Rocky Bay Equine Newsletter, April 2017
BABIES MAKE US HAPPY
We love spring and new life, especially foals that are particularly adorable learning how to manage their long & unwieldy limbs!  The excitement of two March foals at the clinic saved us from the rain doldrums during this oh so slow transition from winter.  A few more mares to foal out so the fun isn't over yet.  If you've been following April the giraffe cam, you know that baby watch can be demanding!  Give us a shout if you need help or professional foaling services as your mare comes close to her delivery date.
Two seminars coming up this month

Thursday, April 13th, 6:30 PM 
at the Baymont Inn, Bremerton

Equine Recurent Uvetitis and Leptospirosis 
Sponsored by Zoetis 

Our guest speaker, Dr. Hill from Zoetis, will talk about recurrent uveitis, aka "moon blindness" and its relationship to leptospira organisms.  We will get all the scoop about the new vaccine and how it might be helpful for our horses.  The lecture will be followed by a hands on ophthalmology lab and dissection, so put your science hats on and join us!  We are also happy to report that Jennifer Wierson will provide us with her fabulous hot soup... don't worry, the side of eye balls will be optional.

equine foot radiographs, abnormal and normal, lateral views
Second seminar is on a timely topic

Hands on Physical Exam & Laminitis Review
Friday, April 21st, from 3 to 5 PM 
at Cottingham Farm  Bainbridge Island

Join us for a Physical Exam and Laminitis Seminar with Rocky Bay Equine Docs on Friday, April 21st, from 3 to 5 PM. This will be both lecture and hands on and will address common techniques for evaluating your horses with a focus on seasonal challenges such as the connection between spring pasture and laminitis.  Do you know how to find and evaluate your horses digital pulse? Along with other physical exam basics, this seminar will provide a great opportunity to learn both why it's important to monitor key physical attributes of your animals physiology and to learn some skills for performing a physical exam.

*NEW LOCATION*  Cottingham Farm, on Bainbridge Island, will be our host for this gathering.  


LOCAL EVENTS
Upcoming educational/training opportunities that we know about include;
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April - May   
Dates for the Spring 2017 Robin Hahn jumping clinics at Northwind Farm are April 7,8,9
and May 12,13,14. 

June
Kick it Up! Expo is coming back to the Washington Horse Park June 3-4, 2017! It's a weekend packed with equestrian entertainment, education and experience. Ride in a clinic, watch a demo (or three!), learn about a new discipline or breed, and so much more.

July 
Josh Lyons demonstration
Thursday, July 6,
  5 PM - 8 PM      1406 Key Peninsula Hwy South Lakebay 
Demonstration given by Josh Lyons. Meet and greet with Josh Lyons and a special presentation of reining and how it relates to your daily riding.  Josh Lyons/Lyons Legacy 
Advanced tickets $15.00 each or $20.00 each at the door.
Call Dana Pedersen 253-225-8071 to sign up!   Hfranch59@gmail.com

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For more information contact the host farms at the links provided.
Want help spreading the word for your event?   Submit via personal message on the RBE FB page.

Wellness Programs
Be sure to check out the new Wellness Programs on our website.  It's a win-win-win for your horses, for you and for us!  Focusing on the fact that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, wellness care is a good choice for your horses whether they are athletes, pleasure ponies or retired pasture pets, we have a plan for all of them.  Give us a call to discuss your particular situation and how we can optimize wellness for your horse(s).

FACT CHECKING is your friend

To follow up on being a discerning news consumer, know that your job doesn’t end after screening out fake news.  There’s also information that may be science based, but is embellished with some not so valid claims.  This might lead to partial truths or situations where you need to evaluate the claims “with a grain of salt”.  Here is an example;  two studies have recently been reported about supplements in popular equine media.  The source is reputable and they’ve done a good job of reporting the who, what, why and how of these studies that did employ scientific methods.  The results are interesting and supportive of the products that they (the source of this article, not the authors) sell.  This is all good, however, you need to go one step further in your own evaluation.  

You don’t need to be a scientist to be a savvy consumer of health care information, you just need to be a critical thinker!  Several questions should rise automatically in your mind as you read the results of any science based study.  How many animals were in the study, how was the study controlled, what variables were not controlled, how objective were the techniques for evaluation of study parameters and is the interpretation of the study results reasonable.  Is this study repeatable, have similar findings been obtained by other groups of researchers?  The answers to each of these questions will help establish the validity of the study itself and perhaps the accuracy of the interpretation of the study results the authors present in their “findings”.  

One of the biggest problems with interpreting results of many science based studies as “truth” is the very small number of animals studied.  This is not to say that the studies are bad, but it is a warning flag that you need to apply a little common sense when you read the summary of research findings and especially the interpretation of those findings.  Remember, you can agree with the (more objective) findings of a study and still disagree with the (more subjective) interpretation that is presented to explain them.  Animal health research is expensive and profoundly under funded, so it’s not surprising that many studies have flaws in design that will affect interpretation of their findings.  Again, that doesn’t make them bad, but they must be evaluated in context, keeping in mind their limitations.  For example, it’s not good enough to study 9 or even 40 horses and call your results proof of efficacy.
 
Knowledge is power, in our world of instant news and sound bites, it pays to be a critical thinker!  

Rocky Bay Equine Veterinary Services
www.rockybayequine.com     (253) 858-4529    (360) 876-1544
Gig Harbor, WA 98394           find us on Facebook