horses Vetera Goldxp+VEE, Potomavac, and Strepvax II.  Vetera Goldxp+VEE helps prevent Eastern, Western and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis, rhinopneumonitis, influenza, tetanus and viremia. Potomavac vaccine protects against the potomac horse fever. Strepvax II protects against strangles. To give a horse a vaccine, you need a handler, a horse, and a vaccine with syringe and needle. The most common way to give a shot is intramuscular (in the muscle). We place our three shots on each side of the neck and one on the rump. To give a shot, you really just stab it in the selected spot and push the syringe. The person holding the horse needs to be prepared for the horse to react in any way. Out of the 30 horses that the barn owners and I vaccinated, only 3 over reacted to the needle. Now you know how to give a vaccine.

Keeno was going to be gelded on this day; but, after consulting with the vet for a while, we decided to wait a month. Keeno had a cold; we could tell because he had a runny noise, cough and runny stool. After deciding not to geld him, the vet recommended he receive Colostimune and that he gets wormed every month. The vet also recommended that Keeno get red cell twice a day. Keeno should be feeling better in no time at all, and then he’ll get chopped (gelded).

The vet day was very successful. I learned a ton about giving shots and holding horses. I am learning a lot about recognizing/ taking care of a sick horse. What are your thought about keeping your horse healthy.

Works Cited:

http://coursesonhorses.blogspot.com/2008/07/exactly-what-is-coggins.html

http://fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/LSTOCK/001/ITProv_May_2005/h4340e%20Horse%20Healthcare/p029b.gif