Veterinary care is like a puzzle.
When horses arrive here, their veterinary care has almost always been neglected for a long time. There are many puzzle pieces that need to get put back together.
We know that senior draft horses that need us are going to come to us with a “something”… we don’t often know what it is until they are here.
We get right to work figuring it out getting them the best care possible.
When they are super skinny, we assume they haven’t been fed properly. We also look for clues of other things that could be working against them.
Parasites are always on our list. We will send a manure sample in for a fecal egg count. This will tell us what type(s) or parasites are present and how heavy the parasite load is.
Basing our de-worming treatment on the fecal egg count is much more effective at targeting the specific parasite and minimizes the development of resistance.
We get this checked off the list. 
Teeth are a big deal. From a mechanical standpoint, horses chew in a rotational pattern. We often find problems with their teeth that prevent them from chewing properly.
When their food isn’t chewed properly, it can’t be digested properly. For a horse that is already not being fed enough, the problem continues to compound when they can’t chew and digest the food they are getting.
So, we fix this.
Arthritis pain – I think all our horses have it. Probably all our readers do too!
The questions become how severe, and how can we help. Lameness exams and x-rays help figure out what we are dealing with.
Hoof care and hoof angle changes can make a huge difference. We have a variety of pain medicines and supplements that help. They also are retired here, so those arthritic joints are no longer being grossly overworked.
We help them be comfortable.
Our team of veterinarians are amazing. The doctors at Hess-McWilliams Veterinary Service are compassionate, experienced, respectful, practical, resourceful, and consistently available to us.
Not only do they provide excellent care to the big guys, but they take time to fill out various documents for us like forms needed for grant applications and state licensing. They are always willing to teach and explain things to us and our followers.
We are grateful to Hess-McWilliams Veterinary service for providing exceptional care!
And we are grateful for you making it all possible!
