Equine Medical Center

❄️❄️Winter weather update!!❄️❄️

Our office will remain open normal business hours this Friday. We will be offering emergency calls this weekend to the best of our ability, pending road conditions. Safety of our vets and staff is a priority.

How can you prepare?
1. Have a simple EMERGENCY KIT for your horses including Banamine (flunixin), a digital thermometer, and bandage supplies (roll cotton, non-stick telfa pads, 4x4 gauze, vet wrap and elastikon, a wound cleansing solution).

2. ELECTROLYTES (any brand sold at your local feed store) or regular table salt (1 tbsp) to top dress feed DAILY to help with encouraging horses to continuing drinking water.

3. WATER. Please make sure horses have access to plenty of clean, non-frozen water.

4. Consider thoroughly soaking feed or hay pellets/cubes to promote extra hydration during cold temps.

5. Use caution when turning out horses in icy conditions. Check fencelines for damage from fallen trees or snow/ice.

**If your horse is on regular prescription medications and needs a refill, or you are a regular client and need emergency medications, please handle that before this weekend to avoid excessive travel in dangerous conditions.

We hope you and your equine friends stay safe and warm during this winter event! 🥶

Wishing all of our clients & their horses a happy holiday season, from the Equine Medical Center crew! 🎄🎅🏼✨

Holiday Hours:
We are closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.
We are closed New Year’s Day.

As always, 24/7 emergency coverage is available! Dr. Vermillion is on call Christmas Eve & Day, and Dr. Branning is on call New Years Day.

Due to a recent & spreading EHV-1 outbreak in Texas and Oklahoma, horse owners should be taking extra precautions to prevent the spread. Here’s what you need to know:

🦠Reduce Movement
Avoid shows, clinics, and co-mingling horses for the next few weeks. Movement is the #1 driver of spread.

🦠Check Temperatures
Fever is often the very first sign. If temp is 101.5°F or higher, call your vet immediately.

🦠Know Symptoms
• Fever
• Weakness or incoordination
• Wide-based stance
• Changes in tail tone
• Difficulty urinating
• Lethargy or decreased appetite

🦠Biosecurity
• Do not share water buckets, grooming tools, nebulizers, or tack
• Disinfect thermometers with Lysol & disinfect trailers and stalls with a 1:10 bleach to water ratio
• Isolate any horse with a fever 30+ yards away & handle them LAST
• Wash hands, use bleach foot baths, and change clothes between barns when possible. Gloves and other PPE, like boot covers, should be used when handling potentially infected horses.

🦠Vaccination
Vaccines do not prevent the neurologic form, but boosters can reduce viral shedding and shorten viremia—both of which help limit barn-wide spread. We recommend vaccinating horses at least bi-annually with a flu/rhino vaccine if they are traveling.
Do NOT vaccinate febrile or exposed horses until cleared by your vet.

🦠Our Stance at EMC
If your horses have travelled to Texas or Oklahoma, or been exposed to horses traveling from these areas, a 14 day quarantine is recommended, with twice daily temp checks. If fever is noted, contact us. Horses will be tested via nasal swab & started on prophylactic valacyclovir (an antiviral medication) and provided with supportive care.

Here are links for more information on EHV:

AAEP EHV Consensus Statement:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1ConsensusStatement2024.pdf

AAEP Fact Sheet:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1-4-guidelines-2021.pdf

Equine CDC Outbreak Alerts: https://www.equinediseasecc.org

EMC is committed to providing up to date information to help best protect your horses.

Here’s an exciting opportunity for horse owners to learn!

We are incredibly excited to announce that we have grown!! Please welcome our newest veterinarian, Dr. Meg Branning!

Dr. Meg Branning was born and raised in the heart of New Jersey horse country but has spent the last 13 years in Georgia. She obtained a BS and MS in Animal Science both from the University of Georgia and eventually earned her “Triple Dawg” status with her DVM from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation, she completed an equine internship at Tryon Equine Hospital focusing on equine medicine and surgery and also became an FEI treating veterinarian. She has since returned to Georgia to continue her equine adventures with Equine Medical Center starting in June.

Dr. Branning’s primary interests are lameness/sports medicine, and emergency medicine. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs and spoiling her retired blood donor horse, Liam.

❄️❄️COLD WEATHER PSA ❄️ ❄️

We at Equine Medical Center will still be responding to emergency calls for our established clients as we are able to safely do so, but please use these tips to prevent and prepare for any equine emergencies!

❄️Make sure your water tanks are full & accessible at all times! This means checking automatic waters to ensure they’re not frozen, chipping ice, and/or using a bucket/tank heater.

❄️Top dress feed and/or hay with commercial equine electrolytes or a couple teaspoons of table salt. This will encourage more water consumption throughout the day.

❄️If you feed grain or cubes, SOAK them! This will ensure your horse gets some extra hydration when it’s not enticing to drink cold water. Also, do NOT introduce new hay or grains during cold periods, as this can contribute to colic.

❄️Keep emergency supplies on hand. This includes banamine, bute, bandage material, and neopolybac ophthalmic ointment, which should be used as directed by your veterinarian in the event that we are delayed responding to calls.

❄️Have a plan! Have an established veterinary relationship & know your options for emergency care- including having access to a trailer to haul if necessary.

It’s beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas! Here are some essential precautions to help keep your horse ✨merry & bright✨ during this seasonal transition:

🎄Make sure your water tanks are full & accessible at all times! This means checking automatic waters to ensure they’re not frozen, chipping ice, and/or using a bucket/tank heater.

🎄If you feed grain or cubes, SOAK them! This will ensure your horse gets some extra hydration when it’s not enticing to drink cold water.

🎄Top dress feed and/or hay with commercial equine electrolytes or a couple teaspoons of table salt. This will encourage more water consumption throughout the day.

🎄If you notice decreased f***l output, decreased water consumption, lethargy, and/or inappetence, consult with your vet sooner rather than later! Colic symptoms often begin subtle.

🎄If your horses are clipped, very young/very old, or grow a poor winter coat, consider blanketing them.

🎄Have a plan! Have an established veterinary relationship & know your options for emergency care!