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Preventative Care for Equines

Our equine wellness programs are on the forefront of veterinary medicine.

Our equine wellness plans are designed to provide you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your horse(s) are receiving the best possible preventive health care on a regular and timely basis.

Comprehensive veterinary examinations (including dental exam and float, if needed) should be performed once or twice yearly to ensure that your horse(s) remain healthy year-round. We take a holistic approach to our examinations and routinely address nutrition (including supplements and herbal formulas), hoof care, turnout/exercise routines, environment, parasite control, vaccination, and more. In addition to examinations, we recommend chiropractic and/or acupuncture treatments every 1 - 3 months. Bodywork maintenance programs help our doctors evaluate the musculoskeletal system and overall energy balance at frequent intervals and in greater depth than what can be done in a wellness examination. Complete bodywork treatments help us identify and treat subclinical lameness or injuries before they become a serious problem as well as address saddle fit problems. With this information, we are able to tailor a bodywork program to each individual horse and often recommend other bodywork modalities, such as massage, SCENAR therapy, and Healing Touch for Animals to complement the chiropractic and acupuncture treatments we provide. Adding bodywork to your horse's routine is essential for horses being asked to perform at their peak ability and helps senior horses age more gracefully. Preventative care is key to disease prevention and long term soundness. We specialize in maximizing optimal health and longevity for your horse.
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Bloodwork

Routine bloodwork helps our doctors identify underlying disease or pathology in your horse that may not be outwardly apparent yet. Finding these things early gives us a chance to treat the condition and resolve the problem before it becomes a major issue or even a life-threatening one. It is ideal to have a baseline CBC/Chemistry test on all horses, especially when they are young or new to you, and then routine screening yearly or every few years until the senior years. Senior horses should be screened yearly or more often depending on their condition. Other common blood work tests used for disease screening should be performed where indicated.

Fecal Float

We recommend all horses have a fecal float performed at least twice a year. Repeated screening throughout the year is important as some parasites are shed intermittently and can be missed if only one fecal float is performed. Fecal floats have become increasingly important with the increased prevalence of parasites that are resistant to multiple common de-wormers. Over de-worming contributes to this problem over time and fecal floats help ensure your horse is not being over or under de-wormed. (See De-Worming Your Horse for more information.)

Vaccinations and Titers

Cedarbrook Veterinary Care offers a holistic approach to vaccination. Vaccines are not inert, risk-free injections, so minimizing the frequency and types of vaccines given at one time is essential to fulfill the veterinary oath of 'first do no harm.' To us, minimizing vaccination means finding a vaccination program to meet each individual horse's needs. If a horse is not traveling or is not in contact with other horses, fewer vaccinations are necessary, while a horse in a training barn who frequents out-of-state horse shows may require more extensive vaccination. If a horse has an underlying disease or is allergic to vaccinations, they may not be necessary at all. We take into consideration each individual case and adjust the vaccination program for each horse, year to year, as needed.

Our veterinarians also offer vaccine titers in order to minimize vaccinations. Titers are a simple (but expensive) blood test that can be a useful indicator to determine the antibody levels (immune response) your horse to certain vaccines. While vaccine titers are not a black and white guarantee of protection, annual titers are used to help determine if and when a vaccine is necessary for your horse.

Hair Mineral Analysis

Minerals are involved in all body functions, and the chemical elements are the basic building blocks in bodies. However, even more telling are the ratios between minerals which represent relationships and balances in the body. Using hair analysis to assess balances and relationships provides information about every body system.

A hair mineral analysis can give us clues about your horse's metabolic rate, stage of stress, immune system status, adrenal and thyroid glandular activity, and more. The chemical imbalance related to many of these conditions often develop years before symptoms show up. Hair testing is one way to find those imbalances, allowing you to correct them and event prevent the disease altogether.

Senior Horse Care

Cedarbrook Veterinary Care also recommends a preventative health care program including blood work for your senior horse. Preventive measures for the senior horse allow for the early detection and implementation of a medical management plan to address the changes associated with the aging process in older horses.

Knowing that your older horse is receiving the best possible geriatric preventative health care from knowledgeable veterinarians each year will provide you with peace of mind. Geriatric care aids in the early diagnosis of subtle changes by giving your veterinarian a baseline from which to compare test results. Early detection and appropriate medical treatment will extend the healthy and happy lifespan of your horse. In addition to senior horse care, we also offer loving and compassionate hospice care in-house at Cedarbrook Farms or at your home, and we are here to help you with end-of-life decisions when the time comes to say goodbye to your equine friend.
If you are interested in scheduling a health and wellness appointment for your equine partner,
call Cedarbrook Veterinary Care at (360) 794-9255.

We treat the whole animal, every time.

To maximize our veterinarian's ability to help as many horses as possible, Cedarbrook Veterinary Care currently offers preventative and wellness care for new patients on a haul-in-only basis and emergency care to active clients in Snohomish, Monroe, Woodinville, Duvall, Lake Stevens, Redmond and the areas within that region.

Special arrangements can be made for barns where several horses are seen at one time, and long-term existing clients are grandfathered into our routine farm call services as offered in the past.

Call or text us today (360) 794-9255

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Cedarbrook Veterinary Care

Veterinarian Appointments

Available Monday - Friday.
9812 215th Avenue SE,
Snohomish, WA 98290

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