Frequently Asked Questions

---

Emergency services are provided to current clients. If you have an emergency, reach out to 506-566-1583. You are a current client if we have seen your horse for a routine wellness appointment within the last year, and your account with us is up to date. We reserve the right to choose to take on new clients on a case-by-case basis.

It is important to establish a relationship with a veterinarian BEFORE you have an emergency. To request a routine appointment, CLICK HERE and fill out the form. Alternatively you may e-mail info@kingscountyvet.ca or reach out to 506-566-1583. Routine appointment requests will be answered within 24hrs.

We ask a lot of our horses, whether it be in the competition ring, training at home or out on the trails.  To ensure your horse is able to do their job comfortably, it's important to ensure they are up-to-date on basic health care. This includes:

• Annual physical exam
• Annual (and sometimes bi-annual) vaccines
• Appropriate deworming. Gone are the days of deworming once per season and rotating through brands.  Not all horses shed parasites at the same rate, some need frequent deworming and some may only need this once per year. Fecal analysis and targeted deworming ensures your entire herd is adequately treated, and promotes responsible stewardship to avoid creating resistant parasites!
•  Dental care

Yes and yes! Horses' teeth erupt continuously - this means they develop sharp points and hooks over time, whether they are carrying a bit or not. These can lead to damage to the cheeks and tongue, prevent normal chewing motion and predispose your horse to weight loss and choke. A thorough dental exam includes sedation and the use of a speculum, allowing your vet to visualize and feel the entire oral cavity and float teeth appropriately. This is impossible without the use of a speculum, and dangerous and uncomfortable for the horse without the use of sedation. A hand float without sedation is inadequate at best.

Yes! Eye issues are always worth a call to the vet. The risk of permanent eye damage is high, and minor eye issues can go downhill quickly. Your vet may ask you to send them a photo of the eye to triage their care, and in some instances they will say the problem can wait until tomorrow. But at the very least you should make the phone call - better safe than sorry!

This is a detailed physical exam and lameness evaluation done prior to purchasing a horse. The goal of a PPE is to identify existing issues, and evaluate whether the horse you are interested in is able to perform the job you have in mind for him. A PPE is not a fail-safe predictor of future lameness - we do not have a crystal ball! But by gathering as much information as possible on the horse's current soundness, you will have a better understanding of what type of care this horse may need in order to perform his best, and decide whether this is something you are able to provide.

While it's not always easy to identify, horses always have a reason for doing what they do! While it can be behavioural, this is a conclusion we should come to by ruling out other potential causes first. Saddle fit, hoof pain, back pain, hock pain, dental pain and more can manifest themselves in the form of walking away at the mounting block, hopping in a canter transition, head-tossing after jumps or being stiff in one direction. A comfortable horse is a supple horse, and a supple horse can do their job well!