Horse Services
Horses require special understanding. All our doctors are experienced with horses. We offer the basic services of preventative medicine, nutritional consulting, farm calls and sick horse care. In addition we offer services you will not find elsewhere in the gorge.
Prepurchase Examinations: Buying a new horse is a big investment in time and money and having a veterinary examination prior to purchase can help you make a better decision. Our basic Pre-purchase exam consists of a “nose to toes” physical examination followed by a close observation of the horse’s gaits at a walk and trot and flexion tests. Elective procedures include radiographs, ultrasounds, blood tests, fecal tests and drug tests.
Heart Scores: Measuring the size of the heart can be useful in estimating the performance potential of racing horses. Dr. Foss is one of the few veterinarians in the US who can perform and interpret Heart Scores.
Endurance Horse Evaluations: Endurance horses have unique performance problems. Dr. Foss has seen endurance horses around the world and looks forward to challenging cases.
Artificial Insemination: Breeding horses is routinely high tech. It is common to breed to stallions across the country and even in foreign countries. Dr. Foss has been regularly breeding horses using fresh cooled semen since 1990. He has experience with embryo transfer and frozen semen breeding.
Neonatal Medicine: Raising foals is exciting but full of pitfalls. When your foal becomes sick you need experienced help immediately! We can hospitalize and treat foals in out hospital.
Surgery: Horses can require a variety of surgeries. Colic surgeries are one of the more difficult surgeries to offer in a veterinary practice. Abdominal surgeries have been successfully performed here since 1988. We strive to make the surgeries as safe as possible. While anesthetized our patients are monitored for heart function, blood pressure, temperature and respiration.
Surgery Hospitalization: Equine patients often need a clean dry place to receive treatment or simply be monitored. We have four stalls available for our equine patients. One stall is extra large so a mare with a foal will be comfortable.
Lameness Evaluations: Lame horses can be a challenge to diagnose. Dr. Foss has been working with difficult lamenesses from all over the Pacific Northwest for many years. He is especially experienced in lamenesses of performance horses.
Restorative Dentistry: As horses age they wear their teeth and need help to maintain a good ability to chew food. Annual check-ups are recommended to identify and treat these problems early. Both Dr. Foss and Dr. Luell have taken courses in Equine Dentistry.
