Herd Health & Wellness

• Dentistry

Routine dental care is essential to your horse's health. Periodic exams, corrections and regular maintenance are especially necessary for a number of reasons. Proper dental care will make your horse more comfortable, utilize feed more efficiently, may perform better, and even longer. We make it easy by mailing you a reminder to schedule your horse’s upcoming dental checkup.

Common dental problems include sharp enamel points causing ulceration of the cheek and tongue and discomfort, abnormal wear of the arcades causing excessive growth of certain teeth (formation of hooks, ramps), lost or broken teeth, and periodontal disease among others.

Signs of dental problems or disease may include loss of feed from the mouth while eating, difficulty chewing, excessive salivation, or undigested feed is noticed in the manure. Owners may also notice a loss of body condition or behavioral changes such as head tossing, fighting the bit, head tilting or abnormal behavior under saddle. More severe signs of dental disease may include a foul odor from the mouth or nostrils or swelling of the face, mouth or jaw tissues. Any of the signs above are reasons to schedule a dental examination even if the animal has been examined on a regular basis.

Routine dental care involves a thorough examination of the oral cavity under sedation with the help of an oral speculum in place. This inspection should be done visually as well as by feel and is recommended on a yearly basis or every 6 months based on your horse's age and dental history. Maintenance and corrections are performed with dental floats (power assisted or hand floats) as well as a variety of other tools designed for specific needs.

Dental care should be performed by licensed veterinarians as it irreversibly changes your horse's mouth most of the time. Your veterinarian will advise you on other diagnostic or therapeutic procedures and/or treatments that may be recommended based on the examination such as feeding changes, radiographs, dental extractions, antibiotic therapy, or work up for related conditions such as sinus infections, etc… Your veterinarian will also develop a program and schedule for future examinations and care based for each individual horse.

At Tryon Equine Hospital, we are equipped to handle all of your equine dental needs- from routine examination and care, to more advanced procedures. Please contact us if you would like any additional information on equine dentistry or to schedule an appointment for an evaluation.

• Deworming

Research has shown that administering a dewormer to your horse every 8 weeks may cause parasitic resistance to some of the common anthelmintic drugs. In order to develop an effective parasite control program we recommend a microscopic fecal analysis prior to each deworming treatment to identify types and amounts of parasites present. Fecal egg counts and additional procedures are performed at our in hospital laboratory for fast results. We encourage our clients to drop off samples in the office during normal business hours. Remember, fresher samples provide more accurate results. Following the fecal analysis, the doctors of Tryon Equine will call to discuss your horse’s current living situation (location, pasture time, pasture buddies, medical history, etc.) and develop a deworming program specific to your horse’s needs. If you have any further questions, please contact our office and our doctors will be happy to discuss the proper deworming program for your horse.

• Vaccinations

These are vaccination guidelines- each individual situation required evaluation based on the following criteria:

• Risk of the disease- geographical, anticipated exposure, age, breed, use
• Consequences of the disease
• Anticipated effectiveness of the vaccine
• Potential for adverse reactions or history of adverse reaction.

Our veterinarians will help develop a program specifically tailored to your horse’s needs. We make it easy by mailing you a reminder and giving you a call to schedule your horse’s upcoming vaccines and Coggins.

Clients should understand that:

• Vaccination alone does not prevent diseases- good management practices are essential.
• Vaccinations minimize the risk of infection or the severity of the infection but cannot prevent disease in all circumstances
• The primary series of vaccine and boosters should be administered prior to exposure- vaccines are not effective immediately after administration, your horse needs to build an immune response.
• Although rare, there is potential for adverse reaction to vaccines, the nature and severity of the reaction varies from one horse to another and one vaccine to another.

Vaccine recommendations:

• EWT - Eastern encephalitis/Western Encephalitis/ Tetanus
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Every 6 Months
• West Nile Virus Vaccine
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Every 6 Months
• Rabies
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Yearly
• Comments: Must be administered by a veterinarian
• Rhinopneumonitis (Herpesvirus)
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Every 3 months or 6 months
• Comments: Frequency depends on exposure
• Influenza
• Route: IN
• Frequency: Every 6 months
• Strangles (Strep Equi)
• Route: IN
• Frequency: Yearly
• Comments: Decision to vaccinate based on risk factors- not given at the same time as other injections
• Vaccine
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Yearly
• Comments: Decision to vaccinate based on geographical exposure
• Pneumabort (pregnant mare Rhino)
• Route: IM
• Frequency: 5th, 7th,9th months of gestation
• Comments: Pregnant mares only
• Potomac Horse Fever
• Route: IM
• Frequency: Yearly