VETERINARY SERVICES
EQUINE WELLNESS
The best way to avoid an emergency situation is through preventative care. An annual wellness visit is the best method to ensure your horse stays healthy and lives a longer life. Dr. Skillman enjoys being the first point of contact for all of your horse’s wellness needs. This includes customized nutritional advice, immunizations, deworming programs, and routine lab work such as Coggins testing to name a few of the services she includes with an equine wellness appointment.
- Physical Examinations
- Vaccinations
- Coggins Testing
- Fecal Egg Counts
- Nutrition
- Routine Blood Work
DENTISTRY
Dental issues can have a significant impact on your horse’s overall health and performance. Common signs of dental issues can include dropping of feed, weight loss, behavioral issues, and problems with the bit. Annual dental exams and corrective floating are important in maintaining your horse’s comfort and health. Our oral exams are completed with use of speculum, led lights, mirrors and utilize power dental tools and digital X-Rays.
- Oral Exam w/ Speculum, LED Lights, & Mirror
- Routine and Corrective Floating
- Wolf Teeth and Minor Extractions
- Digital X-Ray of Skull
REPRODUCTION
Making plans for a foal is an exciting eleven months! Dr. Skillman has helped facilitate many pregnancies for breeds such as Arabians, Belgians, thoroughbreds, and miniature horses, just to name a few. Take the guesswork out of timing of pregnancy, breeding, and foaling by incorporating our services at each step of the way. There is a lot to manage when preparing for a foal, and we can help advise you on timeline, management of mare, and aftercare. We use a portable digital ultrasound alongside rectal palpation to evaluate the most optimum time for conception. We can also provide pregnancy scans for confirmation of a healthy, viable fetus. As foaling becomes imminent we will help you come up with a game plan for the big day.
- Breeding Management
- Breeding Soundness Exams
- Artificial Insemination
- Ultrasound
- Caslick Surgery
- Neonatal Exams
- IgG Testing
LAMENESS
Whether you own a competition horse or a pasture pet a lame horse can derail any plans an owner may have. Lamenesses can be acute or chronic, and we will help you determine the source through a lameness exam, joint flexion tests, and palpation. Further diagnostics may be necessary and can include diagnostic nerve blocks and/or use of our portable diagnostic imaging modalities, digital X-ray and ultrasound. We also are proud to start providing radiograph reports evaluated by a veterinary radiologist. Dr. Skillman will always provide options on therapy that work with your budget, timeline, and expectations. A horse’s soundness is a large component of their quality of life and our main priority.
- Lameness Exams
- Pre-Purchase Exams
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Joint Therapy
- Hoof Abscesses
- PRP Therapy (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
EMERGENCY SERVICES & SURGERY
No one ever wants to call a vet for an emergency, but in case you think you are experiencing an emergency or urgent situation with your horse please call us. If we are unable to pick up because we are assisting another patient please leave a voicemail, and we will call you back ASAP. Dr. Skillman rather have you call too soon than too late. Some emergency situations like abdominal pain also known as colic are time dependent. Some signs of acute abdominal pain are pawing, flank watching, laying down, or rolling. Dr. Skillman or our staff will help triage you over the phone and determine if an emergency exam is warranted. If your horse has a wound you can also text us a picture. We are able to address most emergency situations from our fully equipped ambulatory truck. If a condition is unable to be treated fully on the farm, we will refer you to a surgical center and work with their staff and doctors to help facilitate a full recovery. Please remember urgent care appointments are reserved for current clients only.
- Colic
- Lacerations
- Choke
- Ophthalmology
- Castrations
- Wound Repair
- Enucleation
GERIATRIC AND END OF LIFE SERVICES
The life expectancy of the horse is up to thirty years and sometimes more. Caring for a thirty year old horse can look very different from caring for a ten year old horse. Senior horses may require more frequent exams, dentistry, and change in diet from what they needed when they were younger. Dr. Skillman understands that some clients have been with these older horses for several decades and greatly respects that bond between horse and owner. She will be compassionate and help the owner maintain the quality of life of their senior horse. When it is time to make the transition to greener pastures over the rainbow bridge we are here to make this time as pain free and comfortable as this process can be.
Chronic Disease Management
PPID Testing and Monitoring
Large Animal Euthanasia
