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Sky Vet Exam

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Skyseternalangel 
#1 ·
Okay so I'm having the vet out sometime in the next 2 weeks (haven't called.. weekend + insane time zone difference) BUT ANYWAY

Sky has had this weird reaction so going to have a blood panel done to see what's up.

This is what I am going to do for Sky thus far:

1. Bloodwork
2. Teeth floating

Is there something else I should get done? He had a fecal done back in Feb, and his sheath cleaned. It's been almost 5 months so should I get both done again? Should I get him examined for ulcers?

He's UTD on shots.

Reminder that I'm a first horse person and I want to use this vet visit to get important things done or things that could help him out in the long run.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Coggins may be if not done?

Don't know about cleaning the private part as I have mares (so I just clean them once/week usually myself). If he doesn't show any signs I wouldn't care about test for ulcers personally - I never did one.
 
#6 ·
Sky check with the vet, some don't like to do too much at once, especially if the plan is to sedate for a teeth float, vacs make a horse feel kind of crummy for 24 hrs or so just like people, I clean my geldings sheaths every couple months but we have a total trust relationship & they let me get up close & personal w/o sedation..if there is an actual health issue causing you to want blood work they may want to postpone other treatment like vacs & sedation till the issue gets cleared up. coggins can easily be done with the other blood work but only necessary annually.. so see when it is due.
 
#9 ·
My vet has this super new thing that is literally a "snap test" for ulcers. Feces goes in to a small cup is swished around in whatever liquid is inside the cup, and a couple drops of the mixture is placed on the test strips. It is able to read the occult blood levels within the feces. Which, of course, indicates the severity of the ulcers. This test in lieu of the endoscopy, in my opinion, is pretty awesome. Just a thought.
 
#10 ·
Do you know what it's official name is? I can see if my vet does something like that. I just want to know medically where my horse is at, especially since the strange sunburn type deal on his back which has never happened before to him..

He's been in his field since (the barn doesn't do stall rest without a vet saying it's a life or death thing..) and no red on his back.. but I'm still going to check.
 
#11 ·
"The SUCCEED® Equine Fecal Blood Test

The FBT is a non-invasive diagnostic aid that measures trace amounts of blood in the manure. Your vet simply collects fresh manure, mixes it with water and places a sample on two wells of the enclosed cassette. Within 15 minutes, this will tell if the horse has an excess of 2 blood components: albumin (a major component of the clear stuff we get with a scrape) and hemoglobin (the red stuff in blood.) Excess albumin indicates a hindgut lesion while excess hemoglobin indicates a bleeding lesion anywhere in the GI tract. Along with other indicators, these allow your veterinarian to pin-point the location of the problem(s)."

We tested 4 horses in our barn. 2 of the TB's (off the track) had severe. My guy was tested and had very mild. My barn mate had her Old Man Dutch Warmblood tested and he came up free and clear. It was pretty cool.
 
#13 ·
My vet gives the vaccinations in two visits. First one was rabies, and some other stuff (can't read his writing well...looks like "ENT" and "FLV"). Second visit was West Nile and Lyme. I also get a Coggins (even if I'm not planning to take him off the property, because who knows when I'll need to do that unexpectedly...). And I got a fecal (no worms, thanks to the daily dewormer, so I didn't also need to give him worming paste).

Huey's missing some teeth, so I have to get his teeth floated every 4 months. He lets me know if he's due by getting chewy and mouthy.

Sheath gets cleaned annually, or more often it if looks like there's some kind of problem. When he drops, I check it out, and if he's looking grubby, it's sheath cleaning time. Otherwise, he can wait until the fall.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Update:

Sky got his teeth done, his sheath cleaned, a coggins pulled (for records!) and his blood panel back.....

100% healthy! Not a thing wrong! :) Will upload that as soon as I can (don't have it yet.. may get it may not. Hoping for may get since then I can put it in with his other records!)

So it must have been sunburn and some freak accident with the flyspray. Oh well.. I'm glad nothing else is awry!

I was advised not to do the ulcer test by my vet and my previous B.O (we're good friends) so I'll save that for either fall shots or next spring. But thank you so much for letting me know that test was out there!
 
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