Good boy, Dude!

Two moments at the barn yesterday that could gone either way -- and luckily went the right way.

First, when Dude was on the cross ties in the aisle, a little kid came running up to him and shouted right in his face, "Hey, this is a big horse!" Dude didn't move, just sort of looked at him like, "Yeah, and what's your point?"

Second moment: I was in Dude's stall with him with the stall guard across the door, when all of a sudden the boy's large black dog came halfway into the stall. It certainly took me by surprise. Dude was eating his hay, swung his head around, checked out the dog, registered a momentary "huh-how-'bout-THAT" expression and went back to munching his hay.

WhatEVER. :)

Vaccination time coming

I was just starting to think about mid/late summer vaccinations when Julie at the barn mentioned that the other local vet practice had already been out to the barn to do their clients' horses. The Potomac and the flu/rhino vaccinations were given. I'm never very consistent about getting Dude and Bestie scheduled for these two (I feel like in past years they've been given them anytime between August and September), so it was good she reminded me. They'll get scheduled soon with the handful of other horses that use the same vets we do.

Word on the streets is that Potomac may be bad this year in our area, although our vets do not yet have any words of warning on their website, and they're usually good about that. I can never remember the specifics of the disease, and had only a vague sense that snails were somehow involved. I visited the website for the American Association of Equine Practitioners to grab the following info:

"Equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (Potomac Horse Fever) is caused by Neorickettsia risticii (formerly Ehrlichia risticii). Originally described in 1979 as a sporadic disease affecting horses residing in the eastern United States near the Potomac River, the disease has since been identified in various other geographic locations in the United States and Canada. The disease is seasonal, occurring between late spring and early fall in temperate areas, with most cases in July, August, and September at the onset of hot weather.

Clinical signs are variable but may include: fever, mild to severe diarrhea, laminitis, mild colic, and decreased abdominal sounds. Uncommonly, pregnant mares infected with N. risticii (usually in the middle trimester between 90 and 120 days) can abort due to fetal infection at 7 months of gestation.

If Potomac Horse Fever has been confirmed on a farm or in a particular geographic area, it is likely that additional cases will occur in future years. Foals appear to have a low risk of contracting the disease. Vaccination against this disease has been questioned because field evidence of benefit is lacking. Proposed explanations for this include lack of seroconversion and multiple field strains whereas only one strain is present in available vaccines.

Vaccine
The currently available commercial vaccines are killed, adjuvanted products. Two of these are also available combined with a rabies vaccine. None of the current vaccines carry a label claim for the prevention of abortion.

Vaccination Schedules
Due to the seasonal incidence of disease, vaccination should be timed to precede the anticipated peak challenge during the summer months or fall.

Adult horses, previously vaccinated: Manufacturers recommend revaccination at 6- to 12-month intervals. However, veterinarians may consider an interval of 3 to 4 months for horses in endemic areas because protection following vaccination can be incomplete and short-lived."

(There's a bit more info on the vaccination protocol on the AAEP site at http://www.aaep.org/potomac_fever.htm)

It certainly doesn't sound as though the vaccination is a sure bet in terms of prevention, which is unfortunate. But still, it will give me some peace of mind once they've received the vaccination.

Weather finally shifts to summer

After weeks of rain and cool weather, we plunged into summer last Friday. Typical Vermont weather change - the day before I wore a soft shell jacket in to work! Friday was actually quite beautiful with sunny skies and a good breeze. It's gotten progressively warmer since then.

The horses' fields are really drying out with this warm weather, which is good. Dude had lost a shoe about a week ago when the field he was in was pretty swampy. It was so wet back in the field that there was no way I would find the shoe, which I realized after about ten minutes of walking the field. It'll probably turn up in a frost heave this winter! We've been scrubbing his legs quite a bit since it seemed like the constant mud might contribute to scratches.

I rode Bestie on Friday and it was a nice ride. She didn't do her usual 360 turn as we headed out to the field after about fifteen minutes in the indoor. And she was totally over the pigeons roosting in the rafters, which had caused a major sideways leap about a week ago - yay for saddle horns to grab on to!

The past couple of days we have gone to the barn only to clean them up and hose them down because it has been so warm. Dude in particular gets really sweaty when the temps zoom. I decided to cut his evening grain by half over the next few days just to play it safe. The big barn fans are running and there are a couple of box fans hung down at our end of the barn, so the air is circulating and the barn stays fairly pleasant. I think Dude and Bestie sweat when they first get brought in as a result of the transition from outside to inside and the walk in. And Bestie unfortunately has the afternoon sun coming in her little window, although she doesn't get as sweaty as Dude.

Looks like the whole week will have temps in the upper 80s. I am certainly not complaining - it is great to feel the warmth and see the sun!