House Calls For Horses

04/18/2023

This a great idea for some horses!

03/29/2023

It’s breeding season again!
We provide ultrasounds, AI, foal checks and foaling out services!

11/09/2022

We have gotten a lot of questions about Bute-Less lately… And WE ARE NOT FANS! Here are a few facts that we would like to share with you before you pick up this product or others that contain Devil’s Claw for your horse.

- The primary active ingredient in Bute-Less is the herb Devil’s Claw which contains harpogoside.
- Harpagoside has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in people. There are no studies of this effect occurring in horses.
- Devil’s Claw is metabolized in the liver using the enzyme cytochrome p450. While this enzyme is breaking down Devil’s Claw, it cannot breakdown other medications down well. This can lead to accumulation of those medications in the bloodstream and toxicity.
- Devil’s Claw can be nephrotoxic by inhibiting processes for filtration, secretion and absorption in the kidneys.
- Devil’s Claw has been shown to be associated with the development of bleeding gastric ulcers and other severe GI disorders.
- There are no long term use safety studies of this herb.

What this means to you as a horse owner:

Administering any drug to a horse that is being given Devil’s Claw increases the risks and side effects of that drug. For example:
- Administering Banamine to a horse with colic who is being given Devil’s Claw may cause liver failure.
- Administering Gentamicin, an important and common antibiotic used to treat a variety of infections in horses, to a horse being given Devil’s Claw may cause kidney failure.

Plus,
- Harpagoside is a FEI controlled substance
- Devil’s Claw is a USEF prohibited substance
- Horses are already quite efficient at getting gastric ulcers… why add one more risk factor?!

If you have questions about your own horse and Devil’s Claw OR finding other anti-inflammatory options for your horse, please contact your horse’s primary veterinarian at Iron Horse Equine.

Addendum: References reviewed for this post are listed in comments. Absorbine the maker of Bute-Less has commented on our post as well and we recommend that you review their comments and contact them directly regarding Bute-Less specifically. We will be turning off comments on this post at this time and recommend that you reach out to your equine veterinarian for questions and concerns specific to your horse.

10/06/2022

For new and current clients: we DO NOT have FB messenger and DO NOT answer messages there. We never have. If you require our services, please call or text 951-520-7151.
If you are calling you must leave a message or we do not know you have called.
If it is an emergency, call, leave a message and clearly state it is an emergency.

05/28/2021

An industry-wide shortage of the main drug used for euthanasia is forcing veterinarians to conserve supplies and consider using alternate methods to humanely end animals’ lives. Pentobarbital, the active ingredient in the most commonly used eut...

10/23/2019

There have been multiple positive cases for EIA - an incurable and fatal disease we test for with a Coggins- in horses in Kaufman and Dallas counties in Texas. This is an area with a lot of "kill pens" that advertise horses to "save from shipping to slaughter" online.

HCFH has encountered many horses that come in from these places ill or not as advertised, so we always urge extreme caution when dealing with them, but due to the current outbreaks we DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING OR SHIPPING IN ANY HORSES FROM "KILL PENS" IN TEXAS.

10/02/2019

Just an friendly reminder that Banamine (flunixin) should NOT be given IM (in the muscle).

04/21/2019

03/07/2017

Springtime is here which means it's vaccine time again!
This is a nice chart about recommended vaccine schedules.
Please notice that WNV is actually only required annually.
Also, Influenza and EHV(Rhino) is also recommended around here, with a similar schedule to WNV, E/W and tetanus as far as first immunizations (2 dose series), but is recommended to be given every 6 months, and is actually required by most large show circuits now (ex FEI, USEF, etc).

TO VIEW FULL GRAPHIC PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

As horse owners schedule spring veterinary appointments, your vet will administer core vaccinations—vaccines considered important for all horses to receive annually regardless of geographical location. Core vaccinations protect against diseases that are endemic to a region, are virulent and highly contagious, and pose a risk of severe disease.

Download/view chart here: https://www.scribd.com/document/341102532/AAEP-Core-Vaccinations-for-Adult-Horses #

Read more about core vaccinations for adult horses here: https://aaep.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines/core-vaccination-guidelines