The Oaks Equine and Farm Service

10/15/2026

Is your horse in pain? 🐴 It’s not always obvious!

Join us for our Horse Owner Education Webinar with Drs. Kim Allshouse and Michael St. Blanc to learn how to spot the subtle signs of pain, tell the difference between pain and behavior problems, and catch issues early before they become bigger concerns. 🩺

The webinar will be recorded and registrants will receive a link to the recording, so be sure to sign up even if you can’t attend the live event. ✅

Drop the word LISTEN in the comments and we’ll send the registration link straight to your DMs. 📩

📅 Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026
⏰ 8:00 to 9:30 PM EDT

10/14/2026

A reminder from our pharmacy department 💊 🐎 🐐 🐖 🐄

Please give us at least 24 hours’ notice for all prescription refills and medication pickups.
You can submit refill requests by phone, text, or email — whatever is easiest for you.

This applies even to medications your animal takes regularly or has been on long-term. Please don’t wait until you arrive at the clinic to request a refill or assume it will be ready without contacting us first.
Every prescription still needs to be reviewed, approved, prepared, labeled, and sometimes ordered. Our doctors and staff may also be out on farm calls, assisting with emergencies, or caring for scheduled patients when you stop by.

Please request medications at least one business day in advance and wait for confirmation that they are ready before coming to pick them up. Otherwise, you may need to make a second trip, as we may not be able to fill the prescription while you wait.

We truly appreciate everyone helping us keep the pharmacy running smoothly so we can take the best possible care of all of our patients. ❤️

10/03/2026

Did you know?

🪰 Those little yellow specks are bot fly eggs!

If you’ve noticed tiny yellow eggs stuck to your horse’s hair — especially on the legs — you’re probably looking at bot fly eggs.

Adult bot flies lay their eggs on the horse’s coat. When the horse licks or bites at the area, the larvae hatch and are eventually swallowed, spending part of their life cycle in the horse’s mouth and stomach.

What can you do?

• Remove the eggs when you see them. An abrasive grooming block such as a Slick ’N Easy works well and doesn’t have a sharp blade.

• Bot knives can also be effective, but use them carefully! The blade is sharp enough to cut your horse if you get too aggressive or aren’t paying attention. We have unfortunately seen this happen.

• Plan appropriate fall deworming. Once bot fly activity has ended for the season, ivermectin is very effective against bot larvae. Talk with your veterinarian about how fall treatment fits into your horse’s overall parasite-control program.

• A routine f***l egg count will NOT detect bots. F***l egg counts are still very useful for monitoring other equine parasites, but they don’t tell us whether your horse has bot larvae.

🤢 Gross fun fact of the day:
Horse bot fly larvae have VERY rarely been reported to cause accidental myiasis in people, including skin and eye involvement. Humans are not their normal host and this is extremely uncommon — but washing your hands thoroughly after removing bot eggs or handling grooming tools is always a good idea.

Bottom line: Remove the eggs when you spot them, be careful with sharp bot knives, and include bot control in your horse’s fall parasite-control plan.

09/09/2026

You may have noticed some familiar faces and voices in different places in the clinic recently.

We are so excited that despite having to move to Maryland, Rachael was able to transition from truck assistant to remote scheduler seamlessly.

She apparently has her own personal assistant foster kitten that is looking for a new remote job/lap.

If anyone has family or friends in Maryland that are interested in George, here is the rescue website- https://www.rescueangelssomd.com/

Let us know in the comments: have you spoken to Rachael and did you know she was an actual state away! Technology is great.

09/07/2026

09/07/2026

The office will be closed today in observance of Labor Day. We are available for equine and large animal emergencies. Please call 757-365-4887 and press #1.

We hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend with your horses like vet assistant Caroline and Dr. Tanya are. They participated at the War Horse Event SerIes at the Carolina Horse Park this weekend.

Post pictures in the comments with your holiday horse adventures.

08/29/2026

🧪 **New In-House Endocrine Testing at The Oaks** 🐴

We are excited to introduce our new Truforma™ Analyzer, allowing us to perform important equine endocrine testing in our office!

This technology allows us to measure insulin and ACTH, helping us more quickly evaluate horses for conditions including Equine Metabolic Syndrome/Insulin Dysregulation (EMS/ID) and Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID, or Cushing’s disease).

Insulin Dysregulation/EMS can affect horses of many breeds and body types and may increase their risk of developing laminitis.

PPID is a common endocrine disorder, particularly in horses over 15 years of age. Early diagnosis and monitoring can help us better manage affected horses and improve their long-term health and comfort.

The Truforma testing platform has been evaluated against established reference laboratory testing methods, with research supporting the accuracy and clinical usefulness of the results.

If your horse has a history of laminitis, unusual fat deposits, difficulty maintaining or losing weight/muscle, changes in their hair coat, increased drinking or urination, or other signs that could indicate an endocrine disorder, talk with one of our veterinarians about whether testing may be appropriate.

📸: Horse with severe muscle wasting and abnormal haircoat suggestive of PPID.

08/23/2026

Dr. Tanya got to see one of our more unique patients this week at Haven Ark Training LLC .

This was Priscilla's first vet checkup. She’s 3wks old she was perfect for her exam and vaccination.

08/22/2026

Good luck to our clients who are barrel racing tonight at Bull Mania! Hope all competitors have safe and fast runs!