Vaccinations:
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
Equine Dental Services:
At Dragon Lake Vet Hospital a "routine" dental means more to us than just a routine. Dr. Langan will make sure to fully take care of your horse's mouth. Regular dentals play a major role in maintaining the health of your horse. Sharp tooth edges may cause sores in the mouth, leading to discomfort, training difficulties and reduced efficiency in obtaining nutrients from the feed. Timely dentals will keep your horse's mouth balanced, resulting in improved health, performance and efficiency. More serious dental issues such as tooth root infections, sinus infections and fractured teeth may also require veterinary care.
Goat Dehorning:
We use humane procedures to dehorn goats by using sedation combined with local anesthetic before cauterizing the horn growth ring. This leads to an overall comfortable experience for the animal. This is usually done in baby goats of about 10 -14 days old.
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.
Parasite Prevention:
The modern lifestlye of our cattle means that parasites will be inevitable. To help you manage this, Dragon Lake vet can check fecal samples and use that to recommend a parasite protocol for your farm. Our online store also has a selection of anti-parasitics for purchase if you already know what your needs are.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) & Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF):
PRP and PRF are fancy, new sounding names for something the body has been doing naturally for eons! Whenever an injury is sustained, the body sends the necessary regenerative cells to the site of the wound. Think of PRP and PRF as giving a little boost to this process. The best part really is that this is a natural and safe process.
What can PRP and PRF help?
These therapies are helpful for osteoarthritis, wound care, and are emerging as the preferred treatment for tendon and ligament injuries. A common problem with these injuries is re-injury. Suspensory injuries treated with PRP tend to have less recurrence than those treated by other means such as traditional anti-inflammatories and stall rest.
What is the preparation procedure for PRP and PRF?
The coolest thing is that these solutions are made using the animal’s own cells. A blood sample is taken and then spun in a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells from the plasma which contains the white blood cells and platelets. This creates a concentrated solution of platelets which contain important growth factors for healing. All that’s left is to inject the serum into the injury site, much like getting a hock injection.
I’m still not sold, do you have any case studies?
Why yes! As our clients may already know, Dr. Langan herself is an avid horseback rider and competitor in endurance competition, so she knows first-hand about equine injuries. She has had great success in treating her own horses with this therapy. Furthermore, we’ve also used this technique at Dragon Lake Veterinary Hospital in our small animal practice. It’s Dr. Langan’s go-to for treating corneal ulceration (eyeball scratches - common in dogs who live with cats!)
Drop in during business hours, send us a message, or book an appointment if you think you have a good candidate for PRP/PRF therapy.
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.
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.
Vaccinations:
There are many diseases that cattle may be prone to. As part of your regular herd health consult, Dr. Langan will work with you to come up with a plan for your cattle in terms of vaccinations. We work closely with the verified beef program and can provide certificates for your cattle's vaccinations.
Large Animals/Livestock are a very important part of our veterinary practice
Developing and maintaining a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship is an essential component to operating any farm. This is accomplished through ongoing communication with your veterinarian, typically in the form of annual farm visits, although in some cases a consultation can be done over the phone. This allows the veterinary practice to comprehend the situation of your animals, and lets us be more useful to you in situations when you have sick animals that you cannot necessarily have exams performed on. We can provide services for a wide variety of farm animals. Dr. Langan has her own working ranch and is very experienced working with livestock. Feel free to give us a call or contact us to learn more, or book a consult. Continue reading below for a few more details about our large animal/livestock 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.
Equine Services:
Dental Equilibrium (Float)
Lameness Exam
Ultrasound
Digital X-Ray
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) & Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF) Treatment
Pre-Purchase Exams
Preventative Care/Diagnostic Testing
Surgeries
Emergencies
Farm Visits/Herd Health Consults
Vaccinations
Telemedicine
Continue scrolling for more details about each service
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.
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.
Digital X-Ray and Ultrasound:
Dragon Lake Vet is pretty proud to be able 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. This helps our local horse owners a great deal as they no longer have to travel to other towns for 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.
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.
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.
Large Animal Vet Services
Other Livestock:
Goat Dehorning
Herd Health Consults
Fecal Egg Counts
Disease Prevention/Post Mortems
Continue scrolling for more details about each service
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.
Emergencies:
Cattle emergencies can happen throughout the year, but are most common during calving season. Dr. Langan is kept busy during that time with calls to help either with deliveries, or sick calves. Accidents or encounters with predators can also happen and a calf may end up needing some wound care and stitches. If you have an emergency, please call the clinic, after hours there will be an emergency number listed on our voicemail that you may call. Whatever your situation, we're here to help.
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.
Bovine Services:
Farm Visits/Herd Health Consults
Reproductive Health
Emergencies
Vaccinations
Feed Testing
Diagnostic Testing
Parasite Prevention
Telemedicine
Continue scrolling for more details about each service
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 the animals so Dr. Langan can make the best recommendations to contribute to the overall health of the herd or flock.
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.
Copyright. Ginger Langan. All rights reserved.
Reproductive Health:
An important part of any cattle farm's process. Dr. Langan can help you out by performing semen testing, and pregnancy checks during your processing.
Bovine Farm Visits/ Herd Health Consultations:
Dragon Lake Veterinary Hospital strives to provide top quality herd health recommendations to our cattle clients to help them have optimal herd health, success and profitability. Vaccinations are constantly being changed and improved. Part of our strategy is to review these changes to determine what products are the most scientifically sound while still being cost effective for our clients. We have changed our herd health protocols and recommendations as a result of some of the changes that have occurred in vaccines over the last few years. Our Health team also work with our bovine clients to evaluate other health concerns and management practices to help our clients have productive and profitable businesses. We have annual herd health seminars, work closely with the verified beef program and update links to keep our clients up to date and current with new products, disease outbreaks, nutrition and management practices.