Dragon Lake Veterinary Hospital
2372 Larch Avenue, Quesnel, BC V2J 5T9
Phone: 250-747-1429 Fax: 250-747-1430 Email: dlvet@shaw.ca
Copyright. Ginger Langan. All rights reserved.
Disease Prevention/Post Mortems:
Having a consistent, ongoing relationship with your veterinarian goes a long way towards preventing disease in your livestock. This will allow us to do a better job helping you if your animals get sick. When dealing with herds or flocks, having a post-mortem performed if you have a loss can be a useful tool to prevent a potential spread of disease. Samples can be sent to the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford for analysis. Ask us for more info.
Herd Health Consults:
As with our other species of livestock, herd health consults and farm visits are important to assess the lifestyle and environmental conditions of your horse(s) so Dr. Langan can make the best recommendations for the overall health of the herd or individual.
Equine dentistry is a critical aspect of horse care that often goes overlooked. Just like humans, horses require regular dental care to maintain optimal oral health. Equine dentistry encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of dental issues in horses, including routine dental examinations, floating (filing) of teeth, and addressing dental abnormalities and diseases. Common dental issues that can affect horses include sharp enamel points, hooks, waves, dental malocclusions, uneven wear, retained deciduous (baby) teeth, wolf teeth, dental fractures, and periodontal disease. These issues can cause pain, discomfort, and difficulty chewing resulting in poor digestion, weight loss, and behavioural problems, highlighting the importance of regular dental examinations and treatment by a qualified equine dentist.
Proper dental care is essential for a horse's overall health and well-being. Regular dental maintenance helps prevent these issues and ensures that your horse can eat, drink, and perform comfortably. CLICK HERE for more detailed information.
Free medical education for small flock and small herd producers:
Western Canadian Animal Health Network
WeCAHN is an animal health surveillance and intelligence network, detecting and sharing animal disease trends and best practices with livestock producers, pet owners, and veterinarians, improving animal health and welfare in western Canada.
Equine Animal Services
Lameness Exams:
If you find your horse a bit off, and want someone to have a closer look, let us know. There are a number of tools and tests including observation of a horse on a variety of footing and in a variety of gaits to identify the lame leg. We then can perform flexion tests, local nerve blocks, ultrasound, and xrays to determine what the problem might be. Then work with you to come up with a plan for appropriate treatment. We also have a number of products and procedures which can help with joint health including the ability to do intra-articular injections. We carry Legend' and Hy-50 ' as well as other products including Back on Track, Recovery and various supplements. Try browsing our online store to order some of these products online.
Diagnostics/Feed Testing:
Dragon Lake Veterinary Hospital works closely with other labs and can provide a variety of testing for your animals or feed. We also work with the Animal Health Centre BC, through which we can submit samples for post-mortem analysis if you have lost an animal due to unknown illness.
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Surgeries:
We perform routine surgeries such as castrations and caslick sutures. Our vet and assistants work as a brilliant team and patients are monitored during the entire surgical procedure as well as during their recovery. We also offer more advanced surgeries including corrective hoof resection, cryptorchid castrations, hernia repairs and more. We have a blood analyzer in clinic so you have the option of having bloodwork done on your horse prior to surgery to check their general health and the health of their kidneys and liver. Our veterinarian and our support staff attend continuing education and we do in clinic training to ensure we are current and up to date in our procedures. All of these factors minimize the risks that may be involved with anesthesia and surgery.
Vaccines
We carry a variety of vaccines, depending on your horse's lifestyle. After consulting with Dr. Langan, she can make her recommendations on what would be best for your horse. We recommend that every horse be vaccinated at least once a year as many diseases are transmitted through insects (such as West Nile Disease) or environmental hazards (Tetanus). Keep your horse up to date to avoid having to have additional booster vaccines. Once we have seen and assessed the health of your horse, we do allow owners to purchase their vaccine, and administer it themselves if they are comfortable doing so. We can provide ice packs for transportation if needed. For more information on recommended vaccine protocols, check out the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners) guidelines
Dragon Lake Veterinary Hospital
2327 Larch Avenue, Quesnel, BC V2J 5T9
Fecal Egg Counts:
Fecal egg counts can be assessed in virtually any species. It is a great tool to have as part of your regular herd health assessment. Having this done regularly can prevent a lot of problems with parasite loads. It is also a great way to make sure you are not over medicating with dewormers, which can lead to drug resistance.
Digital X-Ray and Ultrasound:
Dragon Lake Vet is proud to offer digital equine x-rays and ultrasound here in Quesnel. We added a new ultrasound machine to our hospital in 2019 and now have the ability to perform tendon and reproductive ultrasound in our horse patients. Our local horse owners no longer have to travel to other towns to access these services. Our X-ray helps us to look for things like laminitis, and bone chips, while our ultrasound is vital for checking structure of tendons and other soft tissue.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is a regenerative therapy used to treat horses with tendon and ligament injuries. PRP is a blood preparation where plasma, the water and protein component of blood containing no cells, is mixed with highly concentrated platelets and injected into a site of injury. PRP injections are prepared using the horse’s own blood. The final composition of the injection can be adjusted during processing to target certain treatment outcomes.
Emergencies:
Sometimes horses seem to be particularly prone to having emergencies. As a flight animal, sometimes they are not thinking clearly when they sense danger and can get into trouble. Our staff are trained in handling emergency situations. If you have an emergency at any time, please call the clinic. Outside of office hours there will be an emergency number listed on our voicemail that you may call. In every situation we do our best to get to you and do everything we can to help.
Preventative Care/Diagnostics:
We want to help your horse have as many healthy years as possible. To accomplish this, we put emphasis on preventative care. Using our in-house lab equipment, we are able to check blood panels, and other samples for any signs of diseases. We also work with other labs for more extensive testing, and feed testing. Dr. Langan can also advise you on nutrition, and vaccinations for your horses' specific needs.
Phone: 250-747-1429 Fax: 250-747-1430 Email: dlvet@shaw.ca
Pre-Purchase Exams:
Buying a new horse can be nerve-wracking. Vet checks, or pre-purchase exams are optional, depending on your needs, and remember that there are no guarantees, a horse that has a good vet check may still become unsound later. However, having an experienced eye examine a horse prior to your purchase can help with the decision process. These exams can be fairly basic, or more thorough if need be. We do ask that the buyers be present, or at least connected via telephone during the exam. If Dr. Langan notices anything out of the ordinary, it is important that the buyer is able to provide guidance on what, if any, additional testing they would like done, based on initial findings.
Copyright. Ginger Langan. All rights reserved.
Equine Farm Visits/Herd Health Consults:
Herd management is an important part of looking after horses' health. It is an excellent idea to have Dr. Langan visit the farm where your horse is living to assess the type of environment. Pasture conditions can affect the nutrition of the grass. Wet conditions can affect hoof and skin condition. Manure management and grazing patterns can affect parasite load. Noxious weeds may creep in, unnoticed unless someone is paying close attention. Dragon Lake Vet Hospital recommends having a herd health consultation about once per year, typically done in the spring, before the summer riding season. This will allow Dr. Langan to properly assess horse health and give advice on parasite protocol, vaccinations, weight management, nutrition, etc.
Telemedicine:
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, some restrictions were eased by the governing body of veterinarians, allowing more diagnoses to be done remotely. Due to the confidentiality of the information being exchanged, our preferred method is phone calls, accompanied by pictures and/or videos. Phone calls are also a great tool for annual consultations to maintain the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, but should not completely replace regular on site visits.