Rigdon Veterinary Services

08/26/2026

Muddy boots, cattle in the chute, and a reminder that caring for the animals God entrusted to us is a blessing all on its own. 🤎🐮

08/25/2026

A little chute-side checkup for this sweet face named butterfly 🐮🤎🦋Keeping our cattle patients healthy, one herd at a time.

08/24/2026

☀️🐴 Is your horse sweating enough in this heat?

With heat and humidity, anhidrosis—or inability to sweat normally—can quickly become dangerous. Horses rely on sweating to release excess body heat, and some may sweat only in certain areas.

Warning signs include:
• Little to no sweat despite heat or exercise
• Rapid or labored breathing/panting
• Elevated re**al temperature
• Hot, dry skin
• Poor exercise tolerance or lethargy
• Sweating only under the mane, saddle, or between the hind legs

🌡️ What can you do for a “non-sweater”?

Provide shade, strong fans, and constant fresh water. Limit turnout and exercise to the coolest parts of the day; severely affected horses may need to avoid exercise during extreme heat.

If your horse overheats, begin cooling immediately with cool/cold water and fans. Keep applying water continuously rather than letting it warm on the skin. Adequate salt and electrolytes may help horses that still sweat, but they will not correct true anhidrosis.

No single supplement or treatment works reliably for every horse. Dr.Rigdon may recommend an examination, bloodwork, electrolyte evaluation, management changes, or additional testing.

🚨 Anhidrosis can become an emergency. If your horse is breathing excessively fast, seems weak or distressed, has a temperature that won’t come down with active cooling, or becomes unwilling to stand, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Florida summers are tough on horses that can sweat—so watch especially closely over those that can’t. ☀️🐴💦

08/16/2026

Professional equine dental care is more than just floating teeth. It starts with a thorough oral exam to identify hidden issues, ensure proper alignment, and address problems floating alone can’t fix. Dr. Rigdon carefully evaluates each patient to support lasting comfort, balance, and overall well-being. 🐴🦷 give us a call/text to get on our schedule!

08/13/2026

08/12/2026

Yesterday, a local farmer contacted us after finding one of their healthy breeding cows deceased. Just hours earlier, she had been bright, alert, and showing no outward signs of illness.

With any unexpected livestock death, especially one this sudden, a thorough necropsy can provide valuable answers for the farmer and help determine whether the rest of the herd may be at risk.

Dr. Rigdon performed a complete necropsy, carefully evaluating the major organs, gastrointestinal tract, and each compartment of the cow’s four-chambered stomach. We looked for evidence of common causes of sudden death, including toxicity, foreign material, gastrointestinal disease, trauma, snakebite, and other abnormalities that could explain her rapid decline.

Interestingly, there were no significant findings to explain the sudden death.

One important piece of history? A severe lightning storm had moved through the area around the time of her death. ⚡️

Lightning-associated deaths in cattle can occur with very little outward evidence, and postmortem findings may be minimal or nonspecific. That makes the history, location of the animal, weather conditions, and a thorough examination especially important when investigating a suspected case.

For farmers and ranchers, determining a possible cause of death isn’t simply about curiosity. Cattle represent years of genetics, management, feed, time, and investment and with today’s cattle market, every loss is significant. A necropsy can also help determine whether we’re dealing with an isolated event or something that could potentially affect additional animals in the herd.

Sometimes a necropsy gives us a very clear answer. Other times, ruling out the major concerns is just as valuable.

08/09/2026

Back at it! 🐮🤎

We’ll be back in the office tomorrow and working our way through all the calls, and messages from this past week. We appreciate your patience as we get caught up and get everyone taken care of!

A couple of reminders as we head into a busy few weeks:

• Health Certificate appointments are filling up! If you’ll be traveling or showing this fall, please don’t wait until the last minute to get on the schedule.

Thank you for allowing us to take time to rest, recharge and for being patient with us when we return. We truly have the best clients and are grateful you choose us to care for your animals. 🤎🐴🐮

07/29/2026

☀️ Tech Shoutout! ☀️
We have to give a big shoutout to Cooper! This summer heat has been absolutely brutal, and we are so thankful for all he does to keep things running smoothly. From watching Doc’s back on calls to helping wherever he’s needed, his hard work definitely doesn’t go unnoticed!

Cooper is a man of few words… but somehow knows just about everyone in Baker County. 😂 If we pull up to your farm, chances are Cooper already knows you or at least knows somebody you’re related to!

We’re thankful to have him on the Rigdon Vet Services team and especially thankful for all his hard work through these HOT summer days! 🐴🐄☀️

07/28/2026

This is how big we smile when you make your health certificate appointment WELL in advance!! 😁🐮🐷🐐

Show season is right around the corner, and the countdown is officially ON! 🎡🏆

📍 Northeast Florida Fair: October 8–18
📍 Baker County Fair: October 20–25
📍 Greater Jacksonville Fair: November 5–15

Help us help you! ❤️ Health certificate appointments fill up quickly during show season, so don’t wait until the last minute.

📲 Text us TODAY to get your appointment on the schedule!

07/28/2026

So thankful Trigger is feeling much better! ❤️‍🩹🐴