Quarterly News & Updates April 2025
Welcome Spring!
Now that spring has sprung some of us have lots of fun horsey stuff planned on the calendar. Others of us don’t have any big plans but are just grateful to muck and feed in above-freezing temperatures! Either way, there's lots to appreciate about this time of year and lots to do!
Here's a Spring To Do List to help get you ready for the season!
- Schedule your Spring Wellness Visits
- Plan a Spring Cleaning Day
- Take an hour to organize horse paperwork
- Schedule annual trailer maintenance & truck oil change
- Schedule annual mower/tractor maintenance
- Replace any needed supplies
- Fill your calendar with fun horse events!
Coggins Reminders
Please keep in mind that spring is a busy season for the labs and Coggins are no exception. Here are some tips to ensure that you receive your Coggins in a timely manner.
- Give our KEC office staff sufficient notice if you are travelling or have a deadline to meet.
- Be sure that the information you give to us is the way you want it reflected on the final coggins; for example, exact birth date, registered name (including spelling), microchip number etcetera.
- Turn around times (including shipping time) are currently running 3-5 days for standard and 2-3 days for rush Coggins.
Preventative Actions for the Health of your Horse
The best way to keep your horse healthy is through an effective vaccination program. Our KEC doctors can help you assess the risk factors in our area, tell you when the best time to vaccinate would be, and what is right for your herd.
Using the AAEP guidelines as a starting point, we will help develop an individual plan for each of your horses.
A good starting point in developing a vaccination program for your horses is to first determine the risk of infection for your animals by knowing the diseases and risk factors common to our area.
Are your horses farm-bound, or are they out at a new show every weekend? How old are your horses? Young horses, like children, tend to pick up passing diseases very easily, as they are still building up their immunity to many diseases.
Immunity to any disease isn’t instant, even with vaccine administration. According to the AAEP guidelines,
“Protection is not afforded to the horse immediately after administration of a vaccine that is designed to induce active immunity. In most instances, a series of multiple doses of inactivated vaccine must be administered initially for the vaccine to induce protective active immunity.”
The next question to ask is: What are the environmental risk factors? Do you live in an area where there is a high risk of certain diseases? If so, you might need to vaccinate more often for those diseases.
For example, someone living in Florida might want to vaccinate more often for West Nile virus because the mosquitoes are active year-round.
The type of weather can also impact your vaccination decisions; for example, certain times of the year may be unusually wet through many parts of the country. Virginia is one of those areas. This could potentially increase the risk of your horse getting a disease such as Potomac Horse Fever.
We know that it is so easy to forget those annual & bi annual vaccines, but they can and do keep horses healthier, and in some cases, alive!
Portions of this article courtesy of The Horse magazine, an AAEP Media Partner.
Upcoming Events
April 26th: World Veterinary Day! How do you show your appreaciation to your vets? Visit our Facebook page to tell us how you show yours.
May 23rd: Dr. McDaniel's 3 Year Anniversary!
May 30th: LVT, Hillery Williams' 1 Year Anniversary!
May 31st: Receptionist Stacey Grigsby's 3 Year Anniversary!
June 1-7: Pet Appreciation Week! Be sure to give your 4 legged friends a little extra love this week!!
June 7th: Vet Assistant Leah Moore's 4 Year Anniversary!
June 29th: Dr. Jones' 5 Year Anniversary!
July 4th: Independence Day! Fireworks can be stressful for our equine friends, give us a call to make sure you and your herd are prepared.
July 6-12: National Farriers Week! Show some love to our hard working farriers. Where would we be without them?!
Welcome to KEC Christy!
Please join us in welcoming our new Office Manager Christy McFarland.
We are all very pleased to have Christy and look forward to a bright future together! Below is a brief intro & bio from Christy. Please feel free to stop into the office and say hello!
I want to start by saying how excited I am to join the Keswick Equine team! I have been working with, riding, or caring for horses for most of my life. As a child, I showed Hunters and Jumpers and, for a short stint, showed a hackney pony. I have a special interest in retraining thoroughbred racehorses for second careers as show and pleasure horses.
I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia with an extended family connection to Farmville, Virginia. I have lived in or near Charlottesville since 1994, with the exception of 3 years in Williamsburg.
I attended Dartmouth College for my B.S. in Chemistry and graduate training at the University of Virginia. I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and worked in public mental health for approximately 2 decades.
I decided that it was time for a change and am excited about the chance to return to office and small business management. I was an office manager at a small Charlottesville law firm prior to starting in mental health.
I look forward to meeting all of you and helping you keep your equines happy and healthy. When I am not at work, I enjoy riding, swimming, and training my three dogs: Katie, Bryn, and Axel. They have all participated in agility and nose work training and competitions. If you stop in you might just get to see one of them and say hi!
