Bless veterinarians. If you need a foal microchipped, a colt castrated, a severe wound sewed up, or a beloved, elderly friend humanely euthanised, then a vet is the best in the world and we're glad to have them. But apart from that, vets are only necessary when something is going wrong. We want to avoid reasons for a vet visit as much as possible.
5 Ways We Avoid Calling A Vet here at Sound Advice.
Problems invariably arise, but there is so much we can do to prevent illness and injury by being vigilant.
Fences.
Do you have a random bit of wire sticking out somewhere? A horse is going to find it, even if they have five safe acres to wander around. Do you have stretched/loose wires they can get caught in? If any length of fence is inadequate, a horse is going to get tangled in it. We can reduce injuries by being proactive tightening fence wires, straightening/replacing posts and upgrading the worst parts.
Hygiene.
Cleaning water troughs. Scrubbing out feed bins - particularly because we feed mashes. Checking expiry dates on feeds/wormers or anything else given by-mouth. Washing horses with Go Ahead Shampoo which is great for sorting emerging skin problems fast. It's zinc-based magic. A little bit goes a long way.
Nip it in the bud.
Taking photos of our horses' condition over time, so we can recognise when they look amazing and what we are doing differently. Smelling their breath. There is a tub of Tuff Rock Poultice in the wash bay, and if we see a little scratch we put some Tuff Rock on right that second. Picking out feet regularly. Checking digital pulses, and hoof temperature. If they don't smell healthy we sprinkle a little Good to Go. We have specifically designed Go Easy to effortlessly pack seedy toe, because then we're more likely to use it. Listening to our horse's gut, observing what is normal grazing, energy levels, resting or sleeping patterns for each of the horses.
Don't be a Vending Machine
We don't feed things that we know are bad for our horses. Sugar, molasses, high amounts of grain. Treats. I'm not a vending machine. We're also observing and identifying any new weeds coming up in our paddock and know trees that are poisonous.
Seek advice from the right expert.
If it's not a crisis needing surgery, then the best advice is going to come from someone who has dedicated their career to one thing. If there is a hoof problem the best advice is going to come from a farrier/trimmer. They see good and bad hooves all day every day. They don't spend half the day spaying cats. If we see a body problem, we call our equine osteopath or chiropractor first. They assess musculo-skeletal health all day every day. They don't spend half the day vaccinating puppies. AND they tend to charge around $100/$200 for a visit - not $1000. Of course, if you have a nutrition question, talk to us. We've been at it for 20 years.
Most importantly, here at Sound Advice we meet our horse's nutritional requirements.
Here are some diseases and syndromes that arise from mineral deficiencies: Itch, ringworm, greasy heel, stringhalt, tying-up, big-head, EMS, anemia, orthopedic disease, white muscle disease, hair loss, bone calcification, muscle spasms, susceptibility to parasites, cardiac arrthymias etc.
How does your vet typically treat? Drugs that temporarily address the symptoms.
If you meet your horse's nutritional requirements - often these problems may never arise in the first place.
We'll discuss that in Avoid the Vet Part 2