So, you want to breed your mare.  You think you have the perfect stallion to match her and so it should be easy, right?  Not quite.  Nowadays, it can be much more complicated than just getting a mare and stallion together.  There are many different options available for breeding your mare.  In this blog post, we will discuss the mare’s reproductive cycle, the different types of semen available, and when to have pregnancy checks done on your mare. 

As many of you are aware, one of Dr. Butters’ special interests is equine dentistry.  Knowing this, one of our fantastic clients generously provided us with a wonderful and very interesting skull specimen that we wanted to share.

This skull is from a stallion that lived in a wild/feral state west of Cochrane.  Our client knew the stallion, and relayed that he died during the very cold, deep snow winter we experienced several years ago.

Dr. Butters believes she knows what may have contributed to this early death.

Dr. Lindsay Rogers discusses topics of importance to the care of senior horses, including weight control and feeding, winter care, herd and housing management, and diseases that are more common in geriatric horses. She offers advice on monitoring and optimizing the quality of life for individual older horses, with lots of awesome examples from her own eccentric herd of equine seniors.

Euthanasia is a term that comes from the Greek language and translated into English means “good death.”  The most common method of euthanasia is via a lethal injection of a barbituate drug, but other methods may also produce a “good death.”  There are many reasons for an owner to choose euthanasia and the decision to euthanize a horse is often a difficult and deeply personal for the owner.

Dr. Kirby Penttila gives an overview of equine podiatry, including a discussion of the anatomy and biomechanics of the horse's foot, the importance of shoeing survey films, and the importance of a good veterinarian-farrier-client-patient relationship. Common lameness conditions and the impact of podiatry on the treatment of these conditions are discussed in detail. 

Dr. Crystal Lee discusses the importance of prepurchase exams and gives an overview of what to expect in the exam.

Dr. Alyssa Butters gives an update on the status of West Nile Virus and Rabies in Alberta, and gives current vaccine recommendations.

Dr. Crystal Lee writes about joint inflammation diagnosis and treatment.

Welcome to the third post in our series about foaling.  Here we will discuss the important events that take place in a foal’s life immediately after it is born.

Dr. Alyssa Butters discusses first aid in horses (Part 2 of 2).

Dr. Alyssa Butters discusses first aid in horses (Part 1 of 2).

In our last post, we covered the signs to monitor in your mare that she is close to foaling.  Here we will cover how to prepare for your foal’s arrival.  These include the stages of labor, foaling kit essentials, and a few of the more common foaling problems.

Mares should have a clean and dry area on which to foal, that is free from too many disturbances.  They can foal inside or outside, depending on the time of year and the weather.  If your mare is to foal inside, straw is the recommended bedding.  Having a stocked foaling kit nearby with some basic supplies will also be helpful.  The foaling kit essentials include: