San Pedro Veterinary Service, PLC

12/25/2025

Since it's our own doctor in their picture, seems fair we use it to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

From our family to yours, we extend a blessing of happiness and joy to you and yours. Merry Christmas and to all a good night.

12/21/2025

As an owner, hoof care provider, and veterinarian, I think I have some reasonable knowledge and experience on where each of these falls on the realm of responsibility for care of our equine companions. So let's have an honest conversation about who is responsible for what of the three major parties responsible for the care of equine. By no means is this an absolute and there is definitely overlap on certain things.

Of these three the hoof care provider has the lowest responsibility for overall care. So let's start there.

Responsibilities of hoof care provider.
*Maintain the hoof capsule- prioiritize protection.
*Alert owner of any changes presented in capsule.
*Present options for necessary protection, balance and other mechanics
*Explain mechanics
*Provide professional level service
*Recommend and/or consult when animal requirements are beyond skill level
*Maintain necessary inventory for service
*Require timely schedules

Responsibilities of veterinarian w/ active VCPR
* Provide guidance on general health needs
* Recommend vaccine schedules appropriate for animal
* Recommend dental work and bloodwork as necessary to ensure health
* Grade body condition and make dietary recommendations based on body condition, activity level, and nutritional needs
* To best of ability diagnose health ailments
* Offer gold standard medical treatment options based on suspected/confirmed diagnosis
* Discuss medical conditions, treatment options, and prognosis of treatment
* Refer/consult specialists (these are those people with a diplomate status such as DACT, DACVS, DACVIM)
* Provide ethical treatment within constraints of VCPR
* Have any necessary difficult conversations
* Provide emergency service or contact for emergency service if unavailable

Responsibilities of Veterinarian without active VCPR
* Provide copies of historical records

Responsibilities of owner
* Daily management.
-Purchasing and providing feed (amount, type, timing all controlled by owner)
-Dosing medications
-Guaranteeing access to water
-Verifying no external trauma
- Picking hooves
- Providing safe and secure environment
*Hoof management
- Scheduling hoof care provider
- Maintaining schedule with hoof care provider
- Picking hooves
- Following recommendations on cycle length
- Consider and discuss necessary mechanics and protection methods
- Provide safe working environment for hoof care provider
-Pay bill at time service is rendered
*Veterinary related management
-Schedule annual examination
-Schedule and authorize vaccines
- Authorize and pay for routine medical care
- Discuss and approve recommended diagnosis methods
-Authorize bloodwork
-Know individual animal normals (TPR)
- Understand body condition scores
- Know what medications horse is currently on, when and how dosed including
- Refill longterm medications in timely manner
- Recognize emergencies and have emergency plan
- Maintain basic first aid kit
- Ask for clarification when explanations or directions unclear
- Provide safe working conditions
- Provide timely updates on conditions
- Bring up for discussion concerns and settle changes such as small bumps or changes in eating habits
- Contact in timely fashion for emergencies
- Quality of life decision
- Pay for services when rendered
* Additional management
- weight and body condition score
- exercise routine
- environment
- training
- tack fitment
- Authorize and pay for professional services
- seek education on care


I am sure I have left some things off the list but the point is to start having a discussion of reasonable care and who is responsible for providing such care. We all want the best for our equine companions

Dr J Alltop, DVM CBT APF-II
San Pedro Vet 2025

12/19/2025

Everyone loves a good abscess.

Pocket of exudate from dead cells and bacteria lanced and drained on a sedated horse. the horse will recover just fine in couple of weeks with no long term i...

12/18/2025

I'm stealing a photo from a prominent, outrageously loud and outlandishly uneducated cult on Facebook. And I am going to be harsh because it needs to be called out. Without seeing the radiographs, everyone of those hooves presented very well maybe laminitic feet. But you want to know the bigger shocker, and the one that takes all the weight out of their argument against laminitis. Everyone of those hooves is neglected. Thats nine examples of neglect, not of professionals failing but of owners failing. Endocrine based laminitis is an owner caused condition, its a failure of management by the owner. Then once this management failure happens, its a failure to alter management and apply appropriate care. The professionals involved in the care of these cases are limited to what they can do by the owner. Laminitis cases are expensive to manage and treat, they also never fully heal. No ethical professional has left any of those hooves in that condition by choice. These happen because owner wants to push trim/shoe cycle, avoid radiographs to ensure we are taking both enough and leaving enough, the diet has never been properly addressed and so on. This cult wants to preach the blame falls on the hoof care provider and veterinarians because owners don't want to hear the truth. These horses are suffering because the owners neglected and failed their animals. You want to resolve laminitis... take better care of your animals. And that doesn't mean feed them the best supplement or most expensive hay, it means learning about what an equine needs or doesn't need. No animal does well in state of obesity, so stop killing your horses through kindness. Laminitis is on the rise not because of failure of the professionals but because owners are not taking responsibility for the animal in their stewardship. I would encourage owners to take a nutrition course. Take a hoof care course. Even take a basic husbandry course. Pony clubs are disappearing and even then it's cruel to have those kids pick stalls and learn husbandry to earn time riding. Laminitis will continue to rise until owners start taking responsibility to provide proper care for their equines. Neglect needs to be called out and this group has been showing the world examples of neglect labeling it professional failure. These aren't failures of the professionals, these are all failures of the owners who needed someone else to blame. So yes, I suspect these are laminitc hooves but I also suspect that every one of them is also neglected and not receiving appropriate care. Failure by owners who want to pass the blame.

Rant over.

Dr J Alltop, DVM CBT APF-II

12/16/2025

We took a moment to sit down with Tucson based Farrier Oliver Fahrni to hear about a new type of aluminum horseshoe he is trying to bring to the US market. It has some impressive options and we'd love to explain those to you but instead slide over to our YouTube channel to watch Oliver introduce us to the Orion Horseshoes himself.

We sat down with Oliver from Tucson, AZ who is a practicing farrier and discussed this new to US market shoe options. Its an aluminum based shoe with near li...

12/15/2025

We are being more active with our YouTube channel. As such we need ideas on the type of content you want to see. Cases, How-tos, Educational content? Using our Meta Glasses we can record 3min shorts. So comment your ideas.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

12/14/2025

Today is National Day of the Horse. Great day to remember all our lost equines and the importance of the animal to our lives. But also to look forward to the future of the horse world.

Autumns Dark Kat enjoying a little arena turn out. Our 7 month old Scooter Kat c**t.

12/13/2025

This is a great opportunity to maybe snag a discount from a great company that focuses on keeping your horse its happiest in work.

🎄CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!!🎄

We are having TEN fun prize draws before Christmas!

There will be 7 draws of a $20 voucher each, then a $50, a $75 and $100! You can use your prize toward any of our services:

🫏Accredited and professional saddle fitting
🐎Leather repairs
🐥Accessories, pads and leather care
🐴Saddle refurbishment
🦄Accredited bridle and bit fitting
🐢Saddle purchases

All you need to do is comment here with a photo of your horse, dog, cow, goat, chicken, tortoise - whoever your most photogenic pet is! Heck, we’d even accept an emu, silly as they are 🤣

It can be Christmas themed or not. We don’t mind. We just want to love your animals!

Then share this post and you’re in the draw!

Entries close Sunday 14th at midnight and the first draw is Monday 15th. As many entries as you like, one prize per person.

Draws will be:
$20 Monday 15th
$20 Tuesday 16th
$20 Wednesday 17th
$20 Thursday 18th
$20 Friday 19th
$20 Saturday 20th
$20 Sunday 21st
$50 Monday 22nd
$75 Tuesday 23rd
$100 Wednesday 24th

Comment, share, and have a little fun! ❤️

(Photo by Barbie!)

Good luck, everyone!

Your accredited saddle fitter for Western, English and Endurance/Trail
BJ Stinson

#800242983



(Plus more, available on request)

12/13/2025

Come along as we drain a hoof abscess.

https://youtube.com/shorts/tyXjU7DL8Xc?feature=share

12/13/2025

The ability to take quality hoof photos can be helpful in communicating with your hoof care provider and veterinarian. One of the attached photos is what typically receive and the other is what actually want. To help further explain this, head over to our YouTube channel and check out our latest video.

https://youtube.com/shorts/G27Aga8t_YQ?feature=share

12/12/2025

EHV outbreak update from EDCC

The Equine Disease Communication Center is monitoring an outbreak of equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy in eight states, traced back to a barrel-racing event held November in Texas. As of December 5, 60 cases of equine herpesvirus type-1 have been confirmed, with 47 showing neurologic signs.

12/11/2025

AAEP final day wrap up. The last day of this conference is historically short and ends up often being a mixture of topics that just dont fit well elsewhere. One of the lectures our Doctor made it to was on Metabolic and Cushings testing for mules. This study was largely done by an undergrad UofA student. The findings summarizes to mules are not horses or donkeys and need own reference ranges. Makes us happy that see limited mules. Another lecture talked about the safety of injectable vit E and Selenium medications for horses. The results were terrifying with around a 20% fatality rate for these injections which often were requested for performance only reasons. Stick to a quality natural Vit E oral product if going to supplement.

And lastly, we had intended to not spend money this year because well, it's been a rough financial year to stay it nicely. But we care about our patients and we want to see them as healthy as possible. And research was presented to validate the use of a stall side cushings test for horses. Since we see and have a number of patients that have elevated ACTH values (positive for Cushings) and testing historically has delays, we've invested in ability to test and monitor status of your horses right in field. This is also critical for the management and early intervention on laminitic cases triggered by metabolic status. Hopefully, arrives and in use before end of year. Going forward should be able to monitor, test and employ strategies to reduce issues with these disorders right at time of examination.

Better care through better education.