Weather & Seasonal Changes Affecting Daily Chores
Welcome to the Kinslow Veterinary Clinic blog and our inaugural post. I hope as you follow along and read our weekly adventures that you will acquire new knowledge that’s beneficial for your family pet and livestock. It will also be an opportunity for you sit it on the doctors’ and staff’s personal and professional lives. I hope you enjoy and check back often…
June 13, 2012 | Monday 7am
This morning is special; I began my day just like the last 100 mornings checking the expectant mares at the farm. Well the last mare presented me with a beautiful red roan colt, up nursing, looking great. He makes 40 head on the ground! The breeding season is already well underway as most of the mares are already turned out with stallions.
This has been a very unusual spring. It was 90 degrees in March and 30 degrees in May. Large animal vets are not weathermen but the weather and seasons have a profound effect on our daily cases. I just spoke with Dr. Wright, one of my equine colleagues. He said his mares were behind on their cycles and rebreeding and he thinks the changing temperature may be the problem.
This spring also brought us an array of other seasonal problems. As the wild buttercups began to bloom, we saw a few cases of toxicity in horses, some were mild, yet, some were very serious. Seems the problem is the bush hog or mower. Horses don’t like the live plants but they get hooked on the wilted plants. Therefore, don’t clip them, let them die naturally.
Spring also brought us an outbreak of EHV-1 neurological herpes at the weekend trail ride in Bucksnort. Many horses got sick and a few did die. We all need to be more careful. Always carry your own personal water and feed buckets to public gatherings. Even though no vaccine is labeled for the prevention of this form of Rhinopneumonitis; the people I trust for the advice suggest the use of the killed vaccine that is used for the prevention of abortion in mares; as it may help prevent this form of the disease. It should be given every 2 months.
Looks like dry weather and drought will be our next seasonal headache! Check your pastures and water sources often and provide shade and salt to your cattle and horses every day. Many plants in our pastures are toxic if the animals eat them, but they probably won’t eat them unless they are forced to by drought.
I shall conclude today’s comments as I had started; large animal vets are not weathermen but the weather and seasons sure have a lot to do with our daily chores.
Until later,
Doc
