Making the golden years golden...

Little lady back in her prime, forever a water baby.

Mike and I now have two horses you might consider senior horses (*always* young at heart and soul, to be absolutely clear!), boy, it has really encouraged me to soul search the term 'preventative medicine' especially this winter.

There's more to preventative medicine than just giving vaccines twice a year, knocking some points off a horse's teeth, and giving de-wormer every other month. So much more can go wrong.

I know my idea over the last few years of what preventative medicine means has shifted away from this to consider how important those yearly *examinations* are - looking for signs of early metabolic disease, for example, can allow you to improve and treat these conditions so much earlier, giving you in some cases years of vibrant life for you and your horse.

What if I can find heel pain and some hoof changes in your horse before he becomes obviously lame? What if we got your farrier on board, began treating navicular syndrome earlier.. of course we can't stop it, but how much more time enjoying your partner would that buy and how much quality life?

Check out this article from The Horse: 'The Price of Longevity: Senior Horse Health Needs'

Love this article, because it really outlines what I have been thinking about these last few months and my goals moving forward, and what I can do and create for you an your horses.

Dr Rhoades enjoying the cool water on the little old lady.

Sarah L Rhoades, DVM