We are very excited to be emailing you our NEW LARGE ANIMAL newsletter!

We lauched our new Small and Large animal email newsletters in December but have just been alerted that due to some gremlins not all our rural clients have been receiving their newsletter. To rectify this situation all our clients will receive this April edition of the Large Animal Newsletter - if you have only companion animals or you do not wish to receive this newsletter please unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of the email.

Our clinic newsletter is designed to keep you informed of happenings at Orange Veterinary Hospital and to provide you with interesting articles and information regarding family pets or in the case of large animal clients, your herd animals. We believe you will enjoy this new newsletter format – and if you have friends who you think might enjoy our newsletter please send us an email and we can add them to our mailing list.

We wish you and the pets and animals in your family a Happy Easter - remember no Easter eggs for the dogs in your house!

We are CLOSED for the three public holidays Good Friday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day. We will be OPEN on Saturday 19th April 8.30-12pm and we provide a 24 hour emergency service at all times. Please call 63618388.

A familiar and welcome sight to our large animal clients is the arrival of the vet when they are in need of veterinary help. 

Our three partners Andrew, Kim and John are well known to most of you and we are proud to have this male team complemented by our three associates Megan, Kate and Genevieve. It can be hard to pin these girls down for a photo but we were able to take this quick shot of Kate as she left the clinic on her way to see a sick horse.

We will post photos of Megan and Genevieve in future newsletters so you can recognise them if you have called for veterinary attention.

Greasy heel is a general term for a number of conditions resulting in anything from a mild skin irritation to severe infected sores. Given the recent rain, it is a common to see the problem at this time of year. The condition affects the lower limbs, commonly the back of the pastern and the heel. When the same condition occurs across the back it is referred to as “rain scald.”

Environmental conditions that irritate or soften the skin can affect the skin's natural defence mechanisms and allow infection to occur. This includes a wet environment, allergies and insect bites. Stabling during wet muddy periods in a clean dry box can help. Muddy legs should be either hosed or brushed off. Your horse’s legs should always be thoroughly dried afterwards. If your horse already has damaged skin, stabling them with shavings rather than straw is preferable to prevent further abrasions. Protective bandages can help provide additional protection of your horse’s lower limbs. Daily inspection of your horse’s lower limbs is important so that problems can be detected early in the course of the condition.

If your horse has greasy heel you can clip the area to help keep it dry and use medicated wash. Pain relief and antibiotics from us may also be required. Infection can be spread on shared grooming kits and clippers so these should always be disinfected between animals.

Over 60% of outbreaks of the deadly Hendra virus occur between May and July. So April has been designated Vaccination Month to encourage owners to help protect their horses, themselves and their vets from this terrible disease.

However, the Hendra virus is only one of a number of devastating – and potentially deadly – diseases affecting horses. Tetanus, strangles and equine herpes virus can all significantly affect the health of your horse.

There's no way you can predict when or where your horses might come into contact with these diseases. So vaccination remains the simplest and most effective solution to help prevent infection. Yet results from a recent national survey of horse owners suggest that many fail to vaccinate at all, or don't follow recommended booster protocols. Consequently, many horses remain unprotected against the threat of infectious diseases.

If your horse has not been vaccinated, has not had boosters or if you are confused about what vaccination is appropriate for your horses please call us.

Since Scourban® has been off the market many calf rearers are unsure of how to manage scours in calves.

We have 5 areas to address when treating a scouring calf:

1. Fluids - maintain hydration (oral OR intravenous)

Dehydration is the biggest killer of scouring calves. Calves require electrolytes equal to or greater than the estimated amount of fluid lost in faeces. This is often 4-6L of electrolytes per day, on top of their milk feeds. Separate milk and electrolytes by 2 hours.

Once a calf is >8% dehydrated it needs intravenous fluids. To tell if a calf is >8% you should measure the eye position in the orbit. To do this:

1. Roll lower eyelid out to where you think normal is, then measure
2. Measure with ruler
3. If >4mm = >8% dehydrated = intravenous fluids!

2. Provide energy - milk

Maintain calves on a full diet of milk! Definitely don’t hold calves off milk for more than 24 hours. It is an old myth that calves should be taken off milk to “starve the bugs.” Milk has many components that facilitate the repair of damaged intestinal epithelium and it also maintains the growth of scouring calves.

3. Antimicrobials

30% of calves which scour develop bacteraemia. They also develop a massive overgrowth of bacteria in their small intestine. Therefore antibiotics should be used in most cases of calf scours. Speak to us about which one.

4. NSAIDs

Meloxicam has been shown to increase feed intake, increase body weight gain & starter ration intake and increase activity level in calves when administered with other standard treatments. It provides analgaesia for intestinal cramping and abdominal pain. Meloxicam should be added to your calf scour treatment protocol.

5. Ancillary

Keeping calves warm, dry and clean in a separate hospital pen is very important to their survival.