(first appeared in the November 2014 issue of The Equiery)
Technology in equine medicine has come a long way in the past 30 years at both the hospital level and in the ways a veterinarian can treat horses right at your farm. And while hospitals such as Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia may still be the go-to place for emergency surgeries, comprehensive diagnostics and advancements in treatments, smaller veterinary clinics are popping up all over Maryland allowing many veterinarians right here in the state to offer similar services on a smaller scale.
Although all Maryland veterinarians were emailed a questionnaire, only the following veterinarians responded:
Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood (Glenwood) • Arundel Equine (Lothian) • Bay Equine (Huntington) • Breton Equine Veterinary Services (Leonardtown) • Dr. James Casey (Laurel) • Cecil Veterinary (Port Deposit) • Damascus Equine Associates (Damascus) • Donatelli Equine Services (Poolesville) • Equine Veterinary Care (Elkton) • Heritage Haven Equine (Boonesboro) • Horizon Equine Vet (Adamstown) • Kent Veterinary Center (Millington) • Manor Equine (Monkton) • Michael Odian Equine Practice (Taneytown) • Monocacy Equine (Dickerson) • PenMar Equine (Myersville) • Sorum Equine (Churchville) • South Mountain Equine (Middletown) • Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC (Charlotte Hall) • Veterinary Medical Center (Easton) • Wagner Equine (Gaithersburg) • Walkersville Veterinary Clinic (Walkersville) • Windsor Vet Service (Westminster) • Wolf Creek Equine (Lothian)
An AquaPacer is a water treadmill for horses and works the same way as the people version. It can be used for rehabilitation work or even general fitness conditioning.
Veterinary Clinics
Twenty-two of the practices who answered our questionnaire offer some sort of clinic where clients can bring their horses for diagnostics and treatment. These practices are as follows:
- Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood
- Bay Equine
- Cecil Veterinary
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Heritage Haven Equine
- Kent Veterinary Center
- Manor Equine
- Monocacy Equine
- Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC
- Veterinary Medical Center
- Windsor Vet Service
- Wolf Creek Equine
All of the above clinics except for Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood, Equine Veterinary Care and Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC offer stalls, mostly for short-term use, with some clinics offering stalls for longer stays.
The Lameness Locator by Equinosis uses three points of contact (head, back, pastern) and a handheld computer system to identify lameness in horses.
Bay Equine, Cecil Veterinary, Damascus Equine, Manor Equine, Monocacy Equine and Wolf Creek Equine have some sort of riding arena or round pen for pre-purchase exams and lameness evaluations.
Only Bay Equine, Cecil Veterinary, Kent Veterinary Center, Monocacy Equine and Wolf Creek Equine have paddocks for limited turnout.
Although most of the practices that participated in the questionnaire offer some basic “standing” surgeries (where the horse needs only basic sedation), Cecil Veterinary, Kent Veterinary Center, Manor Equine and Wolf Creek Equine each have a full surgery suite.
Reproductive Services
Reproductive services vary greatly between practices, with some offering everything from embryo transfer to foaling assistance while others specialize in frozen semen and artificial in vitro fertilization. The following practices offer some sort of reproductive services. For specifics, we suggest you contact the practice directly.
- Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood
- Arundel Equine
- Bay Equine
- Cecil Veterinary
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Heritage Haven Equine
- Horizon Equine
- Kent Veterinary Center
- Manor Equine
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Monocacy Equine
- PenMar Equine
- Sorum Equine
- South Mountain Equine
- Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC
- Wagner Equine
- Windsor Vet Service
Diagnostic Technologies
The following practices offer digital radiography, digital ultrasounds and digital endoscopy for diagnostic work:
- Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood
- Bay Equine
- Dr. James Casey
- Cecil Veterinary
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Donatelli Equine
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Kent Veterinary Center
- Manor Equine
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Monocacy Equine
- PenMar Equine
- Sorum Equine
- South Mountain Equine
- Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC
- Veterinary Medical Center
- Walkersville Veterinary Clinic
- Windsor Vet Service
- Wolf Creek Equine
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy delivers increased amounts of oxygen to injured tissues to help repair the tissue at a faster rate.
In addition, Breton Equine offers digital ultrasounds and endoscopy but not radiographs as does Heritage Haven Equine. Horizon Equine has digital radiography and ultrasounds but not endoscopy. The same goes for Wagner Equine.
None of the practices in the survey has nuclear scintigraphy or MRIs. Dr. James Casey and Cecil Veterinary offer thermography. The only practice in the survey with a Lameness Locator is Damascus Equine Associates.
Most practices send blood, fecal and tissue samples to labs outside their practices. However, Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood, Breton Equine, Manor Equine, South Mountain Equine, Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC, Windsor Vet Service and Wolf Creek Equine test many of their samples at their own in-house pathology labs.
Cutting Edge Therapies
Although there are many therapies out there for our equine clients, our survey specifically asked about shockwave, IRAP, mesotherapy, stem cell and regenerative therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and aqua therapy.
Cecil Veterinary in Port Deposit and Equine Veterinary Clinic in Elkton were the only practices who stated they offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy. They also offer shockwave and IRAP. The Equine Veterinary Clinic also has an aqua-treadmill and salt water bath treatment for aqua therapy.
Other practices offering shockwave are as follows:
- Dr. James Casey
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Donatelli Equine
- Kent Veterinary Center
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Monocacy Equine
- Wolf Creek Equine
The following practices also offer IRAP:
- Dr. James Casey
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Manor Equine
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Monocacy Equine
- PenMar Equine
- Sorum Equine
- South Mountain Equine
- Wagner Equine
- Wolf Creek Equine
Mesotherapy:
- Dr. James Casey
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Donatelli Equine
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Heritage Haven Equine
- Manor Equine
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Monocacy Equine
- Sorum Equine
- South Mountain Equine
- Wagner Equine
- Wolf Creek Equine
Stem Cell/Regenerative Therapy:
- Dr. James Casey
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Kent Veterinary Center
- Manor Equine
- Michael Odian Equine Practice
- Sorum Equine
Micro-chipping
With many changes being made within the sport horse world, microchipping for equine identification and passports is becoming more and more routine. seventeen practices in our survey can insert a microchip but only 13 of those have microchip readers.
The practices that offer both microchipping and have a reader are as follows:
- Animal Medical Hospital at Glenwood
- Bay Equine
- Dr. James Casey
- Damascus Equine Associates
- Equine Veterinary Care
- Heritage Haven Equine
- Horizon Equine
- South Mountain Equine
- Tidewater Veterinary Hospital, LLC
- Veterinary Medical Center
- Walkersville Veterinary Clinic
- Wagner Equine
- Windsor Vet Service
The following practices can insert microchips but do not have access to a reader:
- Donatelli Equine
- Manor Equine
- Monocacy Equine
- Sorum Equine
- Wolf Creek Equine
Other Services
In addition to our list of questions, we asked the veterinarians if there are any services they offer that are not on our list. The responses varied from laser surgery and therapy to acupuncture, dentistry and much more. Please contact the veterinary practices directly for details and specifics.
©TheEquiery2014
