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Essence Equine

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Dover, NH
Essence Equine

Essence Equine was founded in February 2025 by Dr. Alyssa Keto out of love for equine veterinary medicine.
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She is passionate about providing services unique to horses in the field and brings years of experience in equine health, medicine, and lameness. Essence Equine, located out of Dover, NH, was founded in February 2025 by Dr. Alyssa Keto out of a deep-rooted love for equine veterinary medicine. Dr. Keto was raised on a small agricultural farm in rural Nebraska. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with honors at Kansas State University in 2006. She then continued on to attend Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, receiving her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. Dr. Keto completed a one-year internship at Myhre Equine Clinic and then continued on as an associate veterinarian there, focusing on ambulatory services. Dr. Keto is passionate about providing clients with the veterinary services unique to horses out in the field and brings with her years of experience in equine health, medicine, and lameness.

10/15/2026

Fall is a good time for a full wellness check, especially for senior horses. Small changes caught now are easier to manage than problems found later in the season or during the winter. Here's what we focus on:

1. Body condition scoring (BCS). We score fat cover on a 1–9 scale over the ribs, loin, tailhead, withers, and behind the shoulder. Most horses do best at a 5–6/9. Seniors often lose topline and muscle before they lose fat, so we assess muscle separately from body condition.

2. Dentition. Sharp enamel points, hooks, wave mouth, loose or missing teeth, and diastemata (gaps where feed packs and causes periodontal disease) all affect how well a horse chews. Signs of a problem include quidding (dropping partially chewed feed), long fiber in the manure, slow eating, weight loss, and foul breath. Seniors may need to be supplemented with forage alternatives, such as soaked hay/alfalfa cubes or pellets, or a complete senior feed.

3. Musculoskeletal and hoof comfort. Arthritis and overall stiffness are common in older horses. We assess comfort, movement, and flexibility, and take a general look at the feet. If something concerns us, we'll recommend a closer exam or coordinate with your farrier. That helps us decide whether joint management, an anti-inflammatory plan, and/or an exercise adjustment might help keep them comfortable and moving.

4. PPID (Cushing's disease) screening. PPID is common in horses over 15, and early signs can be subtle. They include delayed or incomplete shedding (sometimes only small tufts of retained coat or long guard hairs), along with a long or curly/wavy coat, muscle loss over the topline, a pot belly, increased drinking and urination, recurrent infections, and laminitis. We screen with a resting (baseline) ACTH test. Fall is when ACTH naturally rises, so results are interpreted against seasonal reference ranges. For early or borderline cases, a TRH stimulation test is more sensitive. It measures ACTH before and after an injection of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), and it's best done outside the fall, since seasonal reference ranges aren't well established for it.

5. Bloodwork. A CBC (complete blood count) and serum chemistry panel give us a baseline for your horse's health. The CBC can show anemia, infection, or inflammation, while the serum chemistry panel covers kidney and liver values, protein levels, electrolytes, and muscle enzymes. Having that baseline matters more as horses age, or when they're on long-term medications such as NSAIDs (e.g., phenylbutazone or firocoxib) or pergolide, as it lets us catch changes early, often before any outward signs show up.

A fall exam is also a good time to review vaccines, parasite control, and your feeding plan as pasture turns over to hay.

If you're a current client of Essence Equine and would like to schedule a fall wellness or senior exam for your horse, please reach out. If you would like to establish care for your horse(s) with us, please message or call us to schedule a new client appointment!

10/13/2026

Fall changes what's in your pasture, and that affects your horse's metabolism, gut, and weight. Here's what we look at as the season turns:

1. Cool nights and sunny days raise sugar. In cool weather, grasses keep making sugar during the day but use less of it at night to grow. As a result, nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) levels, meaning sugars, starches, and fructans, can climb well above the 10–12% generally recommended for at-risk horses on cool, sunny days and after a frost. Fructans are the main concern in cool-season grasses, which is what most New England pastures are. They're stored mostly in the lower stem, or sheath, so short, closely grazed pasture often runs higher in sugar, not lower.

2. Grazing times matter. NSC is generally lowest in the early morning, before the sun has driven photosynthesis, and highest in the afternoon. After a frost, NSC can stay elevated until the grass thaws and the sun has been out for a few hours. Short, stressed, or overgrazed grass also runs higher in NSC.

3. Autumn flush. Fall rain after a dry summer can trigger a second burst of grass growth, and horses suddenly have lush, high-sugar grazing. Introduce it gradually, and limit turnout time for at-risk horses. Keep in mind that ponies and horses can eat about 1–1.5% of their body weight in pasture dry matter in just 3–4 hours of turnout, so limiting time alone doesn't fully control intake.

4. Who is most at risk? Horses and ponies with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), insulin dysregulation, or PPID (Cushing's disease), plus any horse with a history of laminitis. Insulin-resistant horses can develop laminitis from hyperinsulinemia triggered by high-NSC grass. Early signs include a shortened stride, reluctance to turn, a "stuck" feeling on hard ground, increased digital pulses, and heat in the feet.

5. Use a grazing muzzle or drylot for at-risk horses. Muzzles can cut intake by roughly 30–80%, depending on fit and design, without eliminating turnout. A drylot with measured hay is the safest option for horses with a history of laminitis.

6. Pasture quality drops as the season goes on. After a killing frost, grass growth slows, protein and digestible energy fall, and fiber rises. Hard keepers and seniors may need extra calories before they start losing condition, and most horses will need hay in addition to grazing. Plan your transition to hay feeding early so you aren't scrambling when the pasture goes.

7. Make the change gradually. Any change in diet, including a move from pasture to hay, should take place over 7–10 days to let the gut microbiome adjust and reduce colic risk.

8. Know your horse's baseline. Monitor weight, body condition, and hoof health regularly so changes stand out early. If your horse has changed shape, gained fat in unusual places, or seems footsore, we can test for insulin dysregulation and PPID.

If you're a current client of Essence Equine and would like to discuss a pasture plan or testing for metabolic disease in your horses, please reach out. If you would like to establish care for your horse(s) with us, please message or call us to schedule a new client appointment!

10/08/2026

Autumn is one of the most important times of the year for strategic parasite control. Here's how we approach it:

1. F***l egg count (FEC) first. An FEC is a f***l flotation that identifies and quantifies parasite eggs in manure. That includes strongyle-type eggs, ascarids (Parascaris spp., especially in young horses), and sometimes tapeworm eggs or other parasites. Strongyle eggs per gram (EPG) classify your horse as a low (under 200 EPG), moderate (200–500), or high (over 500) shedder. Roughly 20–30% of adult horses shed about 80% of the eggs in a herd, so blanket treatment of every horse isn't justified.

2. Anthelmintic resistance is widespread. Decades of interval deworming, where every horse was treated every eight (8) weeks regardless of need, have directly selected for resistant parasite populations. As a result, cyathostomins (small strongyles) now show broad resistance to fenbendazole and pyrantel, and resistance to the macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin and moxidectin) is emerging. Most healthy adults need only 1–2 targeted treatments a year based on shedding status.

3. Bots after a hard frost. A killing frost ends Gasterophilus fly activity, and a macrocyclic lactone (ivermectin or moxidectin) then clears the larvae from the stomach. Scrape any remaining bot eggs off the legs.

4. Tapeworms at least once a year. Anoplocephala perfoliata is associated with ileocecal intussusception, ileal impaction, and spasmodic colic, and it isn't reliably detected on a routine FEC. A fall praziquantel combination product covers it, and twice yearly (spring and fall) may be warranted on high-risk farms.

5. Encysted small strongyles. Cyathostomin larvae can stay encysted in the cecal and colonic mucosa through winter. Mass emergence (larval cyathostominosis) can cause acute diarrhea, hypoproteinemia, weight loss, and colic. Moxidectin (Quest, Quest Plus) is the primary product effective against encysted stages and is typically given in late fall or early winter. Ivermectin products, including ivermectin/praziquantel combinations like Equimax and Zimecterin Gold, are effective against adult small strongyles but not the encysted larvae. Moxidectin isn't recommended for foals under six (6) months or for thin, debilitated horses without veterinary guidance.

6. Confirm efficacy. A f***l egg count reduction test (FECRT), which is a repeat FEC 10–14 days after treatment, tells us whether the product is working on your farm. A reduction below 90–95% suggests resistance.

For an accurate sample, collect 2–3 fresh f***l balls (less than 12 hours old), seal them in a labeled bag, refrigerate them (don't freeze), and get them to us (or your veterinarian) within 24–48 hours.

Pasture and turnout management is where most parasite control fails, and no dewormer can make up for it. Strongyle larvae develop in the environment and can survive for months, so that's where most of the parasite population actually lives. Pick up manure in paddocks and small turnouts at least twice weekly. That removes eggs before larvae can develop and migrate onto grass. Avoid overstocking, because crowded horses graze closer to manure piles. Where possible, rest or rotate pastures, and mow or harrow them only during hot, dry weather. Horses on drylots aren't exempt. Larvae survive less well on bare dirt, but manure builds up fast in a small space and horses pick up larvae eating hay off the ground. Pick up drylot manure daily if you can, and feed hay in a feeder, slow feeder, or on a mat rather than directly on the dirt.

If you'd like to set up f***l egg counts or build a deworming plan for your horses, message or call us!

10/06/2026

Going into a New England winter, the real question isn't "blanket or no blanket." It's whether your horse has the body condition and forage intake to thermoregulate, and whether you can still assess that condition under a blanket. Here's what we look at every fall:

1. Body condition score (BCS). We use the Henneke scale, which runs from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (extremely obese). Most horses should go into winter at a 5, and hard keepers and seniors at a 5–6, so they have some fat reserve to draw on. Score with your hands, not your eyes, because a winter coat can hide a full point or more. Palpate fat cover over the ribs, withers, loin, tailhead, neck crest, and behind the shoulder. At a 5, the ribs are easily felt but not seen and the back is level.

2. Blankets mask weight loss. Take the blanket all the way off at least once a week and palpate. We routinely see horses lose 1–2 condition scores over the winter without the owner noticing until spring. Body fat is insulation and an energy reserve, so a thin horse has less of both right when it needs them most.

3. Lower critical temperature (LCT). LCT is the temperature below which a horse has to spend extra energy to maintain core body temperature. An adult horse that is dry and has a full winter coat has an LCT of roughly 18°F, and closer to 40–50°F if clipped or short-coated. For every degree below LCT, energy requirements rise by about 1%. A 0°F night can increase a horse's maintenance energy needs by around 20%.

4. Forage is the heater. Microbial fermentation of fiber in the hindgut produces far more metabolic heat than digestion of grain. Feed at least 1.5–2% of body weight in forage per day, which is 15–20 lbs of hay for a 1,000 lb horse, and increase it as temperatures drop. Free-choice hay on cold nights is ideal. Water intake matters just as much: horses drink less in cold weather, which raises the risk of impaction colic. Keep water ice-free and ideally 45–65°F.

5. Wet plus wind is the real danger. A winter coat insulates by trapping air through piloerection, meaning the hair stands up. A soaked or flattened coat loses most of that insulating value, and wind strips heat away much faster. Shelter from wind and precipitation often matters more than a blanket.

6. Horses that usually do need a blanket: clipped horses, seniors with reduced body reserves, horses at a BCS of 4 or below, horses with PPID (Cushing's) or an abnormal coat, horses without adequate shelter, and horses not yet acclimated after coming from a warmer climate.

7. If you blanket, do it right. Check fit at the withers, shoulders, and points of hip, and look for rubs and pressure sores. Check under the blanket for dermatophilosis (rain rot), and pull a soaked or torn blanket right away. Don't overblanket. A horse that sweats under a heavy blanket ends up with a wet coat, which leaves it colder than one that was never blanketed.

8. Rule out underlying causes of weight loss. If a horse can't hold condition on the same forage, look at dentition (sharp enamel points, malocclusions, loose or missing teeth), parasite burden, PPID, and gastrointestinal disease. Many of these can be picked up on a fall exam and bloodwork.

If you'd like help condition scoring your horse or working out a winter feeding and blanketing plan, message or call us. We're happy to help!

10/01/2026

Fall is one of the highest-risk times of the year for plant toxicity in horses. Pastures thin out, storms bring down branches and leaves, and horses that would normally ignore a plant start browsing whatever they can reach. These are the plants we worry about most in New England this time of year:

1. Red maple (Acer rubrum). Wilted or dried leaves are the problem, not fresh ones, so fallen leaves and storm-downed branches are the main risk. The leaves stay toxic for about 30 days. Gallic acid and its metabolites cause oxidative damage to red blood cells, which leads to methemoglobinemia, Heinz body formation, and severe hemolytic anemia. As little as 1.5 lbs of dried leaves can be toxic to a 1,000 lb horse, and roughly double that can be fatal. Signs usually appear within 1–5 days: lethargy, anorexia, brown or muddy mucous membranes, jaundice, dark red-brown urine, and elevated heart and respiratory rates. Secondary kidney injury is common. There's no antidote, so treatment is aggressive supportive care, IV fluids, and sometimes blood transfusion.

2. Wild cherry (black cherry and chokecherry, Prunus spp.). The leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides. When leaves wilt, whether from frost, drought, or broken branches, those compounds break down into hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide blocks the cells' ability to use oxygen, so blood stays bright cherry-red even as tissues starve. Signs can progress within minutes to hours: bright red mucous membranes, labored breathing, anxiety, trembling, collapse, and sudden death.

3. Oak and acorns (Quercus spp.). Hydrolyzable tannins (gallotannins) cause GI ulceration and renal tubular damage. Signs include colic, constipation followed by diarrhea (sometimes bloody), edema, and elevated kidney values on bloodwork. Heavy acorn drops after storms or wind are the biggest risk, and some horses actively seek them out.

4. Yew (Taxus spp.). It's common in landscaping and one of the most toxic plants a horse can eat. Taxine alkaloids block sodium and calcium channels in the heart, causing bradycardia, arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest. Roughly a pound of clippings can kill a 1,000 lb horse, and often much less. Many horses are simply found dead, sometimes within hours of eating it. Never toss hedge clippings into a paddock, and ask neighbors not to either.

5. Black walnut (Juglans nigra). Bedding with as little as 20% black walnut shavings can cause signs, usually within 8–24 hours: distal limb edema, heat in the feet, increased digital pulses, and laminitis. Remove the bedding immediately and hose the legs. Know where your shavings come from.

6. White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima). It grows in shaded, wooded edges and blooms late summer into fall. Its toxin, tremetol, is cumulative, so repeated small exposures add up. It damages heart and skeletal muscle, causing trembling, weakness, reluctance to move, and signs of heart failure.

Prevention is easy. Walk your fence lines after every storm, remove downed branches and leaf piles, identify the trees along and over your pastures, and keep plenty of hay out so horses aren't forced to browse.

If you think your horse may have eaten any of these, call us right away. Early treatment makes a significant difference!

09/29/2026

Equine emergencies don't always present dramatically. A horse that's down, thrashing, or actively hemorrhaging is obvious. Early colic, choke, synovial wounds, or systemic illness can start subtly, with partial inappetence, reduced manure output, a change in stance, or a mild lameness that progresses over hours.

A few things that matter clinically:

1. Know normal vitals. For an adult horse at rest, heart rate is roughly 28-44 beats per minute, respiratory rate is 10-24 breaths per minute, and re**al temperature is about 99.0-101.0°F. Mucous membranes should be moist and pink, with a capillary refill time < 2 seconds. A persistently elevated heart rate, tacky or discolored gums, or prolonged capillary refill can point to pain, dehydration, or poor perfusion, and those findings help us to triage over the phone.

2. Call early for these: colic signs (flank watching, pawing, rolling, reduced gut sounds and/or manure); choke (feed material or saliva at the nostrils or from the mouth, repeated stretching of the neck); any wound near a joint, tendon sheath, or eye; non-weight-bearing lameness; respiratory distress; and fever with depression. Synovial involvement and strangulating lesions are time-sensitive, and outcomes depend heavily on how quickly they're recognized and treated.

3. Stabilize without making it worse. Pull feed and water if colic or choke is suspected, unless you’re directed otherwise. Don't give medications before you’ve discussed it with us, as an anti-inflammatory can sometimes mask pain and change how exam findings are interpreted. Apply steady and direct pressure to bleeding with a clean bandage material, and don't probe or flush a wound near a joint. Don't force a horse that can't bear weight to walk or load.

4. Have a plan before you need it. Know how to reach us after hours, have a working trailer and a driver lined up, and think through where your horse would go if surgical referral is needed. Those decisions are much harder to make at midnight.

When your horse needs us, we come to you. If you're looking at something and aren't sure whether or not it's an emergency, message or call us. An early call is always better than a late one!

09/22/2026

Equine teeth are hypsodont — they erupt continuously, and the occlusal surface wears with every chew. When wear is uneven, sharp enamel points form along the buccal (cheek side) edges of the uppers and the lingual (tongue side) edges of the lowers. Hooks, ramps, wave mouth, and step mouth can follow, and that changes how the mandible moves through the chew cycle.

A veterinary oral exam is more than smoothing points. Under sedation, with a full-mouth speculum and good light, each arcade can be evaluated for occlusal balance, periodontal pockets, fractured or loose teeth, and soft-tissue trauma on the cheeks and tongue. Findings that never show up on a quick external feel are easy to miss without that exam.

A few things that matter clinically:

1. Enamel points and malocclusions. Sharp edges ulcerate the buccal mucosa and tongue. Larger malocclusions alter molar table angulation and can reduce chewing efficiency on forage.

2. Periodontal disease. Feed packing, gingival recession, and pocketing between cheek teeth are painful and progressive. They need visualization and probing, not just floating.

3. Performance and systemic clues. Quidding, packing feed in the cheeks, slow eating, bit resistance, and unexplained weight loss can all trace back to oral pain or inefficient mastication — and many horses show only subtle signs until the mouth is opened.

4. Why a veterinarian. Sedation, a complete oral exam, and treatment decisions (what to float, what to leave, what needs follow-up diagnostics) are veterinary medicine. Incomplete work without visualization can leave pathology behind or create more trauma.

If your horse is due for a veterinary dental exam and float, or you’re not sure when the last full oral exam was, message or call us to get on the schedule!

09/17/2026

Fall mud is more than a laundry problem. Wet legs and wet backs are how scratches and rain rot get started.

When skin stays damp, or keeps cycling between wet and dry, bacteria can set up shop in small cracks. White legs, feathered legs, and horses living in muddy gateways or standing under a leaky run-in are often first.

A few things that help:

1. Dry is the real treatment. Clean the area, then get the horse onto dry footing. A wet, muddy paddock will undo most topical care overnight.

2. Check legs daily. Heat, swelling, crusting at the heels or pasterns, or a horse that suddenly resents having the back of the leg touched are early clues. Catching it small is much easier than treating a swollen, painful leg later.

3. Mind the dew and the rain. Early-morning turnout on soaked grass and long stretches in mud both raise risk. A dry stall or sacrifice paddock on the worst days can spare a lot of skin trouble.

4. Clip and clean when needed. Long lower-leg hair can trap moisture. Shared boots or wraps that stay damp can spread the problem from horse to horse.

If a case is spreading, the leg is hot or swollen, or your horse is lame, reach out. We’re happy to look and make a plan that fits your horse and your footing.

09/10/2026

Cooler nights feel great in the barn aisle. They are also when a lot of fall colics start.

As we swing from warm days to chilly nights, horses often drink less, eat differently, and move from lush pasture toward more hay. Those small changes add up in the gut.

A few things worth keeping an eye on:

1. Water is still the first defense. Check buckets and troughs every day. Cooler weather does not mean horses need less water, especially once hay makes up more of the diet. If intake drops, that is worth noticing early.

2. Make hay changes gradually. A sudden jump to a new bale, a different cutting, or a lot more dry forage overnight is a common colic trigger. Transition over several days when you can.

3. Watch the easy keepers and the hard keepers differently. Some horses pack on weight as grass sugars change; others drop condition when nights get cold. Either swing can go with gut upset if the diet is changing fast.

4. Know the early signs. Looking at the flanks, quieter manure, dry or fewer piles, pawing, lying down and getting up, or just "not quite right" are reasons to call sooner rather than later. Colic is easier to handle when we catch it early.

If your horse’s appetite, manure, or water intake looks off as the weather cools, reach out. We’re happy to help sort out whether it is a wait-and-watch night or a come-now night.

09/08/2026

Spring is when most people think about vaccines. Fall is when a lot of the risk actually shifts.

As nights cool and barns get busier, horses that travel, show, or live with horses that come and go are more likely to share respiratory viruses. Influenza and equine herpesvirus (rhino) are the usual suspects. In New England, mosquito season can also stretch later than we expect, so some horses still benefit from a conversation about EEE and West Nile timing.

A few things worth knowing:

1. Core vs risk-based. Tetanus, rabies, EEE/WEE, and West Nile are core for most horses here. Flu and rhino are risk-based, and fall is often when those boosters matter most for the traveling or boarding horse.

2. Your horse’s lifestyle drives the plan. A horse that stays home with a stable group has a different risk profile than one on the show circuit or in a busy boarding barn. There is no one calendar that fits every horse.

3. Timing is part of the protection. Boosters work best when they are given ahead of exposure, not after a cough shows up in the barn. If fall plans include trailering, lessons with new horses, or boarding changes, it is worth checking records now.

4. Vaccines are not the whole story. Good ventilation, not sharing water buckets when a horse is sick, and isolating a new arrival still do real work alongside the needle.

If you are unsure what your horse is due for, or your fall schedule just changed, reach out. We’re happy to make a plan that fits your horse.

Address

191 Emerald Lane
Dover, NH
03820

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.essenceequine.com/

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