Bringing your horse in for an annual diagnostic and wellness checkup can help reassure you that your horse is healthy or help us detect hidden diseases or conditions early. Early detection can improve the prognosis of many diseases, keep medical costs down, and help your horse live longer. Many horses are good at hiding signs that something is wrong, so subtle changes in their health or behavior might be easy to overlook. And, depending on the disease, some horses don’t show any symptoms.
Horses age far quicker than humans, so it is even more crucial for our companion animals to receive regular exams. In addition, the risks of arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hormone disorders, and kidney and liver problems all increase with age.
During your horse’s wellness exam, we will perform a physical assessment, checking your horse from nose to tail. We will also make sure your horse receives appropriate vaccinations and preventives. We will perform a diagnostic workup, which may include blood, fecal, and urine tests to check for parasites and underlying diseases. We may also recommend that your horse receive dental care. When your horse is nearing his or her senior years, we will recommend a baseline exam and diagnostic workup so we’ll know what’s normal for your horse. This will enable us to keep track of any changes.
Because you spend the most time with your horse, you are your horse’s expert, as well as his or her greatest advocate. Please let us know if you’ve noticed any physical or behavioral changes in your horse, as well as any other concerns you might have.
Call us today to schedule your horse’s exam! If you have any questions, we would be happy to discuss our adult horse wellness program in more detail.
