Knik River Veterinary Services

09/26/2026

Water Source Prep for ❄️

Now is the time to get ready! -Heating elements replaced for your automatic Waterers. 
-stock tank heaters ready
-replaced the GFCI plug-ins
- plan where your extension cord is gonna go so any junctions or plug-in parts do not end up under the snow or underwater
-situate any electric fence chargers away from the Horses barn. Who wants to hear the click of a shocking device every second for the rest of their life and have the Stall be a pleasant place to be?
-Very common for there to be one outlet at the barn where both the water tank heater and the electric fence charger are plugged in…. Not a good plan.
-be sure the stock tank is nowhere near the electric fence
-consider the height of the watering source if the snow ends up getting deep or if the ice gets bad
-consider the location of the water source in relation to the pecking order if there is a group of Horses. How many colics have I seen were the dominant horse lives right next to the stock tank pretty much all the time.
-consider the kilowatt usage of your heater. Sometimes the 1000 W seem to stop working when it gets below zero. 
-have an extra heater available at all times as both the drop-in and the Nelson permanent ones stop working at in-opportune times at some point over the winter
-drop a voltmeter into your water tank when you first turn on a heater, even if it is brand new. Significant discussion and comment from electricians on this subject last winter….no matter what they say, I have seen them personally burn up while they are attached to a GFCI plug-in that was brand new and professionally installed.  No idea how, I just see the consequences. 🤷‍♀️
-if it gets icy, only use fresh manure on the ice. Do not use sand. Give the Manure 12 hours and it will freeze to the ice. And there will be no issues if the Horse happens to eat the manure. There will be an issue if the horse eats the sand.

Who else has tips and tricks to add?

This post was not AI generated 😜🐎




09/20/2026

Dentistry

If your horse has a lip that hangs open …. that is not normal. It is just a clue of what is happening inside the mouth. These are the sort of things I can find on a brief annual consult. Easily addressed at the same visit with a “Teeth Float”. Ideally, I see every horse every year.

This particular horse, I had never seen before. I was able to get his mouth moving side to side again for his chewing comfort and efficiency. Part of that was the need to deal with these front teeth that were also preventing him fully closing his mouth.

October to March is ideal timing for dentistry. Outside of the busy season. We do take appointments from non-clients from across the State to help their horses. Fairbanks to Homer and PtMacK to Tok.

09/19/2026

These dudes were last swimming in the Highlands of Scotland some years ago. Tarin made a video of them for you to see. Off they go now! Marking our calendars for mid-February. 🐑🐑🐑

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09/05/2026

Come on out and support these hard-working Ag kids today! Text me if you need parking or tickets.

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.