Fall Newsletter from Trillium Veterinary

Fall Newsletter

September 2013

Greetings!

Fall is upon us and the leaves are starting to change color. This is my favorite time of year to enjoy the great outdoors with my animals. There is nothing better than tak

ing a walk with my dogs to enjoy the changing of the colors or being on horse back, riding through the fallen leaves. The smells are wonderful and I really enjoy the crisp cool air. I hope that you are able to enjoy the beautiful fall weather with your four-legged friends too.

Up coming event!

We are honored to sponsor the 2013 Western Dressage Association Fall Symposium. This event is being held on October 4th-6th at the Leatherdale Equine Center. Stop by for informative lectures and ride demonstrations. Lunch is included with your registration. It should be a very fun weekend! Learn more about this event.

Pasture Dangers

The dry weather has been hard on pastures this summer and fall. Our horses have eaten most of the grass available. The lack of rain has left many pastures with weeds that are not usually eaten by horses and for a good reason. Some of these plants can be harmful to your horse. White snakeroot and hoary

White Snakeroot

alyssum are 2 plants that can be found the dry fall pastures. Most horses will not eat these plants, but if there is no alternative food source they may be forced to eat them. It is always a good idea to take a look in your pastures to see what plants are growing there.

Hoary Alyssum

It is also a good idea to know what trees are in your pastures. Maple trees that drop leaves in the pasture may be ingested by a grazing horse. Wilted dropped maple leaves can cause toxicity issues in horses.

Making sure that horses have access to additional feed such as hay bales will limit the tendency for horses to eat these plants and leaves. The University of Minnesota Horse Extension has more information on Hoary Alyssum and White Snakeroot and Maple Leaves

New Location Added!

Pleasant Valley Equine Vet Services will be a large animal haul in location. This facility is located in Hammond, WI and has a heated barn, which will be greatly appreciated during the upcoming months. Appointments will be made with Trillium and further information can be found on the Trillium website. If animals are seen at either our small animal or large animal locations there is no drive fee.

Acupuncture

4 Meridians and their approximate locations along the body.

Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years in China and other Asian countries. Yet many aspects of how this ancient modality works is still unknown. Research is starting to uncover the mysteries and is giving us a whole new look at how the nervous system regulates the body.

Meridians are pathways that run along the body. There are 12 paired and 2 unpaired meridians. Most of meridians are named for a corresponding organ in the body, for example; heart, bladder and small intestine. These meridians are the pathways for energy (Qi, pronounced chee) to flow throughout the body. Disruption of this energy can be due to infection, trauma or disease. This energy flow is needed for the body to heal and be balanced.

Acupuncture points are found along these meridians. Stimulation of the points along the meridian can restore the normal flow of Qi throughout the body. There is a lot of research being done today to look at the interaction between nerves, acupuncture points and the meridians. A study was done to look at these interactions and found that stimulation of point 36 on the stomach meridian(located near the knee in the hind leg) and point 4 on the large intestine meridian(located near the dewclaw) increased gastric contraction, which is beneficial for patients with vomiting and constipation.

Acupuncture is becoming a more accepted modality in the medical world and now research is able to give a better insight in to how it affects the body. If you would like to know if acupuncture could help your animal please give me a call or email me and I can answer any questions you may have.

I look forward to serving you and your animals with compassionate quality care. Appointments can be made by email at DrStacie@TrilliumVet.com or by calling 612-877-1659.

Sincerely,

Stacie K Seymour DVM
Trillium Veterinary Acupuncture and Chiropractic