CLINICS

Veterinary Services

Whether you have one horse or one hundred, LVS offers on-farm routine and emergency care to horses within a 50-mile radius of New Berlin. Our clinic is equipped with digital radiography, endoscopy and digital ultrasound to offer the best diagnostic capabilities in the area.

LVS offers on-farm routine and emergency care for area dairies. Most dairies elect to be on a routine scheduled herd health program. Ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis is extensively used by our vets. In addition to being a time-saver, ultrasound is extremely accurate down to 26 days of gestation. Our vets also utilize DairyCOMP 305 extensively in consulting on herd-wide problems. Our in-house mastitis culture lab generally has a turnaround time of 2-3 days.

LVS Equine hospital offers a full range of equine medical and reproductive services. Currently there are 46 stalls as well as numerous turnouts and run-in sheds. The hospital is equipped with digital ultrasonography, digital radiology, and gas anesthesia. The hospital accepts medical and surgical referral cases from area veterinarians as well as from our own ambulatory service vets. The hospital staff also sees clients on an outpatient basis for routine care, radiographs and ultrasound. Most patients are seen in the morning or late afternoon.

LVS offers a variety of in hospital outpatient and inpatient surgeries. Our inpatient surgeries include cryptorchid surgery, hernia repairs, PD neurectomies, enucleations and major laceration repairs. Procedures which can be performed on an outpatient basis include routine castrations, Caslick's procedures, minor laceration repairs and minor lump removals. If you have any questions about procedures that we perform, feel free to give our office a call.

LVS offers the most up to date diagnostic imaging. Our recently purchased CR X-ray unit allows us to take x-rays in the field and develop them at your barn enabling us to give you answers on the spot! The x-rays can also easily be saved to a CD, allowing you to have a copy of your animals x-rays. Not only are the quality of the pictures much better than traditional radiographs, it allows us to diagnose and treat problems during the same visit

Each of our veterinarians carries with them an ultrasound. This is important for pregnancy diagnosis in both horses and cattle. For lame horses, we also have a specialized ultrasound with the highest of picture quality to check for tears in tendon/ligaments or excessive fluid around an injury.

We also have an equine endoscope. Endoscopes are like cameras which we use to look inside of your horse. Most commonly we scope the upper airways of horses to check for abnormalities within the (1) larynx: as in the case of roarers (2) the gutteral pouches: to check for infections (3) nasal passages: checking for tumors or abnormal bleeding. We can check the esophagus of horses who are prone to choking, looking for scars or strictures. In minis/small horses we can evaluate them for stomach ulcers.

Leatherstocking Veterinary Services is pleased to be able to provide a modern approach to equine dental care. We believe that routine dental care is a very important part of your horse's overall health program. Good dental health can greatly improve your horse's overall health and performance. Using power assisted dentistry, and sedation when necessary, we can safely and comfortably improve and correct most dental problems. These range from routine floating and balancing, wolf tooth extraction, molar extraction and correction of more serious dental abnormalities. All of our dental work is performed by licensed veterinarians to insure the health and safety of your horse. Digital radiology is also available for advanced imaging when necessary.

Most horse owners become concerned about their horse's teeth when the horse is exhibiting difficulty chewing or weight loss. Many potentially serious problems can be avoided by a routine dental examination and mild corrective measures before they become a problem. We recommend an annual dental examination for all horses in order to recognize potential dental problems at an early state.

We are pleased to offer our dental services at our clinic facility as well as on an ambulatory basis. Please call for more information.

Reproductive Services

Reproductive Services

Prior to breeding your mare, or purchasing a broodmare, it is wise to have a full breeding soundness exam performed. It is not uncommon for mares to have lesions in their reproductive tract which were previously undetected, which may effect her fertility or ability to carry a foal. An evaluation is especially important if a mare has a history of infertility or has had trauma to her reproductive tract from a previous foaling.

A complete breeding soundness exam includes evaluation of the conformation of the exterior reproductive tract, palpation and ultrasonography of the uterus and ovaries, vaginal speculum exam, culture, cytology and, when necessary, a biopsy of the uterus.

Artificial Insemination

Artificial insemination has become common place in most breeds of horses. We can manage your mare for insemination with fresh chilled or frozen semen. Many people are intimidated by the artificial insemination process, therefore we offer a complete service. Once your mare is brought to our facility, she will be managed to optimize her chances of becoming pregnant and maintaining pregnancy. We will arrange shipment of semen, evaluate it and inseminate your mare at the proper time.

Frozen semen needs to be inseminated as close to ovulation as possible. Your mare will be palpated and ultrasounded as often as four times a day to allow us to accurately predict ovulation.

Subfertile mares are intensively managed at our facility. They may need to have uterine lavages with subsequent infusions, minimal inseminations and hormonal treatments. These mares are best managed in a clinical setting, such as Leatherstocking Veterinary Services.

Embryo Transfer

Embryo transfer has become a routine service in the horse industry. Most horse owners use it for older, genetically superior mares that can no longer maintain pregnancy. It is most frequently used with competition mares so they can continue performing while having offspring.

Foaling

Leatherstocking Veterinary Services offers 24-hour on site video and Internet monitoring of the foaling process. We also utilize the Foalert system. Every foaling is attended by a veterinarian.

At birth, a neonatal physical exam is performed, the umbilicus is dipped and the foal is given an enema. The mare is observed to make sure the placenta is passed. Once passed, it is checked for any abnormalities.

An IgG test is performed on the foal at 12-18 hours post-foaling to ensure adequate antibody transfer. If the test yields a failure of transfer, the foal is then administered plasma. Mares and foals typically stay in our monitored foaling area for 3-6 days.

A full range of stallion services are offered including breeding soundness and problem breeder exams, phantom training, collection and shipment of fresh chilled, as well as preparation of frozen semen.

Fresh Chilled Semen

LVS is fully equipped to collect, process and ship fresh chilled semen. Each collection is evaluated for density, motility and morphology before being shipped to the end user. Each incoming shipment is also evaluated at the time of insemination. Your stallion is handled by our dedicated professionals during the entire process.

Frozen Semen

LVS can evaluate your stallion for suitability for frozen semen. A variety of extenders are used on each stallion in order to make a determination. LVS is an approved export center for frozen semen to the EU and Australia/New Zealand. Check with us to determine the regulations which your stallion must meet for export. We can ship your semen in our approved containers anywhere in the country.