Knik River Veterinary Services

08/26/2026

08/24/2026

Miss Daisy, from the Lower 48, was reunited with her family yesterday. Those were some happy little kids to see her! 🥰😇🐑😎

08/19/2026

HAY. It’s a timely subject. The following are huge generalizations. Consult your veterinarian for more specific recommendations for your particular Horse. Especially if your horse has any health conditions.

Generalized Hay goals:

protein 10-12%
ADF 30-45%
ADF >45% for easy keepers NDF

08/11/2026

Dentistry:

Seeing is understanding. Most Horses getting a dental maintenance get a full set of pictures for the medical record that the owner keeps. Can’t even tell you how much that helps from year to year. The Buzz word for teeth floating these days is “dental equilibration “….. but it is just so much more! And it seems like the entire time I am working, I am able to talk to the owner about what the horse eats and about their lifestyle and what we can do to make life better for the Horse and the owner.

This horse today was a nine year-old mare with a really beautiful set of teeth overall. Well maintained. On good feed. The points you see on the teeth are mostly normal that have grown back over the last year since the last time I worked on her. The upward curve of the whole arcade in the back is normal anatomy. This picture shows a black arrow that follows that natural curve. This is one of the many reasons why you cannot use just a flat rasp to get to these areas….. you would over-grind the high spots and under-grind the low spots. Circles marked one and two are dents and mild ulcers in the base of the tongue created by the points on the teeth where the tongue lays when the mouth is closed.

The arcade is so long in this normal horse that my picture can’t focus perfectly on the whole length of teeth. I have to take one picture for the front of the arcade and another picture to focus on the back of the arcade. It’s a long ways back there. And there are some areas that you really can never see unless you use an endoscope video camera….. or you just have to feel them by checking with your hand on the backside of those molars to make sure that everything was done and comfortable for the horse in those locations.

08/11/2026

Alaska Region Pony Club Camp dentistry demonstration and talk. The how and why of all things horse dentistry.




08/01/2026

It’s hot out there. I know it’s just 75 or 80 or 85° but for our area that is hot! The animals are not accustomed to this. Please make sure your water tanks are totally topped off every morning, especially if you have baby animals that can’t reach over the edge of the stock tanks if it is down more than halfway. They need more than just mother Milk at this time of year, they need water too.

This particular Horse is now completely normal just four hours later. She is OK. But she might not have been OK if the Owners hadn’t found her an hour or two later than what they did. She is home and fine now. I think lack of shade was simply the only issue.

08/01/2026

Congratulations to Jude Tompkins on winning the FFA Novice Sheep Showmanship Champion buckle sponsored by Knik River Veterinary 👍🌟

07/24/2026

Aaaa! 😱 NO! That is Summer hair shedding off!? Ugh!

05/07/2026

🎉 MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY 🎉

We love seeing this community show up, support one another, and help us continue doing what we’re passionate about every single day.

Because of YOU...your tags, your shares, your recommendations, we’re able to keep growing and providing the level of care your horses deserve.

And now… the moment we’ve all been waiting for… 🥁

Our Giveaway Winner is…
✨ LINDA VUKMIR PERKINS ✨

Congratulations, Linda! 🎉
You’ve won a custom Performance Equine Specialists hat and TWO tailbags!

We truly appreciate your support, and everyone who participated. This is exactly what community looks like.

👉 Keep tagging, sharing, and spreading the word, because we’re just getting started.

04/23/2026

Veterinary - Client - Patient Relationship.

This dynamic means that I have seen you and at least one of your animals or your farm at some point within the last 365 days. That is a legal description that all veterinarians are required to follow. This becomes a very valuable relationship during the extremely hectic spring time season when many farms have their farm population double with new babies. Because this time of year is very busy, with appointments that are generally scheduled months in advance, it is not possible to take in new clients at that time of year.

When I have not seen someone before, it takes a long time to gather all the information I need from them before I even look at their animal. At least a half an hour. Maybe an hour or more if there are a lot of prior records for me to read and go over. There is no time for going over and gathering all that information in the spring. Here is a list of information that I need the first time that I see someone that I don’t know:

What is your name.
Where do you live. What is your address for you? For your animals?
Is this a pet? Is this a food animal? Is this breeding stock?
What is your personal value system for your budget is today?
What payment method do you want to use? I do not take payments.
Credit cards require an additional approx 4% for your bill.
This is where I am located. I do not have time to travel in the spring.
 If you do not have a trailer, I do not have one for you to use.
I can give you the names of some people that probably live near you and may loan you their trailer.
You do not have to figure out how to turn around in the driveway. The driveway is through and through and goes all the way back to the highway.
Just like you, I try to avoid working at night and on weekends if at all possible. There is an extra cost for that as it takes away from family time. Although I frequently work during these times anyway for emergencies. Frequently is a relative term. Daily could be more accurate.
Yes, it is possible that your appointment will get bumped by an emergency. That happens on a regular basis. Someday, it may be your emergency.
There are limitations to the Diagnostics that are available because we live in Alaska. If you want to fly your pet out of state to a university for treatment, I can help you with that.
The medications that I prescribed for your pet, are for your pet. They are not for you. Or your neighbor. Or your neighbor’s pet.

My point being that there are not enough hours in the day to establish this information during the Spring time. If you are established within the last year, then I can help you over the phone. Or I can fit you in between those regularly scheduled appointments. It is not possible to go through all those questions listed above and still be able to get through the day in a timely manner. Every single day, I help 5 to 10 people with their animals over the phone without seeing their animals because they are established. And they don’t pay a dime for my time over the phone. Every single day, I see another one to five animals as a fit in between those scheduled appointments. If I am unable to help someone and their animal on the phone because they have not done this within the last year, it is very painful to me.

When I call farms in the fall or winter and say, I am driving by your direction and we should consider having a visit while I am driving by…. I am not trying to drum up business. I am trying to establish that veterinarian client patient relationship so that I can help you in the busy season when you will need me. Commonly, the farmer will say I don’t need anything right now, so no don’t come by. 

The answer is not more veterinarians. Why? Because livestock owners for the most part are only supporting our livelihood as veterinarians during the busy season. That busy season has to pay for our livelihood for the entire year. We may not work for some weeks in the winter time when it is below zero. At all. And if we do, it is generally for only severe emergencies. This has pushed the younger generation that needs a reliable monthly income to pay their astronomical costs and student loans to take corporate small animal jobs that are not seasonal, have a four day work week with no emergency duty, and full benefits. So it falls on the livestock owners to plan better. And planning better involves establishing that veterinarian client patient relationship throughout the year…. Just not in the spring.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE:
It is imperative if you have livestock to establish a veterinarian client patient relationship (VCPR) every year. If you have a large farm, that happens usually between October and February when I can travel to your farm. Not in the Spring. This is the case for all veterinarians that work on livestock everywhere for the most part. But especially in Alaska, where weather and seasonality are a major part of our life.