On-Call / Vet

Spring is the traditional time of year for breeding on most horse ranches. Horses are long-day breeders meaning that natural reproductive activity peaks during the longer days of the year. Generally, from mid-spring through the summer mares regularly cycle every 21 days.

You’ve been training the cows to come into the catch pen for the past couple of weeks. You got your help all lined up. You’ve got the vet scheduled for the exact time you wanted to work cows. Everything appears ready to go work your herd. But wait-have you taken time to give your facilities an inspection? This may not be the first thing you think about when planning fall herd work, but it may be the most critical and important thing you can do to ensure an efficient and safe working day for your cattle, your help and yourself.

Many times horse owners think that only old horses have teeth issues and eating problems are the only signs telling them that their horse has a problem. Over several years of looking at horse’s mouth I can only think of a hand full that did not need some type of dental maintenance.

Spring calving season is just around the corner. This also means calving problems and the need to intervene and assist in the delivery of the calf. While this may seem a straightforward procedure, many things can make for a more difficult and less successful outcome. Here are several mistakes made before, during and after calving that can lead to problems for the calf and the cow.

Animal agriculture is becoming more and more advanced each and every year and unfortunately, even though dairy producers are more efficient and producing a higher quality product than ever before, remaining profitable has become even more challenging. Therefore, in order to maximize cow health and milk production and to minimize treatment cost and milk discard, I encourage producers to consider implementing a pre-planned mastitis treatment protocol.

This time of year, many horse owners take the opportunity to examine their horse’s body condition as winter weather approaches. This is well advised as many horses across the Ozarks spend a significant amount of time outside during the cold, and at times, inclement weather of winter. Age, size, nutrition, hair coat and body condition all play a role. In this issue we will focus on the most common causes of a poor body condition in an otherwise healthy horse and explore ways to improve your horse’s condition.

Show season is upon us again. Remember show animals are exposed to more diseases as they are co-mingled with others. Vaccinations of these show animals are a must. Consult your veterinarian as to which vaccines are recommended.

As spring approaches, many goat producers are preparing for the beginning of kidding season. One condition that producers may encounter as does enter their last trimester of pregnancy and near parturition (birthing) is ‘pregnancy toxemia’. This can be a life-threatening condition for some does and early recognition of this disease is paramount to providing successful treatment. This very same condition is also seen in sheep with similar clinical signs and treatment options.

Over the past few weeks our clinic has seen a couple of cases of classic anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis is a clinical condition primarily recognized in cattle caused by the organism anaplasma marginale. This organism acts as a parasite to the red blood cell of the animal resulting in destruction of circulating red blood cells and rapid onset of severe anemia. This condition can produce acute death in cattle and is a complex disease in regards to effective treatment and prevention strategies.