Maple Veterinary Services

04/14/2026

Spring is coming finally! Here are some safety tips for storms in the warm summer months. Stay safe out there!

Today kicks off Severe Weather Awareness Week! Strong winds and tornados can have a devastating impact on horse farms. Here are a few tips to help you prepare ahead of a storm.

🏠 Remember, human safety comes first. Take cover when severe weather is near.
⚠️ Have a way to receive severe weather alerts.
🐴 Have a plan for your horse. Barns may protect horses from debris but can trap them if in the path of a tornado. Large open areas with little debris potential may be better for leaving horses outside but horses may get trapped in fencing or become loose.
🖊 ID your horse (e.g., microchip, livestock paint) and remove their halter
🧰 Prior to severe weather, restock your first aid kit, make sure your horse is up-to-date on their tetanus vaccine, and secure a three-day supply of feed, water, and meds.

For more info on tornado safety visit: https://extension.umn.edu/horse-pastures-and-facilities/preparing-barn-disaster -and-strong-winds-3093460

12/06/2025

Tis the season to snuggle up indoors with a hot drink and prepare your horse to thrive for the summer ahead!

If you’re looking to optimize your horse’s heath and nutrition, this would be a great course to attend. It goes over the key concepts that are essential to understanding equine nutrition.

Is your horse's diet meeting their needs? 🐴💭

✨ Break out your calculators and join us for a NEW course: Equine Ration Balancing! ✨

This online course provides step-by-step calculations to help you confidently match feedstuffs with your horse’s specific nutritional requirements.

Course Highlights:
🌱 Using forage analyses
📚 Interpreting feed tag information
🧩 Understanding interactions between key nutrients
🐴 Selecting feedstuffs that support the horse’s gut and physiology

Course Details:
📆 Jan 5 to Feb 15, semi self-paced
💻 Completely online
💰 $75

Ready to balance rations like a pro?
👉 Learn more and register by Jan 4: z.umn.edu/horseevents

11/29/2025

More timely winter colic prevention tips from our UMN extension. Stay warm and safe out there!

Colic refers to abdominal pain in horses. With many possible causes, colic is often unpredictable and hard to prevent. The risk of colic in horses often increases with sudden changes in management. As you provide winter care, think about how you can help your horse ease into changes. Here are a few suggestions.

💦 Make sure your horse stays hydrated. Cold weather can reduce your horse’s water intake and increase the risk of colic, especially since we rely on drier, preserved feedstuffs (like hay). Always provide free access to fresh, clean water. Horses prefer water between 45°F and 65°F. Soaking feed can also help boost hydration if needed. Remember, snow and ice are not appropriate water sources.

⏰ When changing feed, gradually do so over 10 to 14 days. Similarly, if you mainly feed grass hay but have a few alfalfa bales, replace only a small amount of grass hay with alfalfa every other meal until it's fed out. Gradual changes allow your horse’s gut microbes time to adjust.

🌾 Maximize your horse's forage intake to support gut health, provide energy, promote heat production, and satisfy their natural grazing instincts. Horses should have 1.5 to 2 percent of their body weight in forage daily. Access to forage for at least 14.5 hours a day can support proper digestion and overall behavior. To extend eating time, offer smaller, frequent meals or use slow feeders like hay nets.

🐎 Maintain an exercise and/or turnout routine. Activity supports gut health in horses. If you need to adjust exercise time/intensity or length of turnout for winter, make these changes slowly. Many healthy horses do well with turnout during cold weather if they have access to shelter, hay, and water. Keeping horses moving and reducing sudden changes in housing routine (e.g., full turnout to full stall), when possible, can reduce the risk of colic.

11/26/2025

As we watch the snow fly, here are some timely tips for winter horse management from our UMN extension. They are a wonderful and knowledgeable resource.

https://www.facebook.com/share/17VhCRswVF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Are you ready for snow and colder weather? Here are a few winter horse care reminders. ❄️🐴

🌾 Make sure your horse has adequate access to forage (e.g., hay). Energy needs for a horse at maintenance increase about 1% for each degree below 18°F. For example, if the temperature is 0°F, a 1,000 pound idle, adult horse would need approximately 2 additional pounds of forage daily. It is best to provide the extra energy as forage since heat is produced from the microbial fermentation of forage.

🏡 Horses must have access to shelter from wind and moisture. A horse’s hair coat acts as insulation by trapping air, but when wet, the insulating value is lost.

💧 Most adult horses require a minimum of 10 to 12 gallons of water each day. Horses should always have access to fresh, clean water. Check water sources often to ensure they have not froze. Also, have an alternative plan for providing water in case of power outages. Snow and ice are not appropriate water sources for horses.

💨 Blanketing a horse is necessary to reduce the effects of cold or inclement weather when there is no shelter available during turnout periods and the temperatures and/or wind chill drop below 5°F; there is a chance the horse will become wet; the horse is very young or very old; and/or the horse has a body condition score of 3 or less.

11/21/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17LGowjpFK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

HORSE OWNERS: EHM (Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy) has been confirmed in Texas and Oklahoma. The disease had a rapid progression, high clinical severity, and a concerning number of mortalities among suspected EHM cases.

**No cases currently suspected or confirmed in Minnesota.**

Cases were confirmed at the 2025 WPRA World Finals and Elite Barrel Race event in Waco, Texas Nov. 5 - 9, 2025, and in horses who traveled from Waco to the BFA World Championship 2025 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Please contact the Board of Animal Health immediately if you or your horse had known contact with animals that were at these events.

Read the full Equine Disease Alert: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNBAH/bulletins/3fc306a

11/20/2025

Here is the current recommendations from the MN Board of Animal Health following the recent EHV-1 outbreak. It is an important reminder to practice good biosecurity when at or returning from shows or horse events. May you and your horses stay happy, healthy, and safe.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNBAH/bulletins/1d505eehd

What is Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy Minnesota Board of Animal Health sent this bulletin at 01/22/2018 02:47 PM CST Reportable Disease of the Month Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy What is it? A disease impacting horses, which develops from an equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) infection. Th...

06/04/2025

Here’s a timely article from the extension. Stay safe and healthy!

🔥 Wildfire Smoke & Horse Health 🐴💨

As wildfire season heats up, so does the risk of poor air quality — not just for us, but for our horses too. Smoke from wildfires can irritate a horse's respiratory system and cause fatigue, coughing, difficulty breathing, etc.

You can monitor air quality at www.airnow.gov. During periods of poor air quality, you can protect your horse by:
🐎 Limiting exercise
💧 Providing fresh water
💦 Controlling dust such as watering dry lots and soaking or feeding dust-free hay
🕰 Allowing time for recovery: airway damage from wildfire smoke takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal after air quality returns to normal.

06/02/2025

This is always a good reminder to prepare for potential emergency situations that may come up as summer gets into full swing.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16WEyfdVGW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It’s that time of year when social media fills with posts from horse owners in financial crisis—often blaming vets for the cost of care. But here’s the truth: your vet didn’t ask you to own horses. That decision was yours. Raising foals and keeping horses healthy is expensive—especially this time of year when infections, ortho issues, unpredictable weather, and emergencies spike.

Vets aren’t villains. They’re overworked professionals in a field with a national shortage—especially in large animal care. They didn’t choose this job to “steal your money”; they chose it because they care.

It’s your responsibility to plan ahead—whether that’s insurance, an emergency fund, or just realistic budgeting. Your vet isn’t the reason you’re struggling—lack of preparation is. Let’s stop the blame and start taking ownership.

WzEquine.com

01/04/2025

SPRING PREPARATION TIPS

It may not seem like it, but spring is fast approaching!

Here are some things to get ready for summer fun and events and make your spring much smoother:

1) Book a vet appointment now. Vets are few and far between, so book your spring vaccine appointments now. Most vets book out 6-8 weeks for their spring appointments, so calling several months ahead of time will ensure you can get all your required services before show season begins.

2) Help condition needle shy horses. If your horse is afraid of needles, begin working with it to decrease anxiety around these necessary procedures. This will make everybody’s experiences better and safer, you, your horse, and your vet. A great resource is BEVA’s “Don’t break your vet” series

https://youtu.be/MRAIdnQmzak?si=jK-JLYqLzR7phF5S

Enjoy preparations for summer fun!

02/19/2024

Have you been curious about what happens during a dental equilibration (float)? Would you like to learn how teeth health impacts your horse’s overall health and performance? Or are you trying to decide if your horse needs its teeth examined?

This webinar would help answer those questions. Equine dentistry is a field quickly expanding in veterinary medicine with many exciting new innovations over the last ten years, come join the fun!

Midwest Veterinary Dental Services is a highly trained referral group of veterinarians specializing solely in dentistry, so they are a wonderful resource. Check out this webinar February 21st to learn about teeth!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/JEP1cBbFQgHZQ7AU/?mibextid=WaXdOe

Attention all horse owners! 🐴

Are you curious about equine dentistry and how it impacts your horse's health and well-being?
🦷 Join Dr. Molly Rice DAVDC-Eq for a special online educational event: "What Every Horse Owner Should Know About Dentistry." this Wednesday, February 21st at 7pm!

Whether you're a seasoned equestrian or new to horse ownership, this event is for you! Don't miss out on this valuable opportunity to expand your knowledge and provide the best care for your equine companion.

Reserve your spot today:
https://form.jotform.com/240473502454148